QUESTION 1

In testamentary succession, what are the different combinations of survival and concurrence
of compulsory heirs and their respective legitimes?

In testamentary succession, the different combinations of survival and concurrence of compulsory

heirs and the amount of their legitimes are as follows:
1. Legitimate children: 1/2 of the estate, in equal portions, whether they survive alone or with
concurring compulsory heirs. (Art. 888, CC)
2. One legitimate child and the surviving spouse: legitimate children, 1/2 of the estate; the
surviving spouse, 1/4 of the estate. (Arts. 888 and 892, par. 1, CC)
3. Legitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate children, in equal portions, 1/2 of the
estate; the surviving spouse, a share equal to that of each child. (Arts. 888 and 892, par. 2, CC)
4. Legitimate children and illegitimate children: legitimate children, in equal portions, 1/2 of the
estate; each illegitimate child, 1/2 the share of each legitimate child (Art. 888, Civil Code; Art.
176, Family Code; Art. 892, par 1, Civil Code)
5. One legitimate child, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate child, 1/2 of the
estate; each illegitimate child, 1/2 the share of each legitimate child; the surviving spouse, 1/4 of
the estate. (Art. 888, Civil Code; Art. 176, Family Code; Art. 892, par. 1, Civil Code)
(NOTE: The surviving spouse and the illegitimate children get their legitimes from the free
portion, the share of the surviving spouse having preference over those of the illegitimate children,
whose share may suffer reduction pro rata because there is no preference among themselves. [Art
895, Civil Code)
6. Legitimate children, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate children, in equal
portions, 1/2 of the estate; illegitimate children, 1/2 the share of each legitimate child; surviving
spouse, share equal to that of a legitimate child (Arts. 892, par. 2 and 898, CC Art. 176, F C)
7. Legitimate parents: 1/2 of the estate, whether they survive alone or with concurring compulsory
heirs. (Art. 898, CC)
8. Legitimate parents and illegitimate children: legitimate parents, 1/2 of the estate; illegitimate
children, in equal shares, 1/4 of the estate (Arts. 889 and 896, CC)

9. Legitimate parents and surviving spouse: legitimate parents, 1/2 of the estate; surviving spouse,
1/4 of the estate (Arts. 889 and 893, CC)
10. Legitimate parents, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate parents, 1/2 of
the estate; illegitimate children, in equal shares, 1/4 of the estate; surviving spouse, 1/8 of the estate
(Arts. 889, 896 and 899, CC)
11. Illegitimate children alone: 1/2 of the estate (Art. 901, CC) to be divided equally among
themselves.
12. Illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: illegitimate children, in equal portions, 1/3 of
the estate; surviving spouse, 1/3 of the estate (Art. 894, CC)
13. Surviving spouse alone: 1/2 of the estate; 1/3 if marriage is in articulo mortis and deceased
spouse dies within three months after marriage; or 1/2 if, despite marriage in articulo mortis and
death of the spouse within three months after marriage, the deceased and the surviving spouse have
been living as husband and wife for more than five years (Art. 900, CC)
14. Illegitimate parents alone: 1/2 of the estate (Art. 903, CC)
15. Illegitimate parents and children of any class: illegitimate parents, none (Art. 903, CC);
children (legitimate and/or illegitimate), apply Nos. 1, 4 and 11 as the case may be.
16. Illegitimate parents and surviving spouse: illegitimate parents, 1/4 of the estate; surviving
spouse, 1/4 of the estate (Art. 903, CC)
QUESTION 2
In intestate succession, what are the different combinations of survival and concurrence of
intestate heirs and the amount of their intestate shares?
In intestate succession, the different combinations of survival and concurrence of intestate of heirs
and the amount of their intestate shares are as follows:
1. Legitimate children: entire estate to be divided in equal shares as there are legitimate children.
(Art. 980, Civil Code)
2. One legitimate child and the surviving spouse: legitimate child, 1/2 of the estate; surviving
spouse, 1/2 of the estate. (Arts. 888 and 996, Civil Code)
(NOTE: If there is only one legitimate child concurring with the surviving spouse, and there are
no other relatives, both will get equal intestate shares, in accordance with the clear intent of the
law to consider the spouse as a child. After all, the plural word “children” as used in Article 996
of the Civil Code must be deemed to include the singular word “child”)
3. Two or more legitimate children and the surviving spouse: consider the surviving spouse as a
legitimate child and divide the estate by the total number (Art. 996, Civil Code)
4. Legitimate children and illegitimate children: estate to be divided in proportion of two shares
for each legitimate child and one share for each illegitimate child; provided legitimes of legitimate
children are not impaired. (Arts. 983 and 985, Civil Code)
(NOTE: The shares of the illegitimate children should be taken only from the free portion,
otherwise, the legitimate of legitimate children would be prejudiced if there were so many
illegitimate children.)
5. One legitimate child, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate child, 1/2 of the
estate (Art.888, Civil Code); surviving spouse, 1/4 of the estate; each illegitimate child, 1/2 the
share of the legitimate child. If there be any left, distribute the remainder according to the ratio of
two shares for the legitimate child, two shares for the surviving spouse, and one share for each
illegitimate child (applying by analogy Arts. 892, par. 1, and 895, par. 3, Civil Code)
6. Two or more legitimate children, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: divide the
estate according to the ratio of two shares for each legitimate child; two shares for the surviving
spouse; and one share for each illegitimate child. (Art. 999, Civil Code)
7. Legitimate parents alone: entire estate (Art. 985, Civil Code)
8. Legitimate parents and illegitimate children: legitimate parents, 1/2 of the estate; illegitimate
children, in equal shares, 1/2 of the estate (Art. 991, Civil Code)
9. Legitimate parents and the surviving spouse: legitimate parents, 1/2 of the estate; the surviving
spouse, 1/2 of the estate (Art. 997, Civil Code)
10. Legitimate parents, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: legitimate parents, 1/2 of
the estate; illegitimate children, in equal shares, 1/4 of the estate; surviving spouse, 1/4 of the estate
(Arts. 896 and 1000, Civil Code)
11. Illegitimate children alone: entire estate (Art. 988, Civil Code)
12. Illegitimate children and the surviving spouse: illegitimate children, in equal portions, 1/2 of
the estate, the surviving spouse, 1/2 of the estate (Art. 998, Civil Code)
13. Surviving spouse alone: entire estate (Art. 995, Civil Code)
14. Illegitimate parents alone: entire estate (Art. 993, Civil Code)
(NOTE: illegitimate parents inherit ab intestato only in default of legitimate or illegitimate
descendants of the deceased)
15. Illegitimate parents and children of any class: illegitimate parents, none (Art. 993, Civil Code);
children (legitimate and/or illegitimate), apply Nos. 1 (for legitimate children), 6 (for both
legitimate and illegitimate children), and 11 (for illegitimate children) as the case may be.
16. Illegitimate parents and the surviving spouse: illegitimate parents, 1/2 of the estate; surviving
spouse, 1/2 of the estate.
(NOTE: While Article 997 of the Civil Code provides for the share of the surviving spouse
concurring with legitimate parents of the decedent (where the former gets one-half of the intestate
estate, and the latter get the other half), there is no article providing for the share in intestacy of
the surviving spouse when concurring with illegitimate parents of the deceased. In spite of this
omission, however, the surviving spouse should in such case get one-half of the estate, and the
other half should go to the illegitimate parents. If that is the share of the surviving spouse
concurring with illegitimate parents, certainly such share cannot be less when he/she concurs with
illegitimate parents. In other words, if the legitimate parents get only one-half of the estate when
concurring with the surviving spouse of the decedent, the illegitimate parents, who should have
less rights, cannot be entitled to more than one-half in the same situation)
17. Brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces: entire estate. (Art. 1003, Civil Code)
18. Surviving spouse and brothers, sisters, nephew and nieces: surviving spouse, 1/2 of the estate;
brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, in equal shares (except representation if proper), 1/2 of
the estate (Art. 1001, Civil Code)
19. Collateral relatives (up to 5th degree): entire estate (Art. 1010, Civil Code)
20. State: entire estate (Art. 1011, Civil Code)

QUESTION 3

What are some of the important rules in intestate succession?

The following are some of the important rules in intestate succession:
1. Principle of preference of lines: Relatives of the decedent in the direct descending line exclude
those in the ascending and collateral lines, while relatives of the decedent in the ascending line
exclude those in the collateral line. Therefore, collateral relatives of the decedent inherit only in
the absence of descendants or ascendants of the deceased.
(NOTE: If deceased is legitimate, the principle of preference of lines is not absolute in the sense
that legitimate parents are excluded only by legitimate children of the deceased. On the other hand,
if the deceased is illegitimate, the principle becomes absolute in the sense that illegitimate parents
are excluded by descendants of the deceased, whether legitimate or illegitimate)
2. Principle of proximity: Relatives of the decedent nearest in degree exclude the more remote
ones, saving the right of representation when it properly takes place. This is because by virtue of
representation, the farther relative becomes just as near. (par. 1, Art. 962, Civil Code)
3. Principle of concurrence of compulsory heirs: All compulsory heirs are intestate heirs. As a
rule, they are never excluded from the inheritance. Not all intestate heirs are compulsory heirs, as
in the case of collateral relatives who inherit only in the absence of descendants or ascendants of
the deceased, whether legitimate or illegitimate.
4. Principle of representation: The right of representation takes place in the direct descending line,
but never in the ascending line. In the collateral line, the right of representation takes place only in
favor of children of brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood. (Art. 972, Civil Code)
5. Grandchildren always inherit by right of representation, provided representation is proper. (Art.
982, Civil Code) Whenever all children of the deceased repudiate the inheritance, the
grandchildren inherit in their own right, for here representation is no longer proper.
6. Collateral Line. Nephews and nieces of the deceased inherit either in their own right or by right
of representation. They inherit in their own right only if they do not concur with an uncle or an
aunt; they inherit by right of representation when they inherit with an uncle or an aunt.
7. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate relatives of his father
or mother; neither shall such relatives inherit from the illegitimate child. This is the so-called “iron
curtain” rule in succession -- the barrier between the legitimate and illegitimate families of the
deceased.
8. Should brothers and sisters of the full-blood survive together with brothers and sisters of the
half-blood, the former shall be entitled to a share double that of the latter. (Art. 1006, Civil Code)
9. Should there be more than one ascendant of equal degree belonging to the same line, they shall
divide the inheritance per capita; should there be of different lines but of equal degree, one-half
shall go to the paternal and the other half to the maternal ascendants. In each line the division shall
be made per capita. (Art. 987, par 2, Civil Code)
10. A renouncer can represent, but cannot be represented. (Arts. 976 and 977, Civil Code)

QUESTION 4

When is accretion proper?

There is no accretion insofar as the legitime is concerned. Accretion, if it takes place, concerns
only the free disposal of the testator. (par. 1, Art. 1021, Civil Code) Should the part repudiated be
the legitime, the other compulsory heirs shall succeed to it in their own right and not by right of
representation. (Art. 1921, par. 2, Civil Code) In intestate succession, accretion is proper only in
cases of repudiation and incapacity of an heir, but not in case when an heir predeceases the
decedent. In such a case, the other intestate heirs inherit the share of the deceased heir in their own
right.

QUESITON 5
T executed a will instituting his three legitimate children, A, B and C as his sole heirs -- A, to
inherit ½ of the free portion; B, ¼ of the free portion; and C, ¼ of the free portion. However,
B and C were both killed in an accident days before the testator’s death. The testator died a
few days later without changing his will. B is survived by his legitimate children, D, E, F, and
G; while C is survived by his legitimate children, H and I. The net remainder of the estate is
P48,000. How shall the estate be divided among the heirs?
If the instituted heirs - A, B and C - were living at the time of T’s death and they could all inherit,
the division of the inheritance would have been as follows:

A P 8,000 as compulsory heir

P12,000 as voluntary heir

B P 8,000 as compulsory heir