Q. Few years after my mother died, my father passed away in the Philippines. He left four (4) parcels of land in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. There are five of us siblings who will inherit from the property. I am the eldest. My other four siblings as well as my step-mother asserts that we should divide the estate equally and avoid litigation as to who should get the bigger share of the estate.
What I know, is that my stepmother and my father did not marry. Therefore my four (4) siblings are considered as illegitimate children. As you mentioned in your previous column. If I may recall, a legitimate child is entitled to a bigger sharing compared to a illegitimate child.
My father did not leave any WILL to aid us in the distribution and partition of the estate. Considering that the property is in the Philippines and my half siblings are in the Philippines, I find it difficult to address the situation and to agree with the proposed partition.
Confounding this problem is the preference of my stepmother to share in the inheritance as well. Through your column may I ask your assistance and advice in how to distribute the estate and the extent of sharing among us siblings including the share of my stepmother?
Your column has helped a lot of our kababayans in Canada. Keep doing the good job. Thank you!! Santos of London.
A. Under the law on Intestate succession, only compulsory heirs of the deceased are entitled to inherit from his or her estate. Other relatives may inherit only upon default or absence of the compulsory heirs. Under the Civil Code, compulsory heirs include the surviving spouse and the children whether legitimate or illegitimate.
In the case of your family, the compulsory heirs are only you and your half-brothers. Your stepmother, being unmarried with your deceased father cannot be considered as a surviving spouse. Therefore she is not entitled to receive a share from the estate of your father.
Under the provision Articles 983 and 895 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, as amended, it is the considered view of this corner that pursuant to the concurrence provisions of the law, the share of illegitimate children is equivalent to one-fourth of the share of the legitimate child. Thus, the remaining three-fourth (3/4) of the estate should go to you.
As to the question of how to go about the division of the property, there are two ways of doing it. The first is by means of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate or out of court settlement and the other is Judicial Settlement of Estate. Extrajudicial settlement is usually resorted to when the deceased left no Will, debt and all the heirs are of legal age and the heirs have voluntarily agreed to partition the estate without going to court. The judicial Settlement on the other hand, is the opposite. This is resorted when the heirs cannot agree on the sharing or where the deceased left a will or the presence of debtors or adverse claimants on the estate. This route is adversarial and expensive.
In either case, it is suggested that you confer with the professional services of a lawyer in the Philippines, who could provide you with professional assistance to protect and uphold your rights under the law. Thank you for writing and good luck.
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