Book of Bequests⦗1⦘

A bequest is valid from every person of sound mind who is not on his death-bed, even if he is only a discerning minor or a spendthrift.

It is recommended to bequeath up to one-fifth of the estate when the testator is leaving behind “wealth,” meaning a large fortune by customary standards.

It is reprehensible for a poor person who has heirs to make a bequest;

it is permissible for him if those heirs are affluent;

and it is obligatory for anyone who owes a right for which no documented proof exists to record it by way of a bequest.

It is unlawful for someone who has heirs to bequeath more than one-third⦗2⦘ of his estate, or to leave anything at all to an heir. Should he nevertheless do so, the bequest is technically valid but remains in suspense until the heirs approve it. Whether the beneficiary counts as an heir is determined at the moment of the testator’s death, and the same moment fixes the legal effect of the heirs’ subsequent approval or rejection.

If, after the testator’s death, the legatee refuses both to accept and to reject, the judge records a rejection on his behalf, and his entitlement lapses.

If he accepts and then tries to renounce it, the initial acceptance stands and the renunciation is invalid⦗3⦘.

The property becomes his from the instant of acceptance; any detached increase generated before that moment belongs to the heirs.