Quick answer

Philippine law gives certain heirs a protected share of a deceased person’s net estate. These “compulsory heirs” generally include qualified children or descendants, the surviving legal spouse, and—when there are no legitimate descendants—qualified parents or ascendants. Nonmarital children are also compulsory heirs if their filiation is legally established. A validly adopted child generally inherits from the adopter without distinction from legitimate filiation.

A will cannot simply erase a compulsory heir’s legitime, or legally reserved share. Without a valid will, the Civil Code’s rules on intestate succession determine who inherits and in what proportions.

The inheritance must first be separated from property belonging to the surviving spouse or another co-owner, and remains subject to debts, taxes, administration expenses, and applicable lifetime donations. No heir should divide, sell, withdraw, or transfer estate property based only on an assumed percentage. The correct result depends on the complete family tree, proof of filiation, marital-property regime, citizenship of the deceased, wording and validity of any will, and the estate’s assets and liabilities.

When inheritance rights begin

Successional rights are transmitted at the moment of death. The inheritance includes property, rights, and obligations that are not extinguished by death, but obligations pass only to the extent of the inheritance’s value.

This does not mean that each heir immediately owns a particular house, lot, vehicle, account, or share certificate. Until partition, two or more heirs generally own the estate in common, subject to the deceased’s debts. An heir has an undivided hereditary interest—not automatic exclusive ownership of whichever asset that heir occupies or controls.

Before calculating anyone’s share:

Determine which assets actually belonged to the deceased.
Liquidate the applicable absolute-community, conjugal-partnership, co-ownership, or other property arrangement.
Return the surviving spouse’s or co-owner’s own share.
Identify and pay or provide for enforceable debts, taxes, and administration expenses.
Account for lifetime donations that must be collated or reduced.
Divide only the resulting net hereditary estate.

The surviving spouse’s ownership in community or conjugal property is therefore different from the spouse’s inheritance. The spouse may first receive their own property share and then inherit from the deceased’s share.

These principles appear in Articles 774–777, 908, and 1078 of the Civil Code.

Who may be a compulsory heir

The principal compulsory heirs under the Civil Code are:

Legitimate children and descendants;
In their absence, legitimate parents and ascendants;
The surviving widow or widower;
Nonmarital children whose filiation is duly proved; and
In appropriate cases, the parents of a nonmarital child.

These classes do not always inherit simultaneously. For example, legitimate children generally exclude legitimate parents, while the surviving spouse and qualified nonmarital children may concur with other compulsory heirs.

Children from different marriages

Legitimate children inherit without preference based on sex, age, birth order, or which marriage they came from. The eldest child does not receive a larger share merely for being the eldest.

Nonmarital children

The Civil Code uses the term “illegitimate children.” This article uses “nonmarital children” where possible as a reader-friendly equivalent.

A nonmarital child has successional rights, but filiation must be proved using evidence recognized by law. Depending on the circumstances, relevant proof may include:

A civil-registry birth record showing the parent’s legally effective acknowledgment;
A final judgment establishing filiation;
An admission in a public document or a private handwritten instrument signed by the parent;
Evidence of open and continuous possession of the status of a child; or
Other evidence allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws.

The available evidence and filing period matter. Under Articles 172 and 175 of the Family Code, some actions based on particular forms of proof must be brought during the alleged parent’s lifetime. Do not wait for estate distribution if filiation is disputed.

Article 176, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, provides that each nonmarital child’s legitime is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child, subject to the Civil Code’s other succession rules and limits. This ratio should not be applied mechanically to every estate, especially when several classes of compulsory heirs concur.

Adopted children

Under Section 43 of the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, Republic Act No. 11642, adopters and adoptees have reciprocal rights in testate and intestate succession without distinction from legitimate filiation. The legitimate filiation created by adoption also extends within the adoptive family as provided by the Act.

Except in cases such as a stepparent adoption, legal ties to the biological parents are generally severed. Older adoptions, rescinded adoptions, incomplete or simulated adoptions, and wills involving biological relatives require document-specific review.

Grandchildren and representation

Grandchildren do not automatically share with a living parent. The nearer relative generally excludes the more distant one.

A grandchild may inherit by right of representation when the law permits the grandchild to take the place of a parent who predeceased the decedent, was incapacitated or unworthy to inherit, or was validly disinherited. Representation in the direct line is descending, not ascending, and the representatives divide only the share the represented person would have received.

An heir who voluntarily repudiates an inheritance generally cannot be represented merely because of that repudiation.

In Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court held that children, regardless of the circumstances of birth, may represent their deceased parent in inheriting from a direct ascendant such as a grandparent. The decision did not erase every restriction in Article 992 concerning intestate succession between nonmarital children and collateral relatives. See the Supreme Court’s decision in G.R. Nos. 208912 and 209018.

Surviving spouses and unmarried partners

A surviving spouse must ordinarily be legally married to the deceased. A spouse who gave cause for a judicially decreed legal separation may lose intestate rights; different rules apply when the deceased spouse gave cause for the separation.

A fiancé, boyfriend, girlfriend, or live-in partner is not a compulsory heir and has no automatic intestate share merely because of cohabitation. The partner may still:

Prove ownership of their own share in property acquired under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code;
Receive property under a valid will to the extent legally disposable; or
Receive benefits governed by a valid beneficiary designation or special law.

Property already owned by the partner must be separated from the estate before inheritance is calculated.

Brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces

Siblings are not compulsory heirs. They may inherit by intestacy when the deceased left no descendants, parents or ascendants, or qualified nonmarital children. They can also concur with a surviving spouse in the circumstances stated by Article 1001.

Children of a deceased brother or sister may represent their parent when they inherit together with surviving uncles or aunts. Full-blood siblings generally receive twice the share of half-blood siblings when both groups inherit intestate.

If there is a valid will

A person with no compulsory heirs may generally dispose of the whole estate by will. A person with compulsory heirs may dispose only of the portion left after all legitimes have been protected.

A document called a “will” does not transfer property by itself. No will passes real or personal property unless proved and allowed by the proper court. Questions about signatures, witnesses, handwriting, mental capacity, fraud, force, fear, undue influence, or compliance with formalities are resolved in probate.

Common legitimes

The following are common configurations under Articles 888–903 of the Civil Code. Percentages refer to the net hereditary estate, not the deceased’s gross assets.

Compulsory heirs left by the testator	Reserved shares
Legitimate children only	One-half for the children as a group; the other half is initially disposable
Legitimate parents or ascendants, with no legitimate descendants	One-half for the parents or ascendants as a group
Nonmarital children only	One-half for them as a group
Surviving spouse only	One-half, subject to the special in articulo mortis exception
One legitimate child and a surviving spouse	One-half for the child; one-fourth for the spouse
Two or more legitimate children and a surviving spouse	One-half for the children as a group; the spouse receives a legitime equal to one child’s legitime
Legitimate parents or ascendants and a surviving spouse	One-half for the parents or ascendants; one-fourth for the spouse
Nonmarital children and a surviving spouse, with no legitimate descendants or ascendants	One-third for the spouse; one-third for the nonmarital children; one-third disposable
Legitimate parents or ascendants and nonmarital children	One-half for the parents or ascendants; one-fourth for the nonmarital children
Legitimate ascendants, surviving spouse, and nonmarital children	One-half for the ascendants; one-eighth for the spouse; one-fourth for the nonmarital children; one-eighth disposable

When legitimate children, nonmarital children, and a surviving spouse concur, the calculation can be especially sensitive to the number and status of the heirs and the limits on the free portion. The Supreme Court discussed this difficulty in G.R. No. 250613, April 3, 2024. A simple “two shares versus one share” formula can produce the wrong result.

Omitted or underprovided compulsory heirs

A compulsory heir who receives less than the required legitime may demand completion of that share. Excessive testamentary gifts or lifetime donations may be reduced as necessary.

The total, unintentional omission—or preterition—of a compulsory heir in the direct line may annul the institution of heirs, although valid devises and legacies may remain effective insofar as they do not impair legitimes. Not every omission is preterition; the will, any lifetime transfers, and the testator’s intent must be examined.

If there is no valid will

Intestate succession applies when there is no will, the will is void or has lost validity, the will leaves part of the estate undisposed, or an instituted heir cannot inherit and no substitute or other applicable mechanism takes the share.

Common uncomplicated combinations include:

Surviving relatives	General intestate result
Legitimate children only	They divide the entire net estate equally
Legitimate children and surviving spouse	The spouse receives the same share as each legitimate child
Nonmarital children only, with no competing descendants, ascendants, or spouse	They divide the estate equally
Nonmarital children and surviving spouse, with no legitimate descendants or ascendants	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the children as a group
Legitimate parents or ascendants only, with no descendants	They inherit under the nearest-degree and line rules
Legitimate parents or ascendants and surviving spouse	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the parents or ascendants
Legitimate parents or ascendants and nonmarital children, without a spouse	One-half to each group
Legitimate ascendants, surviving spouse, and nonmarital children	One-half to the ascendants; one-fourth to the spouse; one-fourth to the children
Surviving spouse and siblings or their qualifying children, with no descendants, ascendants, or nonmarital children	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the collateral relatives
No qualifying spouse or relatives in the preferred classes	More remote collateral relatives may inherit up to the fifth degree; otherwise, the State inherits

These are starting points, not a substitute for a complete computation. Representation, half-blood relationships, adopted status, multiple family branches, renunciation, incapacity, prior donations, and competing classes can change the result.

Disinheritance and unworthiness

A parent cannot validly disinherit a child merely because they argued, became estranged, chose a different career, married without approval, or failed to visit often.

Valid disinheritance requires:

A valid will;
A legal cause expressly recognized by the Civil Code;
A statement of that cause in the will; and
Proof of the cause by the other heirs if the disinherited heir denies it.

Statutory causes vary depending on whether the affected heir is a child, parent, or spouse. They include specified serious conduct such as an attempt against life, certain false criminal accusations, undue influence over the making of a will, unjustified refusal of legally required support, and other causes listed in Articles 919–921. Reconciliation can eliminate the right to disinherit and render an earlier disinheritance ineffective.

Separately, Article 1032 declares certain persons unworthy to inherit, including persons convicted of specified acts against the decedent or those who procure, prevent, conceal, alter, falsify, or forge a will through prohibited means. Exclusion for unworthiness usually requires evidence and appropriate legal action; it should not be imposed informally by other heirs.

Accepting or rejecting an inheritance

Acceptance may be express or implied. Selling, donating, or assigning a hereditary right may amount to acceptance. Acts performed only to preserve estate property do not necessarily have that effect.

Repudiation must be made in a public or authentic instrument or through a petition in the court handling the estate. It is generally irrevocable. A parent or guardian needs judicial authorization to repudiate an inheritance belonging to a minor or incapacitated person.

A supposed “waiver” in favor of a particular co-heir may legally be treated as acceptance followed by a transfer, potentially creating tax consequences. Obtain advice before signing a waiver, quitclaim, deed of assignment, or extrajudicial settlement.

How an estate may be settled

Probate or judicial settlement

Judicial proceedings are ordinarily appropriate when:

There is a will;
The will is contested, lost, or allegedly forged;
Heirs disagree about identity, shares, or assets;
Filiation or marital status is contested;
The estate has unresolved debts;
An heir is missing or inadequately represented;
Property has been concealed or transferred without authority; or
Court supervision is otherwise necessary.

The custodian of a will must deliver it to the proper court or named executor within 20 days after learning of the testator’s death. A named executor who knows of the appointment must generally present the will and accept or refuse the trust within the same 20-day period.

In judicial administration, the court’s notice normally gives creditors between six and twelve months from first publication to file covered money claims. A late claim may be allowed for cause before distribution, but only within the narrow additional period permitted by Rule 86.

Extrajudicial settlement

An extrajudicial settlement under Rule 74 is available only when the deceased:

Left no will;
Left no outstanding debts requiring administration; and
Has heirs who can all validly participate, with minors properly represented by duly authorized judicial or legal representatives.

The heirs execute a public instrument. A sole heir may execute an affidavit of self-adjudication. The settlement must be filed with the Register of Deeds when required, accompanied by the bond prescribed for personal property, and published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

Publication does not make an omitted heir disappear. Rule 74 expressly states that an extrajudicial settlement is not binding on a person who did not participate or had no notice.

Estate property and the required bond remain subject for two years to the claims described in Rule 74. A qualifying minor, mentally incapacitated person, prisoner, or person outside the Philippines may have an additional year after the disability is removed. Other remedies and limitation periods may apply where an heir received no notice, fraud occurred, or property was registered or transferred; never assume that every omitted-heir claim automatically expires after two years.

The governing procedures are in the Supreme Court’s Rules 72–109 on Special Proceedings.

Estate tax and transfer requirements

Inheritance shares and estate tax are separate issues. A person can be a lawful heir even though the estate has not yet completed its tax obligations, but registrable assets generally cannot be transferred without the required BIR clearance.

For a person who died on or after January 1, 2018:

Estate tax is generally 6% of the net taxable estate;
BIR Form No. 1801 is generally due within one year from death;
A meritorious filing extension may not exceed 30 days;
Payment is generally due when the return is filed;
A CPA-certified statement is required when the gross estate exceeds ₱5 million; and
A return may still be required regardless of gross value when the estate contains registered or registrable property requiring BIR clearance.

For citizens and resident aliens, available deductions may include the ₱5 million standard deduction, a family-home deduction of up to ₱10 million subject to legal requirements, enforceable claims and mortgages, and the surviving spouse’s net share in community or conjugal property.

When immediate payment would impose undue hardship, an approved extension may reach five years for a judicially settled estate or two years for an extrajudicially settled estate. BIR rules also allow approved installment payment or partial disposition in qualifying cash-short estates. These are not automatic and should be requested before unauthorized distribution or sale.

An electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration, or eCAR, is generally required before covered real property, shares, and other registrable assets can be transferred. Use the BIR’s current Estate Tax page, eONETT system, and responsible Revenue District Office for the applicable filing, payment, and eCAR process.

The estate-tax amnesty filing window closed in June 2025. However, the BIR clarified in Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 33-2026 that a taxpayer who timely availed of the amnesty has no separate deadline to submit proof of estate settlement. That proof remains necessary before an eCAR can be issued. An estate that did not timely avail must generally follow the tax law applicable when the person died, with applicable additions.

Current general rules for estates of persons who died from 2018 onward are summarized in Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018.

Practical steps for heirs

Secure the death certificate. Obtain an official PSA or civil-registry copy.
Protect, but do not appropriate, the assets. Preserve homes, records, vehicles, business property, devices, and accounts. Record who has possession. Do not withdraw, sell, mortgage, or retitle assets without authority.
Locate the original will. Ask the named executor, lawyer, bank, or custodian. Observe the 20-day delivery requirement.
Prepare a complete family tree. Include all marriages, children from every relationship, adopted children, predeceased children and their descendants, parents, and relevant siblings.
Collect civil-status evidence. Obtain birth, marriage, death, adoption, acknowledgment, annulment, nullity, and legal-separation records as applicable.
Inventory assets and liabilities. Include titled and untitled land, condominium units, vehicles, bank accounts, investments, shares, businesses, receivables, insurance, digital assets, loans, mortgages, taxes, and pending cases.
Identify ownership before death. Review marriage settlements, titles, deeds, contribution records, and evidence of property acquired during marriage or cohabitation.
Document lifetime transfers. Preserve deeds of donation, receipts, bank transfers, and records of advances to children. These may affect collation and legitimes.
Choose the lawful settlement route. Use probate or judicial administration when required. Use an extrajudicial settlement only if every Rule 74 condition is satisfied.
Complete tax and registration work. File the required return, pay or secure approval for any alternative payment arrangement, obtain eCARs, pay applicable local transfer charges, and register the partition or transfers with the relevant agencies.
Keep a shared accounting. Record income, rent, expenses, taxes, repairs, and distributions from the date of death. Estate funds should not be mixed with a relative’s personal account.

Evidence worth preserving

Keep originals and secure copies of:

The death certificate and original will;
PSA birth and marriage certificates;
Adoption orders and amended civil-registry records;
Acknowledgments of filiation and relevant handwritten documents;
Land titles, tax declarations, deeds, surveys, and assessor records;
Bank, investment, insurance, pension, corporate, and business records;
Vehicle registrations and loan documents;
Marriage settlements and proof of property contributions;
Deeds of donation and records of lifetime advances;
Estate-tax returns, payment confirmations, eCARs, and BIR correspondence;
Extrajudicial-settlement documents and affidavits of publication;
Receipts for funeral, preservation, tax, and administration expenses;
Messages or recordings lawfully obtained concerning concealment, threats, forgery, undue influence, or unauthorized transfers; and
A dated inventory with photographs and the names of persons holding estate property.

Common mistakes

Dividing the deceased’s gross assets without first separating the surviving spouse’s property;
Treating a tax declaration, possession, or payment of real-property tax as conclusive proof of exclusive ownership;
Assuming the eldest or the child who cared for the parent receives more automatically;
Excluding a child because the child uses a different surname;
Using an informal family tree without verifying PSA and adoption records;
Treating a live-in partner as a legal spouse—or ignoring the partner’s provable co-owned property;
Publishing an extrajudicial settlement while deliberately omitting an heir;
Signing a “waiver” without understanding that it may be irrevocable or taxable;
Selling a specific estate asset when the seller owns only an undivided hereditary interest;
Assuming a notarized will no longer needs probate;
Ignoring debts because the heirs already divided the property;
Applying the present 6% estate-tax regime to an old death without checking the law applicable at that time; and
Waiting until the one-year tax deadline, a court claims deadline, or a filiation deadline has passed.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly if:

A will is being withheld, destroyed, altered, or presented only as a photocopy;
Someone is selling, mortgaging, withdrawing, or retitling estate assets;
An heir was omitted from an affidavit of self-adjudication or extrajudicial settlement;
Filiation, adoption, marriage, or legitimacy is disputed;
A minor or incapacitated heir has no independent, authorized representation;
The deceased had multiple marriages, foreign citizenship, or assets abroad;
The estate contains a business, agricultural land, corporate shares, trust property, or disputed co-ownership;
Foreclosure, tax delinquency, or dissipation of assets is imminent;
The one-year estate-tax deadline is approaching or has passed; or
There are credible signs of forgery, fraud, intimidation, concealment, or violence.

If the deceased was a foreign national, obtain conflicts-of-law advice before applying Philippine share tables. Article 16 of the Civil Code generally makes the deceased person’s national law govern the order of succession, amounts of successional rights, and intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, regardless of where the property is located. Philippine procedural, property-registration, tax, and public-policy rules may still apply.

Frequently asked questions

Can a parent leave everything to only one child?

Usually not if other compulsory heirs survive. The favored child may keep benefits within that child’s legitime and the disposable portion, but excessive gifts may be reduced to protect the other compulsory heirs.

Can an heir demand a specific house or lot?

Not automatically. Before partition, heirs generally own undivided shares in the estate. A particular asset may be assigned by agreement, by the will if legally effective, or through judicial partition, with balancing payments when necessary.

Can one heir sell the entire inherited property?

Not without authority from all owners or the court. An heir may potentially transfer an undivided hereditary interest, but cannot convey other heirs’ shares. A buyer acquires no better right than the selling heir could legally transfer.

Is an extrajudicial settlement valid if one heir did not sign?

It is not binding on a person who did not participate or had no notice. Publication does not cure deliberate or accidental omission. The available remedy depends on registration, notice, fraud, possession, subsequent transfers, and applicable limitation periods.

Does using the mother’s surname prevent a child from inheriting from the father?

No. Surname and filiation are different issues. The child must still prove legal filiation using evidence recognized by law.

Can an heir refuse the inheritance because it has debts?

Yes, but repudiation must follow the required form and is generally irrevocable. The heir should first obtain a reliable accounting because liability through succession is limited to the value inherited.

Does a will made abroad work in the Philippines?

Possibly. Its form, the deceased’s nationality, the law where it was executed, authentication requirements, and Philippine probate rules must be examined. A will already allowed abroad may still require allowance in the Philippines before it can operate on Philippine assets.

Is paying estate tax enough to establish who the heirs are?

No. Tax payment and eCAR issuance do not replace probate, proof of filiation, a valid settlement, or a court determination of disputed rights.

Is estate-tax amnesty still available?

The statutory filing period ended in June 2025. A person who timely availed may still submit proof of settlement later for eCAR processing under BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 33-2026.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular estate. Succession outcomes are document- and fact-dependent. Official sources were checked for current law and procedures as of July 30, 2026.