Overview

Under Philippine law, the death of a person triggers the transmission of their property rights to heirs by operation of law. This process is governed mainly by the Civil Code provisions on Succession (Books III, Title IV). When a parent dies leaving property that they themselves inherited or received from relatives, that property becomes part of the parent’s estate and is distributed to the parent’s heirs in accordance with testate succession (if there is a valid will) or intestate succession (if there is no will), subject to special rules on legitimes, reservations, and collation.

This article explains how inherited property is treated, who inherits, how shares are computed, and what special doctrines can alter distribution.

Key Principles

1. Universality of the Estate

At death, the parent’s estate includes:

Property the parent acquired by purchase or earnings, and
Property the parent acquired by inheritance, donation, or from relatives, unless excluded by law (rare) or by valid conditions attached to the transfer.

So as a rule, inherited property is not segregated from the rest of the estate. It is distributed to the heirs like any other asset.

2. Testate vs. Intestate Succession

Testate succession applies if the parent left a valid will.
Intestate succession applies if there is no will, or the will is void/ineffective as to some property.

Even with a will, legitime rules still control: certain heirs must receive minimum shares.

3. Legitime Cannot Be Defeated

Philippine law protects “compulsory heirs” by reserving portions of the estate for them. A will may dispose only of the free portion (the part not reserved for legitimes).

Who Are the Heirs?

A. Compulsory Heirs

They inherit by force of law and are entitled to legitimes:

Legitimate children and descendants
Legitimate parents and ascendants (only if no legitimate children)
Surviving spouse
Illegitimate children

B. Other Intestate Heirs (if no compulsory heirs or after them)

Brothers/sisters, nephews/nieces
Other collateral relatives up to 5th degree
State (as ultimate heir if none exist)

Distribution if the Parent Dies With a Will (Testate Succession)

Step 1: Determine Legitimes First

The estate— including property inherited from relatives— is divided into:

Legitime portions for compulsory heirs
Free portion that the will can allocate

Common legitime frameworks

1. Parent leaves legitimate children + spouse

Legitimate children share 1/2 of the estate equally.
Spouse gets a share equal to one legitimate child from the legitime half.
The remaining 1/2 is free portion.

2. Parent leaves legitimate children only (no spouse)

Legitimate children collectively get 1/2 of estate as legitime.
Remaining half is free portion.

3. Parent leaves spouse only (no descendants, no ascendants)

Spouse legitime is 1/2, free portion is 1/2.

4. Parent leaves illegitimate children

Illegitimate children’s legitime is 1/2 of what a legitimate child receives, taken from the estate regardless of property origin.

Step 2: Apply Will to Free Portion

Only after legitimes are satisfied can the will distribute the rest— whether to heirs, relatives, strangers, charities, etc.

Distribution if the Parent Dies Without a Will (Intestate Succession)

Intestate rules apply to the entire estate, including inherited property, unless a special doctrine applies.

A. Parent leaves legitimate children

Legitimate children inherit in equal shares.
Surviving spouse shares with them and gets a portion equal to one legitimate child.
Illegitimate children, if any, get half of a legitimate child’s portion.

B. Parent leaves no legitimate children

Legitimate parents/ascendants + spouse
- Ascendants get 1/2
- Spouse gets 1/2
Ascendants only
- Ascendants inherit everything, divided by line (paternal vs maternal).
Spouse only
- Spouse inherits everything.

C. Parent leaves only illegitimate children

Illegitimate children inherit the entire estate equally.
If spouse also exists, spouse shares with them:
- Spouse gets 1/3
- Illegitimate children get 2/3, divided equally.

D. No descendants, ascendants, spouse, or illegitimate children

Estate passes to:
- Brothers and sisters (full blood preferred over half blood)
- Nephews/nieces by representation
- Other collateral kin up to 5th degree
- If none, State

Special Doctrines Affecting Property “From Relatives”

Even though inherited property is normally treated like any estate asset, several doctrines can redirect or restrict distribution.

1. Reserva Troncal

Meaning: A legal reservation of property within a family line.

When it applies:

A person (origin) gives property by inheritance or gratuitous title to a child/descendant (prepositus),
The child/descendant later dies without legitimate descendants, and
The property is still owned by that child/descendant at death,
The property must “return” to relatives within the origin line (called reservatarios).

Effect:

The surviving parent or ascendant who inherited the property becomes a reservista: they hold the property subject to returning it to relatives of the deceased child who belong to the origin’s line.
The reservatarios have preferential inheritance rights over that specific property, even if they would not normally inherit under intestacy.

Example:

Grandmother leaves land to her son.
Son dies leaving that land to his father (the child’s ascendant).
Son died with no legitimate children.
The land is reserved for the son’s relatives from the grandmother’s line (e.g., the son’s siblings).

Key point: Reserva troncal only affects specific property meeting its strict conditions. Everything else follows ordinary succession.

2. Collation

Meaning: Donations or advances from a parent to compulsory heirs during lifetime are presumed to be advances on inheritance, and must be brought back to the estate for equalization.

Relevance to inherited property:

If the parent received inherited property and later donated it to one child, that donation is subject to collation unless exempted.
Collation ensures no heir gets more than their proper share.

Effect:

The donated value is added back notionally to compute shares.
The donee-heir’s inheritance is reduced accordingly.

3. Preterition

Meaning: Total omission of a compulsory heir in the will.

Effect:

Institution of heirs in the will is annulled.
Succession becomes intestate as to legitimes.
The omitted heir receives their legitime.
Those who got something under the will may see their shares reduced.

This matters if inherited property was willed away to others while excluding a child or spouse.

4. Disinheritance

A parent may disinherit a compulsory heir only for causes expressly allowed by law and only through a will that clearly states the legal ground.

If disinheritance is invalid, the heir is restored to their legitime.

5. Representation

Descendants may step into the place of a predeceased child or sibling.

Effect on inherited property:

Representation applies regardless of property origin, unless reserva troncal applies to that item.
Example: A grandchild inherits the share of their deceased parent.

Step-by-Step Practical Structure for Any Case

List estate assets, including inherited property.
Check for a will.
Identify compulsory heirs.
Determine whether any special doctrine applies:
- Does any property meet reserva troncal requirements?
- Were lifetime donations made requiring collation?
- Is there preterition or invalid disinheritance?
Compute legitimes (if testate).
Distribute free portion (if any).
Apply intestacy rules to any remainder or void dispositions.

Important Clarifications

Inherited property is not automatically returned to the parent’s relatives

People often assume land “from the grandparents” must go to that side automatically. That is not true unless:

Reserva troncal applies, or
The parent validly directed distribution by will within legitime limits.

Otherwise, property inherited by the parent becomes theirs fully and is inherited by their own heirs, not necessarily the original relatives.

Property origin matters mainly in:

Reserva troncal
Proof of ownership
Family agreements
Emotional or customary expectations, which are not legal rules

Summary of Core Rules

General rule: All property owned by the deceased parent at death— even if inherited from relatives— forms part of the estate and is distributed under regular succession rules.
Compulsory heirs always receive legitimes.
A will cannot defeat legitimes, but can distribute the free portion.
Intestate succession applies when there is no valid will.
Reserva troncal is the major exception that can “send back” inherited property to a particular family line, but it applies only under strict conditions.
Collation and related doctrines protect equality among compulsory heirs.

Final Note

Succession cases depend heavily on family structure, property history, and timing of deaths and transfers. The rules above provide the full doctrinal framework, but applying them correctly often requires mapping a specific family tree and identifying which assets fall under exceptions like reserva troncal or collation.