Republic Act No.

386
The Civil Code of the Philippines

Chapter 3
Legal or Intestate Succession
Presentor: Bryen N. Garcia &
Daisy Rey Dayondon
Section 1. - General Provisions
Art. 960. Legal or intestate succession takes place.
(1) If a person dies without a will, or with a void will, or
one which has subsequently lost its validity;
Art. 961. In default of testamentary heirs, the law vests the inheritance, in accordance with the rules hereinafter
set forth, in the legitimate and illegitimate relatives of the deceased, in the surviving spouse, and in the State.
Art. 962. In every inheritance, the relative nearest in degree
excludes the more distant ones, saving the right of
representation when it properly takes place.
Subsection 1. - Relationship

Art. 963. Proximity of relationship is determined by the number of

generations. Each generation forms a degree.

Art. 964. A series of degrees forms a line, which may be either direct or
collateral.
Art. 965. The direct line is either descending or ascending.

Art. 966. In the line, as many degrees are counted as there

are generations or persons, excluding the progenitor.
Art. 967. Full blood relationship is that existing
between persons who have the same father
and the same mother.
Art. 968. If there are several relatives of the same
degree, and one or some of them are unwilling his
portion shall accrue to the others of the same degree.
• Art. 969. If the inheritance should be repudiated by
the nearest relative, should there be one only, or by
all the nearest relatives called by law to succeed.
 Subsection 2. Right of Representation

Art. 970. Representation is a right created by fiction of law,

by virtue of which the representative is raised to the place
and the degree of the person represented.
• Art. 971. The representative is called to the succession
by the law and not by the person represented.
Art. 972. The right of representation takes place in
the direct descending line, but never in the
ascending.
Art. 973. In order that representation may take place,
it is necessary that the representative himself be
capable of succeeding the decedent.
• Art. 974. Whenever there is succession by
representation, the division of the estate shall be made
per stirpes.
Art. 975. When children of one or more brothers or sisters
of the deceased survive, they shall inherit from the latter by
representation.
Art. 976. A person may represent him whose
inheritance he has renounced.

Art. 977. Heirs who repudiate their share may not be

represented.
 Section 2
Order of Intestate Succession
 Subsection 1. - Descending Direct Line

Art. 978. Succession pertains, in the first place,

to the descending direct line.
Art. 979. Legitimate children and their descendants
succeed the parents and other ascendants, without
distinction as to sex or age, and even if they should come
from different marriages.
Art. 980. The children of the deceased shall always inherit
from him in their own right, dividing the inheritance in equal
shares.
• Art. 981. Should children of the deceased and
descendants of other children who are dead, survive, the
former shall inherit in their own right.
Art. 982. The grandchildren and other descendants shall
inherit by right of representation, and if any one of them
should have died, leaving several heirs.
Art. 983. If illegitimate children survive with legitimate
children, the shares of the former shall be in the proportions
prescribed by Article 895.
Art. 984. In case of the death of an adopted child, leaving
no children or descendants, his parents and relatives by
consanguinity and not by adoption, shall be his legal heirs.
 Subsection 2. - Ascending Direct Line

Art. 985. In default of legitimate children and descendants

of the deceased, his parents and ascendants shall inherit
from him, to the exclusion of collateral relatives.
Art. 986. The father and mother, if living, shall inherit in
equal shares.Should one only of them survive, he or she
shall succeed to the entire estate of the child.
Art. 987. In default of the father and mother, the ascendants
nearest in degree shall inherit.
 Subsection 3. - Illegitimate Children

Art. 988. In the absence of legitimate descendants or

ascendants, the illegitimate children shall succeed to
the entire estate of the deceased. (939a)
• Art. 989. If, together with illegitimate children, there
should survive descendants of another illegitimate child
who is dead, the former shall succeed in their own right
and the latter by right of representation.
Art. 990. Illegitimate children shall be transmitted upon
their death to their descendants, who shall inherit by right of
representation from their deceased grandparent.
• Art. 991. If legitimate ascendants are left, the illegitimate
children shall divide the inheritance with them, taking one-
half of the estate, whatever be the number of the
ascendants or of the illegitimate children.
Art. 992. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab
intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of his
father or mother.
• Art. 993. If an illegitimate child should die without issue,
either legitimate or illegitimate, his father or mother shall
succeed to his entire estate.
Art. 994.
In default of the father or mother, an illegitimate child shall
be succeeded by his or her surviving spouse who shall be
entitled to the entire estate.
 Subsection 4. - Surviving Spouse

Art. 995. In the absence of legitimate descendants and

ascendants, and illegitimate children and their descendants,
whether legitimate or illegitimate, the surviving spouse shall
inherit the entire estate.
• Art. 996. If a widow or widower and legitimate children or
descendants are left, the surviving spouse has in the
succession the same share as that of each of the
children.
• Art. 996. If a widow or widower and legitimate children or
descendants are left, the surviving spouse has in the
succession the same share as that of each of the
children.
Art. 997. When the widow or widower survives with
legitimate parents or ascendants, the surviving spouse shall
be entitled to one-half of the estate, and the legitimate
parents or ascendants to the other half.
• Art. 998. If a widow or widower survives with illegitimate
children, such widow or widower shall be entitled to one-
half of the inheritance,and whether legitimate or
illegitimate, also entitled to the other half.
Art. 999. When the widow or widower survives with
legitimate children or their descendants and illegitimate
children or their descendants, whether legitimate or
illegitimate, shall be entitled to the same share.
• Art. 1000. If legitimate ascendants, the surviving spouse,
and illegitimate children are left, the ascendants shall be
entitled to one-half of the inheritance.
Art. 1001. Should brothers and sisters or their children
survive with the widow or widower, the latter shall be
entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and
sisters or their children to the other half.
• Art. 1002. In case of a legal separation, if the surviving
spouse gave cause for the separation, he or she shall not
have any of the rights granted in the preceding articles.
 Subsection 5. - Collateral Relatives

Art. 1003. If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate

children, or a surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall succeed
to the entire estate of the deceased
• Art. 1004. Should the only survivors be brothers and
sisters of the full blood, they shall inherit in equal shares.
(947)
Art. 1005. Should brothers and sisters survive together with
nephews and nieces, who are the children of the decedent's
brothers and sisters of the full blood, the former shall inherit.
• Art. 1006. Should brother 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. 1007. In case brothers and sisters of the half blood,
some on the father's and some on the mother's side, are
the only survivors, all shall inherit in equal shares.
Art. 1008. Children of brothers and sisters of the half blood
shall succeed per capita or per stirpes, in accordance with
the rules laid down for the brothers and sisters of the full
blood.
Art. 1009. Should there be neither brothers nor sisters nor
children of brothers or sisters, the other collateral relatives
shall succeed to the estate.
• Art. 1010. The right to inherit shall not extend beyond the
fifth degree of relationship in the collateral line.
 Subsection 6. The State

Art. 1011. In default of persons entitled to succeed in

accordance with the provisions of the preceding Sections,
the State shall inherit the whole estate.
• Art. 1012. In order that the State may take possession of
the property mentioned in the preceding article, the
pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court must be
observed.
Art. 1013. After the payment of debts and charges, the personal
property shall be assigned to the municipality or city.
Art. 1014. If a person legally entitled to the estate of the
deceased appears and files a claim thereto with the court
within five years from the date the property was delivered to
the State
 THANK YOU
&
GOD BLESS

Presentor:
Bryen N. Garcia &
Daisy Rey Dayondon