Inheritance Rights of a Second Spouse over the Deceased’s Inherited Properties (Philippines)

This is practical legal information under Philippine law (Family Code & Civil Code). It isn’t a substitute for advice from your own counsel, who can review deeds, titles, and family facts.

1) Core idea in one minute (TL;DR)

Property inherited by a spouse—whether received before or during the second marriage—is that spouse’s exclusive property. It does not become community/conjugal property (with narrow, stated exceptions).
When that spouse dies, the second (surviving) spouse may receive:
1. Her/his share in the marital property system (e.g., 50% of the community/conjugal property after paying its debts)—this never comes from the deceased’s strictly inherited properties; and
2. A successional share (as a compulsory heir) in the deceased’s estate, which includes the deceased’s inherited properties.
Big caveats:
- Reserva troncal can completely exclude the second spouse from certain inherited assets (explained in §7).
- If the second marriage is void, the “second spouse” is not a compulsory heir (§8).
- Fruits/income (e.g., rent) from the deceased’s inherited property may have been community/conjugal during marriage; those fruits are split first, before succession (§3–§4).

2) Step zero: Confirm the property regime of the second marriage

Marriages on/after 3 Aug 1988 (effectivity of the Family Code): default is Absolute Community of Property (ACP) unless there’s a valid prenuptial agreement (often separation of property).
Marriages before 3 Aug 1988: default was Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG) (unless a prenup says otherwise).
Separation of Property (by agreement or by court): each spouse keeps what he/she acquires; at death there’s no “50% community” to divide, but the surviving spouse still has successional rights.

Why it matters: you first liquidate the marital property system; only the deceased’s net share goes to the estate for distribution by succession.

3) Nature of inherited assets during marriage

Under ACP (post-1988 default):

Inherited/donated property received by only one spouse is exclusive to that spouse.
Fruits/income (rent, dividends) from that exclusive property are community property, unless the donor/testator expressly excluded the fruits/income.

Under CPG (pre-1988 default):

The inherited/donated property itself is exclusive to the recipient spouse.
Fruits/income of exclusive property are generally conjugal during the marriage.

Improvements & reimbursements (ACP/CPG): If community/conjugal funds improved the deceased’s exclusive inherited property, the community/conjugal partnership is owed reimbursement (typically the lesser of the cost or the increase in value). This is settled before computing the estate.

4) What exactly does the second spouse get?

Think in two boxes:

Box A — Marital-property share (non-successional)

ACP/CPG: After paying community/conjugal debts, the surviving spouse takes 50% of the net community/conjugal assets.
Does not touch the deceased’s exclusive inherited property (except any community/conjugal fruits still on hand).

Box B — Successional share (as a compulsory heir)

After Box A, the estate is whatever is left in the deceased’s name (including the deceased’s exclusive inherited assets). From this estate, the surviving spouse inherits a compulsory legitime, the size of which depends on who else survives:

With legitimate children/descendants: the spouse’s forced share is equal to the share of one legitimate child (and in intestate cases, the spouse and each legitimate child take equal portions).
With legitimate parents/ascendants only (no descendants): the spouse gets a forced share (classically computed alongside the ascendants’ one-half legitime), leaving a free portion.
With illegitimate (non-marital) children only: the spouse also gets a forced share alongside the illegitimate children (who themselves have a smaller forced share compared to legitimate children); a free portion remains.
With collaterals only (no descendants, no ascendants): the spouse’s share increases (and in intestacy, the spouse often gets the whole or a large part).
If there’s a will: the testator cannot impair the spouse’s and other compulsory heirs’ legitimes; only the free portion can be given away freely (e.g., more to the second spouse).

Important: These rules apply to the deceased’s entire estate, which includes the deceased’s exclusive inherited properties (subject to special rules like reserva troncal, §7).

5) The order of operations (how to compute in practice)

Identify the marital property regime (ACP, CPG, Separation).
Inventory & classify assets and debts:
- Community/conjugal vs. exclusive (including the deceased’s inherited assets).
- Consider fruits/income and reimbursement claims.
Liquidate the marital property system:
- Pay community/conjugal debts.
- Split the net: 50% to the surviving spouse, 50% to the deceased.
The estate = deceased’s 50% community/conjugal + all exclusive properties (including inherited assets) – estate debts, funeral, last illness, taxes, etc.
Distribute the estate by succession (testate or intestate), respecting legitimes.
Apply special doctrines (e.g., reserva troncal) to specific assets.

6) Worked examples (numbers are purely illustrative)

Example 1 — ACP, intestate; inherited land + community cash

Facts: Deceased (D) and second spouse (S) married in 2000 (ACP). D owns inherited land worth ₱10M (exclusive). Community bank account ₱4M. Debts nil. Heirs: S and three legitimate children (two from first marriage, one with S).
Step A (liquidate ACP): Split the ₱4M community account ⇒ ₱2M to S outright (Box A), ₱2M to D’s estate.
Estate (Box B base): ₱2M (D’s half of community) + ₱10M (exclusive inherited land) = ₱12M.
Intestate shares: With legitimate children, the spouse gets the same share as each child. There are 4 takers (S + 3 kids) ⇒ ₱3M each from the estate.
Bottom line for S: ₱2M (community share) + ₱3M (inheritance) = ₱5M total value.

Example 2 — CPG, fruits of inherited property

Facts: Marriage in 1985 (CPG). D owns an inherited apartment (exclusive) generating ₱60k/month rent saved in a joint account.
During marriage: The rent is conjugal; savings from rent belong to the conjugal partnership.
At death: Conjugal savings are split first (50/50). The apartment itself goes into D’s estate; S then inherits as a compulsory heir from that estate.

Example 3 — Prenup: Separation of Property

Facts: Valid prenup sets Separation of Property. D leaves inherited farm (exclusive) and his own bank account.
No Box A (no community to liquidate). The entire estate is whatever is solely in D’s name (including the inherited farm). S inherits only via succession (forced share depends on who else survives).

7) The Reserva Troncal trap (often decisive for second spouses)

What it is: If an ascendant (e.g., a parent) inherits from his/her descendant (child/grandchild) property that originally came to that descendant by gratuitous title (inheritance/donation) from the same line (ascendants/brothers/sisters), the inherited property becomes “reservable.” The ascendant (called the reservista) owns it during life, but upon the reservista’s death, that property must pass to the blood relatives (up to the third degree) of the line from which it came (the reservatarios).

Why it matters: If a widower inherits from a child by his first wife property that came from that first wife’s family, then remarries, that reservable property will not pass to the second spouse at the widower’s death. It goes to the relatives of the first wife’s line.

The second spouse may have had use of fruits during the marriage (if those fruits were community/conjugal), but ownership of the reservable asset skips the second spouse at succession.

8) Validity of the second marriage (crucial to rights)

If the first marriage was not yet dissolved (no death, no declaration of nullity/annulment; no valid judicial declaration of presumptive death), the second marriage is void.
A void “marriage” partner is not a compulsory heir. Property relations might be governed by co-ownership rules for partners in good faith (Family Code, Art. 147/148), but that is not succession.
If the second marriage is voidable but not yet annulled at the time of death, it is valid until annulled, and the spouse inherits.

9) Testate vs. intestate: how much can a will favor the second spouse?

The decedent may make a will but cannot impair legitimes of compulsory heirs (legitimate/illegitimate children, surviving spouse, ascendants as applicable).
The decedent may freely give the free portion to the second spouse (even 100% of the free portion).
Inter vivos donations between spouses during marriage are generally void (with narrow exceptions), so shifting inherited assets to the second spouse by donation during marriage is usually not a lawful route. Testamentary dispositions (in a valid will) are fine within legitime limits.

10) Practical checklist (to assert or defend the second spouse’s rights)

Gather: marriage certificates (both marriages), prenup (if any), titles/TCTs, tax declarations, deeds of donation, wills, proof of rents/dividends/sales, loan docs.
Classify assets: inherited vs. acquired; exclusive vs. community/conjugal; fruits/income; improvements and sources of funds.
Liquidate the marital system (ACP/CPG) before succession; compute reimbursements.
Map the heirs (children—legitimate/illegitimate; ascendants; collaterals; spouse).
Check for reserva troncal for any asset that “came down” then “went up” then “goes sideways” back to the original line.
Assess will & donations: reduce inofficious dispositions if legitimes are impaired.
Tax & procedure: estate tax (presently a flat rate on the net estate), inventory, publication, extrajudicial settlement (if allowed), or judicial intestate/testate proceedings.

11) Frequently asked edge cases

“The title is solely in the deceased’s name, but we bought it during marriage.” Title isn’t conclusive. If acquired for value during ACP/CPG, it’s presumptively community/conjugal; if acquired by inheritance/donation, it’s exclusive.
“Can the donor/testator make inherited property community under ACP?” Yes—but only if expressly stated. Otherwise it stays exclusive (fruits normally community).
“Does the second spouse get anything from inherited property that was never rented or used?” Not during the marriage under ACP/CPG. At death, the second spouse may inherit a share as compulsory heir from that exclusive property (unless reserva troncal or other disqualifications apply).
“What if the family home sits on the deceased’s inherited land?” The land remains exclusive/estate property, but the family home has statutory protection (surviving spouse/minor children can continue to occupy, subject to caps and exceptions). Ownership still follows succession rules.

12) Short, take-home rules

Inherited ≠ community/conjugal. It’s exclusive to the heir-spouse.
The surviving second spouse always looks to two buckets: (i) marital-property share (never from the inherited corpus), and (ii) successional share from the estate (which includes the inherited assets).
Reserva troncal can divert particular inherited assets away from the second spouse entirely.
Marriage validity decides everything: a void subsequent marriage means no successional rights for the “second spouse.”

If you want, tell me your marriage date(s), whether there’s a prenup, and a quick asset list (with how/when each was acquired). I can run a precise, step-by-step allocation with example numbers for your exact scenario.