A Philippine legal article on succession, blended families, and the surviving spouse

1) Why “second marriage” makes inheritance complicated

A second marriage often creates a blended family:

children from the first marriage;
children from the second marriage;
possibly children outside either marriage (illegitimate children);
and a new surviving spouse who may or may not be validly married to the decedent.

Philippine succession law is built around two controlling ideas:

Compulsory heirs and legitimes – certain heirs cannot be deprived of a minimum share except for legally recognized disinheritance; and
Property-regime liquidation first – before you can divide “the estate,” you must first determine what property actually belongs to the deceased (especially when there are spouses).

A lot of second-marriage disputes are not really about “who gets what,” but about:

which marriage is valid, and
which properties belong to which marriage.

2) The governing legal framework (Philippine context)

Inheritance in the Philippines is mainly governed by:

Civil Code provisions on Succession (testate and intestate succession; legitimes; compulsory heirs; disinheritance; collation; reserves);
Family Code rules on marriage validity, property relations, and effects of void/voidable marriages;
Related doctrines from jurisprudence (especially on void marriages, property relations in unions without valid marriage, and liquidation rules).

3) Step one in every inheritance case: confirm the marriage status

A. If the second marriage is valid

The surviving spouse in the second marriage is a compulsory heir (subject to disqualifications discussed below) and participates in inheritance.

B. If the second marriage is void (common scenario: bigamy)

If the first marriage was never legally ended (no death, no final decree of nullity/annulment, no recognized dissolution), the second marriage is generally void.

Key effect: a partner in a void marriage is not a legal “surviving spouse” for inheritance purposes, so they do not inherit as spouse. However, they may still have property claims as a co-owner or creditor for contributions to properties acquired during the relationship (under Family Code principles on property relations in unions without a valid marriage). That claim is not “inheritance”—it’s a claim against the estate/property pool.

C. If the second marriage is voidable and later annulled

A voidable marriage is considered valid until annulled. If annulment occurs and one spouse is in bad faith, the bad-faith spouse may lose certain rights (including in property relations and, depending on the posture of the case, may be barred from benefiting). These situations are fact-sensitive and often litigated.

Practical takeaway: before computing shares, determine whether the second spouse is:

a lawful surviving spouse (inherits), or
a partner with property claims only (does not inherit as spouse).

4) Step two: identify what property is actually in the “estate”

In married life, a lot of property is not exclusively owned by one spouse. So you must first determine the applicable property regime and liquidate it.

A. Property regimes that matter

Depending on the timing and circumstances, the spouses are usually under either:

Absolute Community of Property (ACP) (default under the Family Code, absent a marriage settlement), or
Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG) (often applies to marriages before the Family Code’s effectivity or where applicable), or
Complete separation of property (if agreed in a valid marriage settlement or ordered by court).

B. The essential sequence at death

When one spouse dies, you generally do this:

Determine the community/conjugal/partnership property
Pay obligations chargeable to that property pool
Divide the net marital property:
- one part goes to the surviving spouse as their share of the property regime (this is not inheritance), and
- the other part becomes part of the deceased spouse’s estate for inheritance distribution
Add the deceased’s exclusive properties (and other assets) to form the hereditary estate
Only then do you apply succession rules (legitimes, will provisions, intestacy rules)

C. Second marriage complication: “my spouse’s property from the first marriage”

Property can be:

exclusive to the spouse (e.g., property owned before the second marriage; property inherited or donated to them personally during the second marriage; certain personal properties); or
part of the second marriage’s community/conjugal pool.

A frequent dispute: a decedent’s children from the first marriage may assume that assets “came from the first marriage,” but legally:

property inherited by the decedent from a prior spouse or acquired before the second marriage is typically exclusive to the decedent, and
on the decedent’s death, it is still part of the estate subject to legitimes—meaning the second spouse may still get a successional share unless limited by legitimes.

5) Compulsory heirs in blended families

A. Who are compulsory heirs (most relevant to second marriages)

Common compulsory heirs include:

legitimate children and descendants (from any marriage of the decedent);
illegitimate children (recognized/established filiation);
surviving spouse (if the marriage is valid and the spouse is not disqualified);
in some scenarios, legitimate parents/ascendants (if there are no legitimate children/descendants).

B. Important: children from the first and second marriage are equals (if legitimate)

If the decedent has legitimate children from the first marriage and legitimate children from the second marriage, all legitimate children inherit equally as legitimate children. There is no “first family vs second family” hierarchy in legitime computations—legitimacy and filiation control.

C. Stepchildren are not heirs by default

Children of your spouse (your stepchildren) are not your heirs unless:

you legally adopted them, or
a valid will leaves them something (subject to legitimes of compulsory heirs).

6) Legitimes: the non-negotiable minimum shares

A “legitime” is the portion of the estate reserved by law for compulsory heirs. You cannot give away (by will, donation mortis causa, or disguised transfers) the legitime portion to defeat compulsory heirs.

A. General principles that drive outcomes

Legitimate children/descendants are strongly protected.
The surviving spouse is also protected, but their legitime varies depending on who else survives.
Illegitimate children have reserved shares, typically computed in relation to legitimate children’s shares.
If there is a will, the “free portion” can be disposed of, but not the legitime.

B. Why second marriages trigger litigation

In second marriages, the “new spouse” may be perceived as taking from the “first family,” but in law the usual limits are:

children’s legitimes cannot be impaired; and
spouse’s legitime cannot be impaired; and
donations between spouses during marriage are generally restricted/void in many contexts, pushing parties to use wills or property structuring—often incorrectly—leading to disputes.

7) Intestate succession (no will): how distribution usually works in second marriages

When there is no will, the law fixes the shares through intestacy rules, while still respecting compulsory heir concepts.

Scenario 1: Valid second spouse + legitimate children (from any relationship)

Typical rule-of-thumb outcome:

Legitimate children share among themselves, and
the surviving spouse gets a share comparable to a legitimate child in concurrence with legitimate children (conceptually treated “like one child” for division purposes in many practical computations).

Example (simplified illustration): Deceased leaves: Second spouse + 3 legitimate children (2 from first marriage, 1 from second). Often computed as 4 equal shares: spouse = 1 share; each legitimate child = 1 share.

Note: Actual computation in practice can involve first liquidating ACP/CPG, then applying legitime/intestacy on the net estate.

Scenario 2: Valid second spouse + legitimate children + illegitimate children

This is where people get surprised:

legitimate children remain protected;
illegitimate children have reserved shares (commonly computed as fractions relative to legitimate children); and
the spouse’s reserved share must also be respected.

In practice, courts/lawyers compute:

the legitime block of legitimate children;
the legitime block of illegitimate children;
the spouse’s legitime;
then the remaining free/intestate portion (if any) distributed per intestacy rules.

Because the computation depends on the exact mix of heirs, this scenario is frequently litigated and rarely safe to “guess” without full facts.

Scenario 3: Valid second spouse + no descendants, but ascendants survive

If there are no legitimate children/descendants, legitimate parents/ascendants may inherit with the spouse, with shares determined by the Civil Code rules for concurrence.

Scenario 4: Valid second spouse only (no descendants, no ascendants)

If the spouse is the only compulsory heir left, they generally inherit the estate (subject to debts/charges), because there are no other compulsory heirs to protect.

Scenario 5: Second “spouse” is not legally a spouse (void marriage)

If the second marriage is void:

the “second spouse” does not inherit as spouse;
intestate heirs are typically the decedent’s children (legitimate/illegitimate) and/or ascendants, depending on who survives;
the second partner may pursue a property/credit claim for their proven contributions to property acquired during the union, but that is separate from succession.

8) Testate succession (with a will): what you can and cannot do in second marriages

A. You can favor a second spouse—only from the free portion

If you have compulsory heirs (children, spouse, etc.), you may allocate to your second spouse:

their legitime (if valid spouse), plus
any additional share you give them from the free portion.

But you cannot reduce the legitimes of compulsory heirs through will provisions.

B. Disinheritance is possible, but strict

You may disinherit a compulsory heir only for causes and in a manner allowed by law. Defective disinheritance attempts often fail and can trigger:

partial or total invalidity of provisions; and/or
readjustment of shares.

C. Common “planning hacks” that often backfire

Simulated sales to the second spouse to remove property from the estate (often attacked as simulated, void, or as in fraud of legitimes).
Donations between spouses during marriage (often void/restricted; can be challenged).
Titling everything in the second spouse’s name despite funding by the decedent (often attacked through trust/ownership doctrines or property regime rules).

9) The “property regime vs inheritance” distinction that causes most confusion

In second marriages, children from the first marriage often see the surviving spouse receive “half” and assume the spouse is inheriting too much.

But:

the surviving spouse’s share in ACP/CPG is not inheritance; it is their ownership share under the property regime; and
inheritance applies only to the decedent’s net estate after liquidation.

So a lawful second spouse may receive:

their share of the marital property regime plus
their inheritance share as compulsory heir

This is legally normal and often substantial.

10) Special doctrines that sometimes matter in blended families

A. Reserva troncal (a “return to the bloodline” rule)

Philippine law contains a reserve concept where certain properties that moved between relatives by operation of law may be required to “go back” to relatives within a specified degree and line from which the property originated. It is technical and uncommon in ordinary second-marriage disputes, but when it applies it can override expectations about where inherited property ends up.

B. Collation and advances

Property given during lifetime to compulsory heirs may be brought into account in computing shares (depending on the nature of the transfer and the applicable rules). In blended families, lifetime transfers to children of the first marriage (or to the second spouse) are frequently scrutinized.

C. Unworthiness and disqualification

Heirs (including a spouse) may be barred from inheriting for specific legal grounds (e.g., serious wrongdoing against the decedent). Also, spouses who are legally separated under circumstances that trigger forfeiture rules can be affected.

11) Typical “who gets what” questions in second marriages (quick answers)

“Do children from the first marriage inherit from the second spouse?”

Not by default. They inherit from their parent (the decedent), not from the step-parent—unless adopted or included in a will of the step-parent.

“Do children from the first marriage lose rights because the parent remarried?”

No. Legitimate children remain compulsory heirs of their parent regardless of remarriage.

“Does the second spouse inherit even if all the property was ‘from the first marriage’?”

If the property is legally part of the decedent’s estate, and the second marriage is valid, the second spouse generally inherits subject to legitimes. The origin story matters only insofar as it affects ownership characterization (exclusive vs community/conjugal) and special reserve doctrines.

“Can the decedent leave everything to the second spouse?”

Only if there are no compulsory heirs whose legitimes would be impaired. If there are children (legitimate/illegitimate) and/or other compulsory heirs, “everything” provisions will be reduced to respect legitimes.

“What if the second marriage is void—does the partner get nothing?”

They do not inherit as spouse, but may still assert property/credit claims based on contributions and applicable family/property rules.

12) A practical roadmap for handling second-marriage inheritance cases

Verify marital history (validity of marriages; final decrees; dates).
List all potential heirs (legitimate, illegitimate; spouse; ascendants).
Inventory properties and classify each as:
- exclusive property of the decedent,
- community/conjugal property of the second marriage,
- residual/undivided property interests from prior regimes (if any).
Liquidate the property regime first (and pay debts/charges).
Determine whether there is a will; if yes, test it against legitime rules.
Compute shares and address:
- simulated transfers,
- collation/advances,
- disqualifications,
- reserve issues (if applicable).
Implement through settlement (extrajudicial if uncontested and allowed; otherwise judicial).

13) Bottom line

In the Philippines, inheritance in a second marriage is governed less by “first family vs second family” and more by four legal determinants:

Validity of the second marriage (inheritance as spouse depends on this);
Identification and liquidation of marital property regimes (ownership first, succession second);
Compulsory heirs and legitimes (children and spouse are strongly protected); and
Filiation and status of children (legitimate/illegitimate; adopted/stepchild distinctions).

If you want, I can also provide:

sample computations for common heir combinations (e.g., second spouse + 2 legitimate children from first marriage + 1 illegitimate child), and
a checklist of documents typically needed to resolve these cases (marriage certificates, decrees, titles, proofs of filiation, etc.).