Disinheritance Rights of Children by a Surviving Parent in the Philippines

This article explains whether—and how—a surviving parent may disinherit a child under Philippine law, and the limits imposed by the Civil Code, the Family Code, and related principles of succession. It is general information, not legal advice.

Big-picture answer

A surviving parent cannot unilaterally disinherit a child from the deceased parent’s estate. Disinheritance is a testamentary act that must be made by the decedent in a valid will and only for grounds expressly provided by law.
What the surviving parent can do is dispose of their own exclusive or conjugal/absolute community share (subject to the children’s legitimes), but not the deceased spouse’s share—unless the deceased left a valid will authorizing dispositions consistent with legitimes and the law.

Key concepts you must know

1) Compulsory heirs and legitimes

Philippine law protects certain heirs—called compulsory heirs—by reserving minimum shares (legitimes) that cannot be impaired by gifts or testamentary dispositions.

Compulsory heirs in the direct descending line: legitimate children and descendants; illegitimate children (with a smaller legitime than legitimate children); and, in the absence of descendants, legitimate parents/ascendants.
The surviving spouse is also a compulsory heir and takes a legitime that varies depending on who co-exists with them (e.g., with legitimate children, the spouse’s legitime is generally equal to the share of one legitimate child).

Effect: Neither the deceased (by will) nor the surviving parent (by inter vivos acts) can validly defeat these legitimes. Any excess dispositions are reduced by law (reduction for inofficiousness).

2) Disinheritance vs. disqualification (unworthiness)

Disinheritance requires a will and a specific legal ground.
Disqualification/Unworthiness (e.g., killing the decedent) operates by law, will or no will. A person legally unworthy cannot inherit.

3) Property regimes matter

On death, the property regime between spouses is liquidated first:

Absolute Community of Property (ACP) or Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG): The surviving spouse first gets their one-half share of the community/conjugal assets; only the decedent’s half goes into the estate for succession.
Exclusive property of each spouse is distinct and follows the rules on succession once ownership is established.

Implication: The surviving parent may donate, sell, or bequeath their half/exclusive property (still subject to reduction if legitimes are impaired), but cannot touch the decedent’s hereditary share except as the law allows.

Can the surviving parent disinherit a child?

Short answer: Only from the surviving parent’s own estate, and only by that parent’s will, and only for legal grounds.

The surviving parent has no power to disinherit a child from the deceased spouse’s estate unless the deceased themselves validly disinherited the child in a will.
For the surviving parent’s own estate, they may execute their own will and disinherit a child only on enumerated legal grounds and with strict compliance with form and substance. The child’s legitime from the deceased spouse remains intact.

Grounds for disinheriting a child (by the testator-parent)

Disinheritance is strictly construed. The Civil Code lists the grounds; typical ones include (paraphrased, for children/descendants):

Attempt against the life of the testator, their spouse, ascendants, or descendants.
False accusation of a serious crime against the testator (and conviction of the accuser for the false charge).
Adultery/concubinage of a child with the testator’s spouse.
Causing the testator to make a will by fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence, or to change or revoke one by similar means.
Refusal to support the parent when legally obliged, or maltreatment by word or deed.
Vices leading to loss of civil interdict type penalties (historical phrasing) or abandonment—applied only as the Code specifically allows and as interpreted by jurisprudence.

Important: The exact list and wording are in the Civil Code. Courts apply these exclusively; analogies are not allowed. Each ground has elements that must be proven.

Formal and substantive requirements of disinheritance

A valid disinheritance must:

Be in a valid will (i.e., executed with legal formalities—notarial or holographic—by the decedent-testator).
Expressly state the legal ground for disinheritance; generic or vague reasons are insufficient.
Be true—the alleged ground must be proven if challenged.
Identify clearly the person to be disinherited.

If any element fails (e.g., no will, wrong form, non-existent ground, or unproven facts), disinheritance is void, and the compulsory heir recovers their legitime.

What if there is no will, or the will omits a child?

No will (intestacy): You cannot “disinherit” by simply doing nothing. All compulsory heirs inherit by law.
Preterition (omission) of a compulsory heir in the direct line: Generally annuls the institution of heirs in the will (but not legacies/devices as to the free portion), and the omitted heir takes their legitime. This protects children from being “disinherited by silence.”

Conflicts with donations and transfers made by the surviving parent

A surviving parent might try to donate or transfer assets to third parties (or to favored heirs) after the other spouse’s death. Limits:

They may transfer only what they own (e.g., their ACP/CPG half and exclusive property).
If cumulative donations inter vivos plus testamentary dispositions impair the legitimes of compulsory heirs (including the children), those acts are subject to reduction in a future estate settlement of the donor (surviving parent).
Transfers of the deceased’s share are void absent authority (e.g., no title to convey).

Disqualification (unworthiness) vs. disinheritance

Even without a will:

A child may be legally disqualified (unworthy) to inherit if they committed certain grave acts against the decedent (e.g., killing, attempting against life, serious false accusation, preventing the making of a will, etc.).
Unworthiness requires proof, and the consequence is legal exclusion from the succession by operation of law.
Distinguish this from disinheritance, which is a voluntary act of the testator in a will.

Representation and effects on descendants

If a child is validly disinherited (or is unworthy), their own descendants (the testator’s grandchildren) generally succeed by right of representation in the legitime (unless the ground also legally taints them). This prevents punishment of innocent lineal descendants.

Common scenarios

Deceased parent left no will.
- Estate: decedent’s half of ACP/CPG + their exclusive property.
- Heirs: children (legitimate/illegitimate as the case may be) and the surviving spouse.
- Surviving parent cannot disinherit; shares follow intestate succession.
Deceased parent left a will disinheriting a child.
- Check: (a) formal validity of the will, (b) stated legal ground, (c) truth/proof of the ground.
- If any fails → disinheritance ineffective; child recovers legitime.
Surviving parent tries to deed away the house (community property) to a favored child.
- Only the surviving parent’s one-half may be validly conveyed.
- The decedent’s one-half belongs to the estate and cannot be disposed of unilaterally.
- On the surviving parent’s death, donations may be reduced if they impair legitimes of their compulsory heirs.
Child is estranged but committed no legal ground.
- Estrangement is not a ground. The child’s legitime remains protected.

Practical protections for children

Inventory and liquidation of the property regime first (ACP/CPG) to identify what belongs to the estate vs. the surviving spouse.
Annotation and challenge: Question titles or transfers that purport to dispose of the decedent’s share without authority.
Reduction of inofficious donations: Upon the surviving parent’s death (or during settlement), seek reduction of lifetime gifts that impaired legitimes.
Guardianship/trust for minors’ legitimes: If a child is a minor, their legitime must be safeguarded (e.g., judicial guardianship or trust arrangements).
Preterition action (if omitted in a will).
Action to annul void dispositions and reconvey property that was improperly transferred.

Illegitimate children and adopted children

Illegitimate children are compulsory heirs with a statutory legitime (traditionally set at one-half of that of a legitimate child, subject to controlling statutes and jurisprudence).
Adopted children generally have the same successional rights as legitimate children with respect to the adopter, and the adopter likewise to the adopted, consistent with special laws on adoption.

Practice tip: Because jurisprudence evolves, verify current rules on the exact fraction of legitimes for illegitimate children and any conflicts of laws at the time of estate planning or litigation.

How disinheritance is contested

Grounds: lack of a valid will; absence of a specific legal ground; factual untruth of the ground; condonation/reconciliation (forgiveness) by the testator when the law recognizes it; procedural defects.
Burden of proof: The party invoking disinheritance must prove both formal validity and truth of the ground.
Effect of invalid disinheritance: The heir reacquires their legitime and participates in the succession accordingly; other testamentary dispositions may be reduced to make room for legitimes.

Estate planning pointers for surviving parents

Respect legitimes: When making gifts or planning a will, compute legitimes with your current family composition.
Use a valid form: Notarial or holographic will, observing all formalities.
State grounds precisely (if disinheritance is intended) and preserve evidence.
Avoid impairing the deceased spouse’s estate: Never dispose of assets beyond your share.
Consider partition agreements among heirs (adults) to settle estates efficiently, with proper publication and clear protection for minors (court approval/guardianship as needed).
Document reconciliation/forgiveness if it occurs; it can defeat disinheritance if the law recognizes remission of the cause.
Review adoption/illegitimacy rules and the surviving spouse’s legitime, as they affect available free portion.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can the surviving parent just “exclude” a child in an extrajudicial settlement? A: Not lawfully. An extrajudicial settlement cannot defeat a compulsory heir’s legitime. A child wrongfully excluded may annul the settlement and recover their share (including against buyers in bad faith).

Q: If the deceased parent left everything to the surviving spouse in a will, are the children out? A: No. The children still receive their legitime. Any excess in favor of the spouse is reduced.

Q: If a child was abusive but never convicted, can they be disinherited? A: Some grounds (e.g., maltreatment, refusal to support) do not require a criminal conviction but do require proof. Others (e.g., false accusation) require conviction of the accuser for the false charge. The exact ground controls the proof required.

Q: Does reconciliation matter? A: Yes. If the law recognizes reconciliation/forgiveness between parent and child after the cause arose, it can extinguish the cause for disinheritance.

Takeaways

A surviving parent cannot strip a child of rights to the deceased parent’s estate.
Disinheritance is exceptional, strictly statutory, and must be in a valid will by the testator with proved legal grounds.
Legitimes are sacrosanct. Donations and bequests that impair them are reduced by law.
Children (and their descendants by representation) have robust statutory protections against attempts to sidestep succession rules.

If you’re dealing with a real case

Gather the family tree, property list (distinguishing ACP/CPG vs. exclusive assets), existing wills, lifetime donations, and titles. Compute legitimes based on the actual heirs, then test whether any past or planned dispositions impair those legitimes. From there, identify the appropriate causes of action (reduction, reconveyance, annulment, preterition, or defense of a valid disinheritance).