Quick answer

An heir is entitled only to the portion of the deceased person’s net estate that Philippine law or a valid will gives them. The estate is not automatically divided upon death: the family must first determine what the deceased actually owned, liquidate any community or conjugal property, pay enforceable debts and taxes, identify every heir, probate any will, and complete the proper estate-settlement process.

A will cannot ordinarily deprive a compulsory heir of the share reserved by law, called the legitime. Without a valid will, the Civil Code determines who inherits and in what proportions. Children born outside marriage have inheritance rights, but filiation must be proved. A legally adopted child is treated as a legitimate child of the adopter. A live-in partner, stepchild, foster child, daughter-in-law, or son-in-law does not automatically inherit merely because of closeness, dependence, or years spent with the deceased.

Exact shares depend on the complete family tree, the validity of marriages and adoptions, prior deaths, proof of filiation, lifetime donations, property ownership, debts, and the contents of any will.

What property is actually inherited?

Under Articles 774 to 777 of the Civil Code, succession transmits the deceased’s property, transmissible rights, and obligations from the moment of death. Liability attached to the inheritance is limited to the value received from the estate.

Before calculating anyone’s share:

Separate property belonging to others. If an asset was co-owned, only the deceased’s interest enters the estate.
Liquidate the marital property regime. The surviving spouse’s ownership share in absolute community or conjugal property is not an inheritance. Only the deceased spouse’s share after liquidation becomes part of the estate.
Exclude rights extinguished by death.
Identify assets governed by another law or contract. Certain insurance proceeds, employment death benefits, retirement benefits, and similar payments may pass directly to designated or statutory beneficiaries rather than through the estate.
Deduct enforceable debts and charges.
Account for lifetime donations when the law requires collation or reduction.

For example, a house registered in the deceased spouse’s name is not necessarily 100% hereditary property. Its acquisition date, source of funds, marriage settlements, and applicable property regime must first be examined.

Who are compulsory heirs?

A compulsory heir is a person for whom the law reserves a legitime. Under Articles 886 and 887 of the Civil Code, the principal classes are:

Heir	Basic position
Legitimate children and descendants	Primary compulsory heirs of their legitimate parents or ascendants
Legitimate parents and ascendants	Inherit as compulsory heirs when there are no legitimate children or descendants
Surviving legal spouse	May concur with descendants, ascendants, and children born outside marriage
Children born outside marriage	Compulsory heirs if filiation is duly proved
Legally adopted child	Treated as a legitimate child of the adopter

The word “illegitimate” remains the statutory term, but “child born outside marriage” or “nonmarital child” is used here where possible.

Being a compulsory heir does not mean receiving a fixed percentage in every estate. A spouse’s share, for example, changes depending on whether the spouse inherits with one legitimate child, several legitimate children, nonmarital children, parents, or other relatives.

The legitime when there is a will

The legitime is computed from the net hereditary estate, with collatable donations added as required by law. Important general rules include:

Legitimate children and descendants collectively have a legitime equal to one-half of the hereditary estate.
In the absence of legitimate children or descendants, the legitime of legitimate parents or ascendants is generally one-half.
The surviving spouse’s legitime varies according to the other compulsory heirs.
Under Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, the legitime of each child born outside marriage is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child, subject to the Civil Code’s rules protecting other legitimes and limiting what may be taken from the disposable portion.
If the surviving spouse is the only compulsory heir, the spouse’s legitime is generally one-half of the hereditary estate, subject to the special rule for certain marriages celebrated when the deceased was at the point of death.

The portion left after all legitimes are protected is the free or disposable portion. The testator may generally give that portion to any person legally capable of inheriting.

A simple percentage copied from another family’s estate can be seriously wrong. The number and classes of heirs must be calculated together, especially where legitimate children, nonmarital children, and a surviving spouse all concur.

Can a will exclude a child or spouse?

Not merely because the testator was angry, estranged, disappointed, or preferred another relative.

A compulsory heir may be deprived of the legitime only through a valid disinheritance:

It must be made in a will.
The will must specify a cause expressly recognized by law.
If the disinherited heir denies the allegation, the heirs relying on the disinheritance must prove the cause.
Reconciliation may cancel the right to disinherit or render a prior disinheritance ineffective.

Articles 919 to 921 list separate statutory causes for disinheriting descendants, ascendants, and a spouse. These include particular forms of violence, serious accusations, fraud or undue influence concerning a will, unjustified refusal of support, and other specifically stated conduct. A vague description such as “ungrateful” is not a substitute for a legal cause.

An heir can also be excluded for statutory unworthiness, such as specified offenses against the deceased or fraudulently preventing, concealing, altering, or forging a will. This is distinct from ordinary family conflict.

What happens if a compulsory heir is omitted?

Complete and unintentional omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line may constitute preterition. Under Article 854, preterition can annul the institution of heirs, although valid legacies and devises may remain effective to the extent that they do not impair legitimes.

Not every omission is preterition. The result may instead be completion of an insufficient legitime, reduction of excessive dispositions, representation, or partial intestacy. The court must examine whether the heir received anything under the will or another title and whether the omission was intentional.

Inheritance when there is no valid will

Intestate succession applies when there is no will, the will is void or ineffective, the will does not dispose of the whole estate, or an instituted heir cannot take and no substitution or accretion applies.

The nearest relatives generally exclude more distant relatives, subject to representation and the special rights of the spouse and nonmarital children. Common configurations include:

Surviving heirs, assuming no other relevant class	General intestate result
Legal spouse and legitimate child or children only	The spouse receives the same share as each child; with one child, the estate is ordinarily divided one-half each
Legal spouse and nonmarital children only	The spouse receives one-half; the children collectively receive one-half
Legal spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants only	The spouse receives one-half; the ascendants receive one-half
Legal spouse and siblings or qualifying nephews and nieces only	The spouse receives one-half; the collateral relatives receive one-half
Legal spouse alone	The spouse receives the whole estate
No spouse, descendants, ascendants, or nonmarital children	Brothers, sisters, and qualifying nephews and nieces inherit under the Civil Code; more remote collateral succession does not extend beyond the fifth degree
No qualified heir	The estate passes to the State through escheat proceedings

Mixed families require special care. In Macalinao v. Macalinao, the Supreme Court held that where the relevant beneficiaries were one legal spouse, one legitimate child, and two nonmarital children, the proper proportions were one-fourth to the spouse, one-half to the legitimate child, and one-eighth to each nonmarital child. That formula should not be mechanically applied to a family with a different number or combination of heirs.

Rights of children born outside marriage

A child born outside marriage can inherit from the child’s mother and, if paternal filiation is duly established, from the father. The child’s surname does not by itself determine the right to inherit.

Proof may involve:

A PSA certificate of live birth containing legally sufficient acknowledgment;
An admission of filiation in a public document;
A signed private handwritten instrument of the parent;
Open and continuous possession of the status of a child;
Other evidence permitted by the Family Code and Rules on Evidence; or
DNA evidence when properly received and evaluated by a court.

The applicable evidence and filing periods depend on how filiation is being proved and whether the alleged parent is still alive. Obtain legal advice promptly if filiation is disputed.

In Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court held that a nonmarital child may inherit from a grandparent by representing a predeceased parent, regardless of the marital status of the child or parent. The ruling concerns representation in the direct descending line and still requires proof of filiation. It did not broadly decide every question involving inheritance from collateral relatives.

Adopted children

Under Sections 41 and 43 of the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, an adoptee is the legitimate child of the adopter and the adopter and adoptee have reciprocal rights of testate and intestate succession without distinction from legitimate filiation.

The legal filiation also extends as provided by the statute to the adopter’s parents, legitimate siblings, and legitimate descendants. Except where the biological parent is the adopter’s spouse, adoption generally severs the legal ties between the adoptee and biological parents. The adoption order, its date, any rescission, and the special testamentary rule involving the adoptee and biological parents must therefore be examined.

A child informally raised as part of the family is not legally adopted without a valid adoption order. Affection, financial support, use of a family surname, or long-term residence alone does not create the same inheritance rights.

Rights of the surviving spouse and live-in partner

Only the legal surviving spouse inherits as a spouse. Separation in fact does not by itself terminate the marriage or erase inheritance rights. By contrast, a spouse who gave cause for a judicially decreed legal separation may be disqualified under the applicable Civil Code and Family Code provisions.

A live-in partner is not automatically a surviving-spouse heir, even after a long relationship or despite having children with the deceased. The partner may still have:

An ownership share under the rules on co-ownership or property relations of unions without marriage;
Rights under a valid beneficiary designation;
A testamentary gift from the free portion, if legally permitted; or
Rights arising from a separate contract or proven contribution.

Those are ownership or beneficiary questions, not automatic spousal inheritance.

Stepchildren and in-laws likewise do not inherit automatically unless legally adopted, named in a valid will within the disposable portion, or qualified through another independent legal relationship.

Grandchildren and representation

Grandchildren do not always divide equally with the deceased’s living children. They commonly inherit by representation, taking the place of a parent who predeceased the decedent, was disinherited, or was incapable of inheriting in circumstances recognized by law.

The descendants representing one family branch divide only the share their parent would have received. This is succession per stirpes, not necessarily an equal division among every grandchild and child.

Representation does not arise merely because an heir voluntarily repudiates the inheritance. The Civil Code states that an heir who repudiates cannot be represented.

Can an heir waive or reject an inheritance?

Yes, but only after the deceased’s death and after the person is certain of the right being accepted or rejected. A waiver of a future legitime during the future decedent’s lifetime is void.

Repudiation must be made in a public or authentic instrument or through a petition in the court handling the estate. A parent or guardian needs judicial authorization to repudiate an inheritance for a minor or incapacitated heir. Acceptance or repudiation is generally irrevocable, except for legally recognized defects in consent or the later appearance of an unknown will.

A “waiver in favor of” a particular co-heir may legally amount to acceptance followed by a donation or transfer, with corresponding tax consequences. Do not sign a deed of waiver before the estate, debts, tax effects, and actual shares have been checked.

How the estate may be settled

If there is a will

A will must be proved and allowed by the proper court before it can transfer property. The person holding the will must deliver it to the proper court or named executor within 20 days after learning of the testator’s death. A named executor has a corresponding 20-day duty to present the will and accept or refuse the trust unless it has already reached the court.

Do not destroy, alter, staple, annotate, or “correct” the original will. Preserve its original condition and delivery history.

Extrajudicial settlement

Under Rule 74, an extrajudicial settlement is available only when:

The deceased left no will;
The estate has no debts;
All heirs participate;
All heirs are adults, or minors are represented by duly authorized legal or judicial representatives; and
The settlement is executed in a public instrument.

A genuine sole heir may use an affidavit of self-adjudication. Someone who merely believes they are the sole heir should not use this shortcut without verifying the entire family tree.

The settlement must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. The required bond covers the value of personal property involved. An extrajudicial settlement is not binding on an heir or other person who did not participate and had no notice.

Rule 74 also creates a two-year liability or lien protecting creditors and persons deprived of lawful participation. Certain persons under disability receive an additional period after the disability is removed. The two-year rule is not a safe excuse to conceal an heir: fraud, nonparticipation, lack of notice, possession, registration, and the remedy being pursued can affect prescription.

Judicial settlement or partition

Court proceedings are generally necessary when there is a will, unresolved debt, disputed heirship or filiation, disagreement over shares, contested ownership, a missing heir, an invalid extrajudicial settlement, or a need for an administrator.

Under Republic Act No. 11576, first-level courts have original jurisdiction over testate and intestate probate proceedings when the estate value does not exceed ₱2 million; larger estates fall within Regional Trial Court jurisdiction. Venue is generally based on the deceased’s residence at death or, for a nonresident, the location of property in the Philippines.

Rule 74 retains a separate judicial summary procedure for an estate with a gross value not exceeding ₱10,000, although this statutory threshold makes the procedure uncommon today.

Estate tax and transfer requirements

Inheritance rights and estate-tax obligations are separate. For deaths on or after January 1, 2018, the estate tax is generally 6% of the net taxable estate, not 6% of every property’s gross value. The law in force on the date of death governs the tax.

The BIR estate-tax return is generally due within one year from death. When estate cash is insufficient, approved installment payment may be allowed within two years from the statutory due date under current BIR rules. Late filing can result in additions to the tax.

An electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration or eCAR is generally needed before inherited property can be transferred in the Registry of Deeds or other relevant registry. Documentary requirements vary according to the property and settlement method. The prior estate-tax amnesty filing period ended on June 14, 2025; old unsettled estates should obtain current advice rather than assume amnesty remains available.

Practical steps for heirs

Secure the death certificate and original will. Ask about codicils, safes, bank custody, and prior probate filings.
Create a complete family tree. Include every marriage, child, adopted child, child born outside marriage, predeceased child, and descendant of a predeceased child.
Collect civil-status records. Obtain PSA birth, marriage, death, and adoption records, plus court or NACC orders where applicable.
Protect the estate. Change locks when lawfully appropriate, inventory valuables, photograph property, preserve digital records, maintain insurance, and prevent unauthorized withdrawals or sales.
Prepare a dated inventory. List land, buildings, vehicles, bank accounts, investments, business interests, receivables, insurance, debts, taxes, and property held with others.
Identify the marital property regime. Gather marriage settlements, acquisition documents, loan records, and proof of the source of funds.
Record all income and expenses. Preserve rent collections, crop proceeds, business income, taxes, repairs, funeral expenses, and necessary preservation costs.
Check lifetime transfers. Locate deeds of donation, sales to relatives, waivers, advances, and documents showing consideration or payment.
Select the correct settlement route. Do not use self-adjudication or an extrajudicial settlement when an heir, debt, or will may exist.
File the estate-tax return and obtain the eCAR.
Transfer and distribute only after lawful settlement. Until partition, co-heirs generally own the estate in common, subject to debts.

Evidence to preserve in a dispute

Keep originals and backed-up copies of:

The will, codicils, envelopes, notarial records, and communications about execution or custody;
PSA civil-registry documents;
Adoption and rescission orders;
Titles, tax declarations, deeds, surveys, and real-property tax receipts;
Bank, investment, insurance, pension, and business records;
Loan documents, statements of account, and receipts;
Proof of rent, harvests, dividends, withdrawals, and asset sales after death;
Deeds of donation and evidence of lifetime advances;
Handwritten or public admissions of filiation;
Messages concerning threats, coercion, concealment of heirs, or destruction of documents;
Medical and witness evidence relevant to testamentary capacity or undue influence; and
A chronological record of who possessed each asset or document.

Avoid secretly altering records or accessing protected accounts without authority. Preserve evidence lawfully and ask the court for protective relief when necessary.

Common mistakes

Dividing the gross property without first liquidating the marital property regime;
Assuming the eldest child, the child who cared for the parent, or the child living on the land receives a larger statutory share;
Treating a live-in partner as a legal spouse;
Excluding a nonmarital or adopted child;
Believing that a will can freely dispose of the entire estate despite compulsory heirs;
Using an affidavit of self-adjudication when siblings, descendants, or another spouse may exist;
Publishing an extrajudicial settlement but failing to obtain every heir’s participation;
Selling the whole inherited property when the seller owns only an undivided hereditary interest;
Treating possession of a title as exclusive ownership;
Withdrawing estate funds without accounting;
Signing a waiver without knowing its tax and donation consequences;
Ignoring debts, estate tax, or the one-year filing deadline; and
Waiting until property has been transferred to innocent third parties before objecting.

If a co-heir sells hereditary rights to a stranger before partition, Article 1088 gives the other co-heirs a possible right to substitute themselves for the buyer by reimbursing the price within one month from written notice of the sale. Immediate legal advice is essential.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly if:

A will is being hidden, destroyed, altered, or withheld;
Someone is selling, mortgaging, occupying, or withdrawing estate assets without authority;
An heir was omitted from a settlement or affidavit of self-adjudication;
Filiation, adoption, or marriage validity is disputed;
The deceased had a foreign nationality, lived abroad, or owned foreign property;
There are competing spouses or a prior marriage;
A transfer to relatives shortly before death may have impaired legitimes;
A probate, partition, ejectment, or cancellation case has been filed;
You received notice of a sale of hereditary rights;
A court or tax deadline is running;
A minor or incapacitated heir is involved; or
Violence, intimidation, forgery, or fraud is suspected.

The national law of the deceased generally governs the order and amount of succession under Article 16 of the Civil Code. Estates governed by the Code of Muslim Personal Laws may follow different substantive inheritance rules. Cross-border and Muslim estates require specialized analysis.

Frequently asked questions

Do heirs become owners immediately upon death?

Successional rights are transmitted at death, but the estate remains subject to debts, taxes, administration, and lawful partition. An heir cannot simply take a specific asset as exclusively theirs before settlement.

Can parents leave everything to one child?

They may favor one child only within the disposable portion. The other compulsory heirs’ legitimes must remain unimpaired unless they were validly disinherited.

Does an only child automatically inherit everything?

Not always. A surviving spouse, nonmarital children, a will, lifetime donations, debts, and the marital property regime may change the result.

Can a child born outside marriage inherit from the father?

Yes, if paternal filiation is duly proved. The share depends on the other heirs and whether succession is testate or intestate.

Can grandchildren inherit while their parent is alive?

Ordinarily, the nearer relative excludes the more distant one. Grandchildren commonly inherit through representation when their parent predeceased the decedent, was validly disinherited, or was incapable of inheriting. A will may also give them part of the disposable portion.

Does a live-in partner inherit?

Not automatically as a spouse. The partner may have separate co-ownership, contractual, beneficiary, or testamentary rights that must be proved.

Can one heir force partition?

Generally, a co-heir may demand partition. A valid testamentary prohibition can delay partition for no more than 20 years, subject to statutory exceptions and compelling reasons for earlier division.

Are heirs personally responsible for all of the deceased’s debts?

Ordinarily, hereditary liability is limited to the value inherited. An heir may have separate liability if the heir personally borrowed, guaranteed, assumed, or became independently liable for the debt.

Is newspaper publication enough to bind an omitted heir?

No. Rule 74 expressly states that an extrajudicial settlement is not binding on a person who did not participate and had no notice. The proper remedy and filing period depend on the facts.

Where can an indigent heir obtain help?

Qualified indigent persons may approach the Public Attorney’s Office. Court clerks can provide procedural information but cannot give legal advice. Tax questions should be raised with the appropriate BIR Revenue District Office, and adoption-record concerns with the National Authority for Child Care.

Official references

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular estate. Inheritance outcomes depend on the documents and complete family and property history. Sources and procedures were checked as of August 7, 2026.