Under the law, persons with legal capacity may own properties, acquire rights, and incur obligations. Succession is one mode of transferring ownership of properties, acquiring certain rights, and assuming speciļ¬c obligations. It is a derivative mode since the transfer presupposes a previous owner as compared to original modes where the property subject of the acquisition has no previous owner such as occupation and intellectual creation. Because of succession, upon a person’s death, his heir becomes the owner of whatever property, rights, and obligations are left by the decedent either voluntarily (by will) or involuntarily (by operation of law). Other derivative modes of acquiring ownership include law, donation, tradition (delivery), and prescription. (Mison)
