Inheritance Shares for Legitimate and Illegitimate Children in the Philippines

(Comprehensive overview as of 22 July 2025)

1. Legal Foundations

Source	Key Provisions
Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386, 1950)	Arts. 887 (compulsory heirs), 888 & 890 (legitime of legitimate descendants), 895 (legitime of illegitimate children), 902 & 909 (free portion), 992 (“iron-curtain” rule), 919–921 (disinheritance)
Family Code of 1987 (E.O. 209)	Arts. 163–182 (filiation), 177–179 (legitimation); repeals earlier Civil-Code distinctions between natural and spurious illegitimate children
Domestic Adoption & Alternative Child Care Acts (RA 8552 as amended; RA 9523; RA 11642, 2022)	Adopted child enjoys the same hereditary status as a legitimate child
Legitimation by Subsequent Marriage (RA 9858, 2009)	Children born outside wedlock to parents who could marry each other later become legitimate retroactively upon valid subsequent marriage
Constitution, Art. XV §3 (1)	Mandates equal protection for children regardless of birth status, guiding liberal statutory interpretation
Selected Supreme-Court jurisprudence	Diaz v. IAC (G.R. L-66574, 28 May 1986); De Peralta v. De Peralta (G.R. 172252, 27 Mar 2013); Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa (G.R. 227848, 15 Mar 2021); others clarify practical computation and barriers

2. Classification of Children for Succession

Legitimate children
- Born or conceived during a valid marriage (Fam. Code Art. 164).
- Also includes:
  - Legitimated children under Arts. 177–179 & RA 9858.
  - Adopted children (RA 11642) – treated as legitimate for all intents in succession.
Illegitimate children
- Conceived and born outside a valid marriage and not subsequently legitimated.
- After the Family Code, the old sub-labels “natural” and “spurious” have no more practical effect; all illegitimate children inherit on an equal footing (Fam. Code Art. 176, now renumbered Art. 175-A by RA 11589).

3. Compulsory-Heir Status and Legitime

Compulsory Heirs	Statutory Legitime
Legitimate child/descendant	½ of the estate, to be divided equally among legitimate children (Civil Code Art. 888).
Surviving spouse (w/ legitimate children)	A share equal to one legitimate child (Art. 892).
Illegitimate child	½ the legitime of a legitimate child (Art. 895). If only illegitimate children survive, they collectively take ½ of the estate (Art. 895 ¶2).
Parents/ascendants	Legitime arises only if there are no descendants (Art. 889).

Rule of thumb: Each illegitimate child gets 50 % of what each legitimate child receives from the legitime portion; but they may also share in the free portion if the decedent dies intestate or so provides by will.

4. Practical Computation Scenarios

Example 1 – Mixed Children, No Will Estate value: ₱12 million Survivors: 1 legitimate child L, 2 illegitimate children I₁ & I₂, and the spouse S.

Determine total legitime (½ of estate): ₱6 M

Allocate among compulsory heirs:

L: 1 unit → ₱2 M

S: 1 unit → ₱2 M

Each I: ½ unit → ₱1 M each (Total = ₱2 M + ₱2 M + ₱1 M + ₱1 M = ₱6 M)

Free portion (remaining ½): ₱6 M

If intestate, divided pro-rata by legal rules: legitimate and illegitimate children inherit equally but subject again to the “½-rule”, yielding the same proportions as above. A will may dispose of this freely, provided no compulsory share is impaired.

Example 2 – Only Illegitimate Children and Spouse Estate: ₱10 M; survivors: spouse S and 3 illegitimate children A, B, C.

Illegitimate children’s collective legitime: ½ of estate → ₱5 M, so each gets ₱1 ⅔ M.

Spouse’s legitime (no legitimate children): ¼ of estate → ₱2.5 M (Art. 894).

Free portion: ₱2.5 M – freely disposable or, if intestate, proportionally increases everybody’s share under Art. 1001.

5. The “Iron-Curtain” Rule (Art. 992)

Absolute bar to intestate succession between:**
- Illegitimate child ↔ legitimate descendants/ascendants of the same parent.
- Legitimate child ↔ illegitimate descendants/ascendants of the same parent.

Hence, an illegitimate grandchild cannot inherit by right of representation from a legitimate grandparent, and vice-versa. The barrier does not apply in testate succession—a grandparent may still give by will from the free portion.

6. Representation and Survivorship Nuances

Situation	Can Representation Occur?	Statutory Basis
Legitimate grandchild representing pre-deceased legitimate parent	✔️	Arts. 970–972
Illegitimate grandchild representing pre-deceased illegitimate parent	✔️ (within illegitimate line)	Art. 975
Illegitimate child representing legitimate parent toward legitimate grandparent	❌ (iron curtain)	Art. 992
Legitimate child representing illegitimate parent toward illegitimate grandparent	❌	Art. 992

7. Acknowledgment & Proof of Filiation

An illegitimate child must establish filiation (Fam. Code Art. 172):

Record of birth where the father/mother expressly appears;
Public instrument (e.g., notarized affidavit of acknowledgment); or
Open and continuous possession of status as a child.

Action to prove filiation is imprescriptible during the parent’s lifetime; after death, it must be filed within ten years (Art. 175). Failure to prove filiation eliminates inheritance rights.

8. Legitimation, Adoption & Their Effects

Mode	Resulting Status	Effect on Shares
Legitimation (subsequent marriage under RA 9858; legitimation under Arts. 177-179)	Child becomes legitimate retroactively to birth.	Receives full legitime of legitimate children; “iron curtain” lifted.
Domestic/Administrative Adoption (RA 11642)	Child is deemed legitimate for all civil effects.	Same inheritance rights as a biological legitimate child, both intestate and testate.
Simulation-Rectification (RA 11222, 2019)	Once adoption order issued, child enjoys legitimate status.	As above.

9. Testate Succession Constraints

Freedom to dispose is limited to the free portion.
Any provision in a will impairing the legitime of either legitimate or illegitimate compulsory heirs is reduced automatically in inofficiousness (Arts. 906–907).
Testator may, however, improve an illegitimate child by giving more from the free portion, but cannot go below the compulsory share of legitimate heirs.

10. Disinheritance

Both legitimate and illegitimate children may be disinherited only for causes enumerated in Art. 919 (Civil Code)—e.g., attempt on the life of the parent, false accusation of a crime, refusal of support.

Formality: Must be expressly made in a will that states the cause; otherwise, disinheritance is void and the child retains compulsory-heir status.

11. Recent Jurisprudential Highlights

Case (Year)	Gist
Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa (2021)	Re-affirmed that illegitimate children’s legitime equals ½ of a legitimate child, regardless of number of legitimate heirs.
De Peralta v. De Peralta (2013)	Clarified that acknowledgment through open and continuous possession of status remains viable even without written instrument.
Diaz v. IAC (1986)	Early case applying Art. 895 ratio; often cited on computation methodology.

(No decision up to July 2025 has overturned the ½-share ratio or the iron-curtain doctrine, though several concurring opinions urged legislative reform.)

12. Legislative Reform Initiatives

Multiple bills in the 18ᵗʰ–19ᵗʰ Congresses propose equal legitimes for all children, citing constitutional equality and U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
As of July 2025, no bill has been enacted; the Civil-Code/Fam-Code framework outlined above therefore remains controlling law.

13. Key Take-Aways

Ratio Rule: Each illegitimate child’s legitime = 50 % of a legitimate child’s legitime.
Iron Curtain: No intestate inheritance between legitimate and illegitimate relatives beyond the common parent.
Proof Matters: Filiation must be duly established; otherwise, no share.
Conversion Paths: Legitimation and adoption erase illegitimacy ab initio, upgrading shares.
Reform Watch: Equality bills are pending; practitioners must track developments that could upend existing computations.

Practical Tip for Estate Planning: To avoid post-mortem litigation, parents with both legitimate and illegitimate offspring should execute a carefully-structured notarial will (or holographic will if entirely handwritten) that: • Acknowledges illegitimate children expressly (satisfying Art. 172 proof), • Allocates the free portion to achieve the intended balance, and • Contains a complete inventory to guide compulsory-share calculations. Even with such a will, heirs should still resort to judicial or extrajudicial settlement with court approval to ensure enforceability.

This article synthesizes the Philippine statutory framework and jurisprudence as of 22 July 2025. It is for academic guidance and is not a substitute for personalized legal advice before Philippine courts or administrative agencies.