A Testator CANNOT impose any CHARGE, CONDITION or SUBSTITUTION on the LEGITIME.

Otherwise, it
shall be considered as NOT IMPOSED.
>ONLY EXCEPTION! Testator can validly impose a condition NOT TO PARTITION the legitime for a
period of up to 20 years

IMPOSSIBLE CONDITIONS or those CONTRARY TO LAW OR GOOD CUSTOMS shall be considered as NOT
IMPOSED (testamentary disposition still takes place; only the condition is disregarded)
An ABSOLUTE CONDITION NOT TO MARRY is to be considered as NOT IMPOSED
EXCEPT! Imposed on the widow/widower OR the widow/widower of ascendants or descendants
of the decedent
Or if it is just the RIGHT OF USUFRUCT, OR AN ALLOWANCE, or some PERSONAL
PRESTATION
But take note!!! NO CONDITION, CHARGE, OR SUBSTITUTION CAN BE IMPOSED ON LEGITIME �
Order =/= condition
A condition must be clearly indicated to be such (there must be an intention of forfeiture if this is not
followed)
Disposition captatoria – void (THE DISPOSITION ITSELF IS VOID [not just the condition])

A disposition with a SUSPENSIVE TERM does NOT prevent the instituted heir from transmitting them to
his heirs even before the arrival of the term
A NEGATIVE POTESTATIVE CONDITION (not to do/give) – the instituted heir must give a security (caucion
muciana) to the ones who would otherwise receive the property if the condition were not complied
with; in case of contravention, he shall return whatever he has received, with its interests and fruits
Executor vs Administrator vs Administrator with a will annexed vs Special administrator
 If there is a WILL, and an executor is appointed therein, he is an EXECUTOR. Court issues LETTERS
TESTAMENTARY
 If there is NO WILL, court appoints an ADMINISTRATOR by issuing LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION
 If there IS A WILL, but no executor is appointed therein, an ADMINISTRATOR is appointed by
court through the issuance of LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION WITH A WILL ANNEXED (if more
than one wills, letters of administration with wills annexed)
 A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR – one appointed temporarily pending qualification of an executor or
appointment of an administrator

PREFERENCE IN ADMINISTRATION
1. Surviving spouse, or next of kin, or such other person as the surviving spouse or next of kin
requests to have appointed
2. Principal creditors
3. Any other person as the court may select
EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT
Requisites:
 If the decedent left NO DEBTS
 All the heirs are of age or all minors are represented
>parties may, without securing letters of administration, divide the estate among themselves as they see
fit by means of a
 Public instrument filed in the office of the Register of Deeds, and if they disagree, through an
ordinary action for partition
  If there is a SOLE HEIR, he may adjudicate to himself the entire estate by filing an AFFIDAVIT filed
in the Office of the Register of Deeds
 The parties shall SIMULTANEOUSLY file a BOND with the register of deeds for an amount
equivalent to the value
No extrajudicial settlement shall be binding on any person who has not participated therein or had
no notice thereof
Extrajudicial settlement applies BOTH in testate and intestate succession
Oral partition is VALID and BINDING as among the heirs
SUMMARY SETTLEMENT OF ESTATES WITH SMALL VALUE
-Estates with value up to P10,000 may, upon proper notice, be proceeded upon without the
appointment of an executor or administrator

MODAL INSTITUTION – NOT a condition unless it appears that such was his intention
 Object of the institution
 Application of property
 Charge imposed
-immediately demandable, provided security is given for the compliance of the wishes of the testator
-violation thereof would result in the return of anything he received, as well as its fruits and interests
-analogous or substantial compliance is sufficient

Institutions with a term (suspensive or resolutory) – VALID

-in case of suspensive conditions, the LEGAL HEIR shall be called to the succession BEFORE the
term arrives, but shall not enter into the possession of the same until he shall have given sufficient
security with the intervention of the instituted heir (otherwise, the possession shall go to the next legal
heir, if he/she gives the security)

LEGITIME
DEF. That portion of the testator’s property which he cannot dispose of because the law has reserved it
for certain heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs

-testator cannot deprive the heirs of their legitime, except in cases specified by law
-neither can he impose upon the legitime any burden, condition, substitution, encumbrance, of any
whatsoever, except the condition not to divide the property for up to 20 years
-even donations inter vivos may be reduced if found inofficious (exceeded the free portion)

COMPULSORY HEIRS:
1. Legitimate children or descendants, with respect to the legitimate parents or ascendants
2. In default of the foregoing, the legitimate parents or ascendants, with respect to their legitimate
children or descendants
3. Surviving spouse
4. Acknowledged natural children or natural children by legal fiction
5. Other illegitimate children
>nos 3,4,5 are not excluded by nos 1 and 2, and they do not exclude each other (they can all co-inherit)

RULES ON SHARES OF THE LEGITIMES

General rules:
 Legitimate children/descendants or legitimate parents/ascendants get ½ of the ENTIRE estate
(divided among themselves)
  Share of surviving spouse = share of one legitimate child (if more than one legitimate child)
 Share of illegitimate children = ½ of share of one legitimate child
 Relative nearest in degree (other than those above) excludes the more distant ones

Specifics
Legitimate children only ½ of the estate (divided among the number of
children)
Legitimate parents/ascendants only ½ of the estate (divided among themselves)
*if there are no legitimate parents, entire share is
given to the legitimate ascendants of the nearest
degree to the testator, either on the
paternal/maternal line
*if there are ascendants of equal degrees both in
the maternal and paternal line, they all share
equally in the ½
Legitimate children AND legitimate parents ONLY the LEGITIMATE CHILDREN get ½ (parents
present excluded)
Legitimate child and surviving spouse Legitimate child – ½
Surviving spouse – ¼

Legitimate children and surviving spouse Legitimate children – ½ (divided among

themselves)
Surviving spouse – share of one child
Legitimate ascendants and surviving spouse Legitimate ascendants – ½
Surviving spouse – ¼
Surviving spouse and illegitimate children Surviving spouse – 1/3
Illegitimate children – 1/3
Legitimate ascendants and illegitimate child Legitimate ascendants – ½
Illegitimate child – ¼
Legitimate children, surviving spouse, and Legitimate children – ½ (divided among
illegitimate children themselves)
Surviving spouse – share of one legitimate child
Illegitimate children – ½ of share of a legitimate
child
*note: if estate is not sufficient, prioritize the
shares of the legitimate children and the
surviving spouse. The remainder is then divided
among the illegitimate children
Legitimate parents, surviving spouse, and Legitimate parents – ½
illegitimate children Surviving spouse – 1/8
Illegitimate children – ¼ (divided among
themselves)
Surviving spouse only ½ or 1/3(if married in articulo mortis and spouse
died within 3 months after marriage, except if
they have been living as husband and wife for
more than five years)
Illegitimate children only ½
If the TESTATOR is an illegitimate child Parent only – ½
Parent and legitimate/illegitimate children of the
testator – parent gets nothing
Parent and surviving spouse of the illegitimate
testator – parent gets ¼ and spouse gets the
other ¼

RESERVA TRONCAL
Parties:
 Origin – the ascendant from whom the descendant acquired the subject property by
GRATUITOUS TITLE
 Propositus – the descendant who died
 Reservista – the ascendant who inherited from the descendant by OPERATION OF LAW
(legitime/legal succession)
Principle:
 Origin transmitted GRATUITOUSLY particular property to the propositus (donation/succession)
 Propositus died, transmitting the same property BY OPERATION OF LAW (through intestate
succession or, if testate, the legitime thereof) to the reservista
 Reservista is now required by law to RESERVE the same property for the ascendants of the
propositus in the line of the origin, up to the third degree (counted from the propositus)
o This means that the reservista owns the property only until death, and when he dies, the
same shall be transmitted to the ascendants of the same line as the origin
The reservable character of the property must be annotated in the Register of Deeds so that it may not
be lost to an innocent purchaser for value

Reserva troncal applies only to the same property inherited from the origin

Reservor is likened to a vendee a retro of the reservable property. He may alienate it subject to the
reservation

Q: May a reservor ALIENATE the reserva?

A: YES, but without prejudice to the rights of the reservees, depending on the nature of the reserva
alienated:
 PERSONAL PROPERTY: reimbursement by the estate of the reservor to the reservees for
the value of the property alienated
 REAL PROPERTY: reservation (they can recover from the transferee, without prejudice to
the Land Registration Act and Mortgage Law; that is, their right may be defeated by an
innocent purchaser for value. In this case, the estate must reimburse the reservees for
the value of the said property)

Duty of the reservista (re: real property) is to annotate the same in the Registry of Property within 90
DAYS from ACCEPTANCE or AWARD OF COURT
If he doesn’t comply, remedy of the reservees are:
 To compel the reservista to make the annotation; OR
 To demand that a mortgage be constituted for their security

Reservees must be LEGITIMATE RELATIVES of the origin and the reservoir. The rule of “nearer excludes
the farther” applies

ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN have the RIGHT OF REPRESENTATION with respect to their legitimate and
illegitimate descendants
LEGITIMATE CHILDREN DOES NOT have the right of representation with respect to their illegitimate
children

Remedy of compulsory heirs who get less than their legitime from the testator
-action for COMPLETION or SATISFACTION OF THE LEGITIME
As compared to preterition, where the preterited compulsory heir gets NOTHING in the will (here the
remedy is to ask for the annulment of the institution of heirs)

Remedy of the compulsory heir whose legitime has been impaired because of inofficious or excessive
dispositions
>Reduction of Inofficious Testamentary Disposition

How to compute the value of the legitime

LEGITIME = Value of property left at death of decedent – Debts and Charges + Value all COLLATIONABLE
donations at time of donation
Note: value of property left at death – debts and charges shall not be less than zero (debts and
charges can only be deducted to the extent of the value of the inheritance)

From where the donations (inter vivos) must be charged:

 Donations to children – charged against their legitimes (collationable)
 Donations to strangers – charged against the free disposal (collationable, Liguez vs CA)
 Donations to illegitimate children – charged against their legitimes (collationable)

Art. 911 Order of Preference in the Hereditary Estate

1. Legitime
2. Donations inter vivos
3. Preferred legacies and devises
4. All other legacies and devises pro rata, without distinguishing (if free disposal is insufficient)

Art. 950 Order of payment of legacies and devises (if estate is insufficient to pay all of them) RPSESA
1. Remuneratory legacies or devises
2. Those declared by the testator as preferential
3. Legacies for support
4. Legacies for education
5. Legacies or devises of a specific, determinate thing
6. All other legacies or devises
NOTE: Art. 911 applies only if aside from the legacies, there are legitimes to be preserved. Art. 950
applies only if there are no compulsory heirs or no inofficious donations.

Rule on Legacies or Devises of Usufructs or Life Annuities

>if such EXCEEDS the free disposal portion of the testator, the compulsory heirs have the option to
either:
a. Comply with the usufruct/annuity; or
b. Delivering to the legatee/devisee that part of the inheritance of which the testator can freely
dispose (i.e. giving him the cash equivalent of the usufruct/annuity, up to the free disposal
amount)

How to reduce inofficious DEVISES

>if the devise of real property cannot be conveniently divided, then
 If the reduction does not absorb one-half of the its value, it shall belong to the DEVISEE
 Otherwise, it shall belong to the COMPULSORY HEIRS
o Provided! That the parties shall reimburse each other in cash for what respectively
belongs to them
 If reduction is EXACTLY ONE HALF OF ITS VALUE, still belongs to DEVISEE

DISINHERITANCE – the act, through testamentary disposition, of depriving in a will a compulsory heir of
his legitime for true and lawful causes
 Can only be effected IN A WILL where the legal cause therefor has been specified

Requisites for Disinheritance (MEN TITLES)

1. Made in a valid will
2. Made EXPRESSLY
3. Will must NOT BE REVOKED
4. Must be TOTAL OR COMPLETE
5. Heir disinherited must be clearly IDENTIFIED
6. Must be for a TRUE CAUSE
7. Must be for a LEGAL CAUSE
8. Must be for an EXISTING CAUSE
9. The cause must be STATED IN THE WILL ITSELF

Burden of proving the cause of disinheritance – the other heirs, if the disinherited heir should deny it

INEFFECTIVE DISINHERITANCE
 NO CAUSE SPECIFIED
 NOT TRUE CAUSE
 NOT LEGAL CAUSE
 SUBSEQUENT RECONCILIATION
Effects of ineffective reconciliation:
1. Institution of heirs is ANNULED insofar as it may prejudice the person disinherited
2. Devises and legacies and other testamentary dispositions shall be valid insofar as it does not
impair the legitime
NOTE: This rule is different from preterition in that in this case, the institution of heirs will remain valid,
but REDUCED only insofar as it prejudices the legitime of the ineffectively disinherited heir
>If the free portion is not disposed of, the ineffectively disinherited heir also receives his intestate share
thereof

CAUSES FOR DISINHERITANCE OF CHILDREN/DESCENDANTS (AAA FRM DC)

1. Found guilty of an ATTEMPT AGAINST THE LIFE OF THE TESTATOR, his spouse, ascendants, or
descendants
2. ACCUSED the testator of a crime which the law prescribes a penalty of imprisonment for six
years or more and it is found GROUNDLESS
3. Convicted of ADULTERY OR CONCUBINAGE with the spouse of the testator
4. By fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence, causes the testator to make a will or to
change one already made
5. Refuses without justifiable cause to support the parent or ascendant
6. Maltreatment of the testator by word or by deed
7. If the child leads a dishonorable or disgraceful life
8. CONVICTION OF A CRIME with a penalty of CIVIL INTERDICTION

CAUSES FOR DISINHERITANCE OF A PARENT OR ASCENDANT (Aia AAA FLRA)

1. Abandonment, induced their daughters to live a corrupt or immoral life, or attempted against
their virtue
2. Convicted of an Attempt against the life of the testator, his spouse, descendants or ascendants
3. ACCUSED the testator of a crime for which the law prescribes a penalty of SIX YEARS or more,
and is FALSE
4. Convicted of ADULTERY or CONCUBINAGE with the spouse of the testator
5. Through Fraud, violence, intimidation or undue influence, causes the testator to make a will or
change one already made
6. Loses his parental authority for any reason specified by the Code
7. Refusal to support the testator, without justifiable cause
8. An attempt by one of the parents against the life of the other, unless there has been a
reconciliation between them

CAUSES FOR DISINHERITING A SPOUSE (AAF LLR)

1. ATTEMPT AGAINST THE LIFE of the testator, his spouse, ascendants or descendants
2. ACCUSED THE TESTATOR of a crime for which the law prescribes a penalty of imprisonment of
SIX MONTHS OR MORE, and is found FALSE
3. Through FRAUD, INTIMIDATION, VIOLENCE, OR UNDUE INFLUENCE, he causes the testator to
make a will or to change one already made
4. Grounds for LEGAL SEPARATION
5. Grounds for LOSS OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY
6. Unjustifiable REFUSAL to SUPPORT the children or the other spouse

Subsequent reconciliation deprives a person the right to disinherit, and RENDERS INEFFECTUAL any
disinheritance that may have been made

RULE if the ground for disinheritance is also a ground for unworthiness, and there is subsequent
reconciliation
1. If the ground for unworthiness is also the ground invoked for disinheritance, the mere fact of
reconciliation extinguishes the unworthiness; no written document is required
 2. If the ground for unworthiness is not made the ground for disinheritance, or no disinheritance
was made, the mere reconciliation does not extinguish the unworthiness WITHOUT a WRITTEN
INSTRUMENT of condonation

How disinheritance is revoked

1. Reconciliation
2. Instituting the disinherited heir as an heir in a subsequent will

Note: the children and descendants of the disinherited child/descendant may REPRESENT the
disinherited heir with respect to his LEGITIME

LEGACIES AND DEVISES

A testator may charge his compulsory heirs, legatees and devisees with legacies and devises. Provided:
 Compulsory heirs are charged – only to the extent that his legitime is not impaired (only up to
the free portion)
 Legatees/devisees are charged – only to the extent of the value of the legacy/devise given to
them

Heirs who take possession of the estate shall be SOLIDARILY LIABLE in case of loss or destruction of the
thing to be devised or bequeathed

An heir who is bound to deliver a legacy or devise of an INDETERMINATE THING OR INDICATED ONLY BY
ITS KIND, he is LIABLE FOR EVICTION

Legacy or devise of a part interest

G.R. Testator can only give the part he owns
EXCEPT! If the testator expressly states that the whole thing shall be given

Legacy or devise of a thing not owned by the testator

G.R. it shall be VOID if the testator ERRONEOUSLY BELIEVED that it was his
EXCEPT! If afterwards (before death) it becomes his, then the disposition shall take effect
IF THE TESTATOR KNOWS THAT THE THING BEQUEATHED OR DEVISED DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM
>VALID; it shall be acquired by the estate or heir and given to the legatee or devisee
>EXCEPT! If the owner refuses to sell the thing, or demands an excessive price therefor, the
legatee may demand the JUST VALUE thereof

Rule if the recipient is already the owner of the thing bequeathed

 If he already owns the thing at the time the will is EXECUTED, the legacy/devise is VOID, even if it
is subsequently alienated by him
 If he acquires it SUBSEQUENT to the time of execution,
o Gratuitously – he can claim nothing from the legacy/devise
o Onerously – he can claim reimbursement of the value of the thing

Rule if thing bequeathed is pledged or mortgaged

  Estate must free the same from mortgages, pledges, or any other encumbrances to secure a
recoverable debt (before or after the execution of the will)
 Estate does not have to free any other encumbrance (e.g. usufruct, lease, etc.)

Legacy of a Credit or Remission

 Legacy of Credit: shall be valid only as regards that part that exists at the time of death of the
testator
 Legacy of Remission – valid only as regards that remains at the time of death of the testator
EXCEPT! IF the testator, after making the legacy, institutes an ACTION against the debtor for the
PAYMENT of the debt, the legacy shall LAPSE

ALTERNATIVE LEGACIES OR DEVISES

Right of choice – the one obliged to give the legacy/devise
>if he dies before making the choice, the right of choice shall be transmitted to his (the one
giving the legacy) heirs
>a choice, once made, is irrevocable

LEGACY OR DEVISE OF GENERIC PROPERTY

 GENERIC PERSONAL PROPERTY – valid even if the estate has no things of its kind at time of death
 GENERIC REAL PROPERTY – valid ONLY IF there is real property of such class in the estate at time
of death