Legitime

- ART 886 – Legitime is that part of the testator’s property which he cannot dispose of because
the law has reserved it for certain heirs who are called compulsory heirs
- A limitation upon the freedom of the testator to dispose of his property
- PURPOSE is to protect those heirs, for whom the testator is presumed to have an obligation to
reserve certain portions of his estate from unjust ire or weakness
- Legitime does not consist in determinate or specific property which the testator must reserve
for his compulsory heirs.

Compulsory heirs – ART 897

ART 888 – Legitime of legitimate children and descendants consist of one half of the hereditary estate of
the father and mother

- Father and mother may freely dispose of the remaining half, subject to rights of illegitimate
children and of the surviving spouse

Note: when the testator institutes several heirs without express designation of shares, they inherit
equally and in the same manner

Free Portion

- One half of the estate that is not always disposable by the testator
- Made subject to rights of illegitimate children and the ssurviving spouse.
- Legitimes of the illegitimate children and surviving spouse are to be taken from the FREE
PORTION
- Only that which remains after such legitimes have been covered is subject to free disposal by
the testator

ART 889 - LEGITIME OF LEGITIMATE PARENTS OR ASCENDANTS

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ART 890 – Legitime reserved for the legitimate parents shall be divided between them equally.

- If one of the parents should have died, the whole shall pass to the survivor.
- Of the testator leaves neither father nor mother, but is survived by ascendants of equal degree
of the paternal and maternal lines, legitime shall be divided equally between both lines

Note: There is no representation in the ascending line

891 – RESERVA TRONCAL (LOOK AT MELA NOTES)

Reserva Maxima – the reserve should apply to the property that has been gratuitously acquired from
some other ascendant, brother or sister, that can be included within the legitime of the reservista, or
one half of the estate

Reserva Minima – property passing to the reservista must be considered as passing patly by operation of
law and partly by will of the descendant, and therefore, one half of the properties acquired gratuitously
by the descendant from another ascendant, or brother or sister should be reservable, and the other half
should be free.

ART 892 – If only one legitimate child or descendant of the deceased survives the widow or widower
shall be entitled to ONE-FOURTH of the hereditary estate

- In cases of legal separation, surviving spouse may still inherit if it was the deceased who had
given cause for the legal separation
- TWO OR MORE LEGITIMATE CHILDREN OR DESCENDANTS – spouse shall be entitled to a portion
EQUAL to the legitime of each of the legitimate children or descendants

Note: Legitime of the surviving spoue shall be taken from the portion that can be freely disposed of by
the testator.

Note: In terms of descendants in this article, the descendants succeed only in terms of representation,
hence, the number of children of the testator is to be taken still as the divisor and not the number of
descendants

ART 893 – NO LEGITIMATE CHILDREN BUT WITH LEGITIMATE ASCENDANTS AND SURVIVING SPOUSE

- The surviving spouse shall have a right to one fourth of the hereditary estate.

Note: The fourth shall also be taken from the free portion of the estate.

ART 894 – TESTATOR LEAVES ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN

- The surviving spouse shall be entitled to 1/3 of the hereditary estate

- The illegitimate children with the other 1/3
- The remaining 1/3 shall be at the free disposal of the testator

ART 895 – ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN LEGITIME

- ½ of each of the Legitimate children

- It shall be taken ffrom the portion of the estate at the free disposal of the testator, provided
that in no case shall the total legitime of such illegitimate children exceed that free portion

Note: The legitime of the surviving spouse must first be fully satisfied.
Note: in order to succeed, the filiation must be duly proved

Note: in case the legitime of the illegitimate children exceeds the free portion, the legitime is subject to
reduction

ART 896 – Illegitimate children who may have survive with legitimate parents or ascendants

- Illegitimate children are entitled to ¼ of the hereditary estate to be taken from the portion at
the free disposal of the testator
- Legitime of the legitimate parents or ascendants is one half of the estate.
- The remaining 1.4 remains for free disposal in this case.

ART 897 – WIDOW SURVIVES WITH LEGITIMATE CHILDREN OR DESCENDANTS AND ACKNOWLEDGED
NATURAL CHILDREN OR NATURAL CHILDREN BY LEGAL FICTION.

- Spouse be entitled to a portion equal to the legitime of each of the legitimate children
- Taken from that part of the estate which the testator can freely dispose of

ART 899 - Widow survives with legitimate ascendants and illegitimate children

- Spouse is entitled to 1/8 of the hereditary estate of the deceased whtich must be taken from the
free portion.
- Illegitimate children shall be entitled to ¼ of the estate which shall also be taken from the
disposable portion

ART 900 – SPOUSE

- Only surviving spouse, ½ of the hereditary estate.

- If marriage between surviving spouse and the testator was solemnized in articulo mortis, and
the testator died within three months, legitime shall be 1/3 of the hereditary estate.
EXCEPTION TO ARTICULO MORTIS?
1. When they have been living as husband and wife for more than 5 years. Legitime in this case
shall be that specified in the preceding paragraph

ART 901 – Illegitimate children without any compulsory heir

- Illegitimate children receive ½ of the hereditary estate of the deceased.

ART 902 – Rights of illegitimate children are set forth in the preceding article

- Right of representation to illegitimate children of an illegitimate child

 - The present article allows both the legitimate and the illegitimate descendants to represent the
illegitimate child who predeceases his own parent

903 – Illegitimate parents

- Illegitimate parents are compulsory heirs only when the latter does not have legitimate or
illegitimate children or descendants
- When the deceased has legitimate children or a descendants, even a legitimate parents is
excluded as a compulsory heir, WITH MORE REASON SHOULD AN ILLEGITIMATE PARENT BE
THUS EXCLUDED
- The presence of a surviving spouse, however, does not exclude the illegitimate parent as a
compulsory heir (ILLE PARENT GETS ¼ SAME AS THE SPOUSE, THE REMAINING HALF IS SUBJECT
TO FREE DISPOSAL OF THE TESTATOR)
- If the illegitimate parents are the only compulsory heir, they get ½ of the estate

Note: Illegitimate grandparents and other ascendants are not included

ART 904 – Testator cannot deprive the compulsory heir of their legitime, except in cases expressly
specified by law

- Legitime is a portion of inheritance which the testator cannot dispose, because the leaw has
reserved it for the compulsory heir.
- Neither can he reduce such legitime or impose any charges, burdens, conditions, or
substitutions thereon.

Exception:

1. Disinheritance

905

- Future legitime is merely an expectancy, and the heir does not inquire any right over the same
until the death of the testator.
- Hence juridically, there is nothing to renounce and nothing on which to compromise.
- Any violation of this would be null and void.

When the renunciation or compromise which is void has been made for valuable consideration, the
compulsory heir is bound to collate whatever he may have received from the testator for such
renunciation or compromise.

ART 906 – Any compulsory heir to whom the testator has left