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ART. 1685.-The act by which a testamentary disposition is revoked, must be made in one of the forms prescribed for testaments, and clothed with the same formalities.

ART. 1686.-Posterior testaments, which do not in an express manner, revoke the prior ones, annul in the latter only such of the dispositions there contained as are incompatible with the new ones, or contrary to them, or entirely different.

ART. 1687.-A revocation made in a posterior testament has its entire effect, even though this new act remains without execution, either through the incapacity of the person instituted, or of the legatee, or through his refusal to accept it; provided it is regular as to its form.

ART. 1688.-A donation inter vivos or a sale made by the testator of the whole or a part of the thing bequeathed as a legacy, amounts to a revocation of the testamentary disposition, for all that has been sold or given, even though the sale or donation be null, and the thing have returned into the possession of the testator, whether by the effects of that nullity, or by any other means.

ART. 1689.-The sale, made by the testator, of an object bequeathed, even by act under private signature, after the date of the testament, produces a revocation of the legacy, if the act be entirely written, signed and dated with his hand.

ART. 1690.—The testamentary disposition becomes without effect, if the person instituted or the legatee does not survive the testator.

ART. 1691.-Every testamentary disposition made on a condition depending on an uncertain event, so that in the intention of the testator the disposition shall take place only inasmuch as the event shall or shall not happen, is without effect, if the instituted heir

or the legatee dies before the accomplishment of the condition.

ART. 1692.-A condition which, in the intention of the testator, does but suspend the execution of the disposition, does not hinder the instituted heir or the legatee from having a right acquired and transmissible to his heirs.

ART. 1693.-The legacy falls if the thing bequeathed has totally perished during the life time of the testator.

ART. 1694.-It likewise falls, if the thing has perished since his death, without the act or fault of the heir, although the latter may have delayed to deliver it, when it must equally have perished in the possession of the legatee.

ART. 1695.-In case of an alternative legacy of two things, if one of them perishes, the legacy subsists as to that which remains.

ART. 1696.-The testamentary disposition falls, when the instituted heir or the legatee rejects it, or is incapable of receiving it.

ART. 1697.-Legatees under an universal title, and legatees under a particular title, benefit by the failure of those particular legacies which they were bound to discharge.

ART. 1698.-The testament falls by the birth of legitimate children of the testator, posterior to its date.

ART. 1699.-The right of accretion relative to testamentary dispositions, shall no longer subsist, except in the cases provided for in the two following articles.

ART. 1700.-Accretion shall take place for the benefit of the legatees, in case of the legacy being made to several conjointly.

The legacy shall be reputed to be made conjointly, when it is made by one and the same disposition without the testator's having assigned the part of such co-legatee in the thing bequeathed.

ART. 1701.-It shall also be reputed to be made conjointly, when a thing, not susceptible of being divided without deterioration, has been given by the same act to several persons, even separately.

ART. 1702.-Except in the cases prescribed in the two preceding articles, every portion of the succession remaining undisposed of, either because the testator has not bequeathed it, either to a legatee or to an instituted heir, or because the heir or the legatee has not been able, or has not been willing to accept it, shall devolve upon the legitimate heirs.

ART. 1703.-The same causes which, according to the foregoing provisions of the present title, authorize an action for the revocation of a donation inter vivos, are sufficient to ground an action of revocation of testamentary dispositions; provided, however, that no charges or conditions can be imposed by the testator on the legitimate portion of forced heirs, nor can they lose their inheritance for any act of ingratitude to the testator, prior to his decease. That he has not disinherited them shall be sufficient evidence of his having forgiven the offence.

ART. 1704.-If the action be founded on a grievous injury done to the memory of the testator, it must be brought within a year from the day of the offence.

SECTION VII.

General Rules for the Interpretation of Legacies.

ART. 1705.-In the interpretation of acts of last will, the intention of the testator must principally be endeavoured to be ascertained, without departing, however, from the proper signification of the terms of the testament.

ART. 1706.-A disposition must be understood in the sense in which it can have effect, rather than that in which it can have none.

ART. 1707.-In case of ambiguity or obscurity in the description of the legatee, as, for instance, when a legacy is bequeathed to one of two individuals bearing the same name, the inquiry shall be which of the two was upon terms of the most intimate intercourse or connection with the testator, and to him shall the legacy be decreed.

ART. 1708.-When, from the terms made use of by the testator, his intention cannot be ascertained, recourse must be had to all circumstances which may aid in the discovery of his intention.

ART. 1709.-A mistake in the name of an object bequeathed, is of no moment, if it can be ascertained what the thing was which the testator intended to bequeath.

ART. 1710.-If it cannot be ascertained whether a greater or less quantity has been bequeathed, it must be decided for the least.

ART. 1711.-A general legacy does not embrace those things included under the genus, which have been acquired after the death of the testator, though by his order.

ART. 1712.-A general legacy does not embrace the things included under the genus, which have been bequeathed in particular to other persons.

ART. 1713.-A disposition, couched in terms present and past, does not extend to that which comes afterwards.

For example, a legacy of all the books a testator possesses does not include those which he has purchased after the date of the testament.

ART. 1714.-A disposition, couched in the future tense, refers to the time of the death of the testator.

Thus, a legacy of all the furniture there shall be in the house of the testator, includes that which he has purchased since the date of the testament as well as the

rest.

ART, 1715.-A disposition, the terms of which ex

press no time neither past nor future, refers to the time of making the will.

Thus, when the testator expresses simply that he bequeaths his plate to such a one, the plate that he possessed at the date of the will, is only included.

ART. 1716.-When a person has ordered two things, which are contradictory, that which is last written, is presumed to be the will of the testator, in which he has persevered, and a derogation to what has before been written to the contrary.

CHAPTER VII.

Of Partitions made by Parents and other Ascendants among their Descendants.

ART. 1717.-Fathers and mothers and other ascendants may make a distribution and partition of their property among their children and legitimate descendants, either by designating the quantum of the parts and partitions which they assign to each of them, or in designating the property that shall compose their respective lots.

ART. 1718.-Those partitions may be made by act inter vivos or by testament.

ART. 1719.-Those made by an act inter vivos can have only present property for their object, and are subject to all the formalities and conditions of donations inter vivos.

ART. 1720.-Those made by testament, must be made in the forms prescribed for acts of that kind, and are subject to the same rules.

ART. 1721. The partition, whether inter vivos or by testament, has not comprised all the property that the ascendant leaves on the day of his decease, the property, not comprised in the partition, is divided according to law.

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