(Philippine Civil Code and Family Code context; spouses are married; no legitimate or illegitimate children or descendants.)

1) Core idea: “Estate” comes only after property relations are settled

When a spouse dies, you do not immediately distribute “everything they owned.” You first determine what belongs to the surviving spouse as owner and what belongs to the decedent and becomes the estate.

Step 1: Identify the property regime

Common regimes in the Philippines:

Absolute Community of Property (ACP) – default for marriages on/after the Family Code’s effectivity (unless a valid marriage settlement provides otherwise).
Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG) – typical default for many marriages before the Family Code (again, unless modified).
Complete Separation of Property – only if agreed in a valid marriage settlement or ordered by a court in proper cases.

Step 2: Liquidate the regime

Under ACP/CPG, the surviving spouse already owns their share (often one-half of the net community/conjugal property after debts/charges).
Only the decedent’s share plus any exclusive/separate property becomes the estate to be inherited.

Practical consequence: People often overestimate the inheritance. If the spouses’ main assets are community/conjugal, only half (subject to liquidation) is in the decedent’s estate.

2) Who inherits in intestacy when there are no children?

Intestate succession is governed primarily by the Civil Code rules on legal (intestate) succession. The surviving spouse is a compulsory heir, but intestate shares depend on what other relatives exist.

For a decedent with no descendants, the key “competing” heirs are:

Legitimate parents or other legitimate ascendants (e.g., grandparents), and
Collateral relatives (brothers/sisters, nephews/nieces, then more distant relatives up to the 5th degree),
Or, if none exist, the State.

3) The surviving spouse’s share when there are no children

Below assumes: valid marriage; no disqualifications; and we are distributing the decedent’s estate (after liquidation).

A. Decedent leaves a surviving spouse and legitimate parents/ascendants

Rule: The estate is divided 50–50:

1/2 to the surviving spouse
1/2 to the legitimate parents (or legitimate ascendants)

If both parents are alive, they share their half equally. If parents are not alive but ascendants exist (e.g., grandparents), they inherit that half by the rules of the ascending line.

Example: Estate (after liquidation) = ₱10,000,000

Spouse = ₱5,000,000
Parents/ascendants = ₱5,000,000

B. Decedent leaves a surviving spouse and brothers/sisters and/or nephews/nieces (but no parents/ascendants)

Rule: The estate is divided 50–50:

1/2 to the surviving spouse
1/2 to the brothers/sisters, with representation by nephews/nieces if a sibling predeceased.

Representation (collateral line): Children of a predeceased brother/sister step into that sibling’s place for the sibling-share.

Example: Estate = ₱6,000,000

Spouse = ₱3,000,000
Collaterals = ₱3,000,000 If the collaterals are: one living sister, and two children of a predeceased brother:
Sister gets 1/2 of the collateral half (₱1,500,000)
The two nephews split the brother’s 1/2 of the collateral half (₱1,500,000 ÷ 2 = ₱750,000 each)

C. Decedent leaves a surviving spouse and more distant relatives (no parents/ascendants; no siblings/nieces/nephews)

Rule: The surviving spouse inherits the entire estate.

More distant collateral relatives (cousins, etc.) do not share if the spouse is alone at that level.

D. No surviving spouse (for comparison)

If there is no surviving spouse, intestate distribution flows to:

Legitimate parents/ascendants (if no descendants), then
Collaterals (siblings/nephews/nieces, then up to the 5th degree), then
The State.

4) “Spouses die without children”: the hard part is who died first

When both spouses die, what happens depends heavily on whether one is proven to have survived the other, even briefly, or whether the law treats them as having died at the same time.

A. If it can be proven one spouse survived the other

Then succession happens in sequence:

First spouse dies → the surviving spouse becomes an heir and receives their intestate share from the first estate.
Second spouse later dies → the second spouse’s heirs inherit everything in the second spouse’s estate, including what they inherited from the first spouse.

Result: Part of the first spouse’s property may end up going to the second spouse’s family.

This is often the most emotionally and financially “surprising” outcome for in-laws.

B. If there is no proof who died first (common disaster; uncertain order)

For succession purposes, Philippine law applies the rule that no transmission occurs between them if it cannot be determined who died first and they are called to inherit from each other.

Effect: Each spouse is treated as though the other did not inherit from them.

Husband’s estate goes to husband’s heirs (parents/ascendants; or siblings/nieces/nephews; or spouse—but spouse is not treated as surviving here for this purpose)
Wife’s estate goes to wife’s heirs under the same logic.

Important nuance: This affects inheritance between them, but the property regime still must be liquidated. Their ownership shares in the community/conjugal property are still determined and then devolve to their respective heirs.

5) How liquidation and inheritance interact when both spouses die

Scenario 1: They have ACP (common today) and die together; no children

After debts and charges:

Net community property is typically divided into two halves:
- One half attributed to Spouse A’s estate
- One half attributed to Spouse B’s estate Then each half is distributed to each spouse’s respective heirs based on the intestacy rules.

If one spouse had exclusive property (e.g., inherited property kept exclusive, or property excluded by law), that exclusive property belongs to that spouse’s estate only.

Scenario 2: They have CPG

CPG requires identifying:

Conjugal partnership property (gains during marriage, etc.) and
Exclusive properties Net conjugal property is typically divided into halves after settlement, then each half devolves to each estate, plus each spouse’s exclusive properties.

Scenario 3: Separation of property

No community/conjugal liquidation (except shared co-ownerships, if any). Each spouse’s properties go to their own estate.

6) Quick distribution matrix (no children)

Assuming a valid marriage and intestacy as to the decedent’s estate:

If one spouse dies (single death case)

Surviving relatives of the decedent	Surviving spouse share	Other heirs’ share
Legitimate parents/ascendants exist	1/2	1/2 to parents/ascendants
No ascendants, but siblings and/or nephews/nieces exist	1/2	1/2 to siblings; representation by nephews/nieces
No ascendants; no siblings/nieces/nephews	All	None (spouse alone)

If both spouses die

Proven sequential deaths: first estate partly goes to surviving spouse; then it may pass to the second spouse’s heirs on the second death.
Uncertain order: no spousal transmission; each estate goes to each spouse’s blood relatives (or State), after liquidation.

7) Special rules and pitfalls that commonly change outcomes

A. Disqualification and “not really a surviving spouse”

A person will not inherit as “spouse” if, for example:

The marriage is void (bigamy, lack of authority/essential requisites, prohibited marriages, etc.)
The marriage is voidable and later annulled with effects that remove inheritance rights
There is a final judgment that produces consequences akin to severing inheritance rights (context-dependent)
The spouse is incapacitated to succeed by unworthiness (e.g., serious acts against the decedent recognized by law)

These issues are fact-specific and often litigated.

B. “No children” must include all legally recognized descendants

“Children” in succession includes:

Legitimate children
Legitimated children
Illegitimate children (recognized under applicable rules) If an illegitimate child exists, intestate shares can change drastically. A case described as “no children” sometimes later turns into “there is an acknowledged child.”

C. Adoption

Legally adopted children are treated as children for succession purposes and will displace the “no children” assumption.

D. The “family home”

The family home is treated specially in terms of protection from execution and in how it remains for the benefit of the family under the Family Code framework. On death, it still becomes part of inheritance computations, but its administration and protections can affect settlement and partition timing and practicality.

E. Retirement benefits, insurance, payable-on-death accounts

Not everything “owned” is part of the probate estate:

Life insurance proceeds generally go to the designated beneficiary (not the estate), unless the beneficiary designation is invalid or the estate is named.
Certain benefits may have their own statutory beneficiary rules. These assets can bypass intestate succession entirely.

F. Taxes and settlement costs

Estate settlement must account for:

Debts and obligations
Funeral expenses (within legal bounds)
Estate tax compliance requirements Only the net distributable estate is partitioned.

8) Procedure: how estates are typically settled when there are no children

A. Extrajudicial settlement (common if uncontested)

If heirs are all of age and there are no disputes and requirements are met, heirs may settle extrajudicially via public instrument, with publication requirements and tax compliance.

B. Judicial settlement

Used when:

There are disputes among heirs
There are unknown heirs/complicated assets
Creditors’ claims require court supervision
The validity of marriage/heirship is contested

C. Two estates when both spouses die

When both spouses die, you may have:

Two estate proceedings (one per spouse), sometimes coordinated, especially where property regimes overlap.

9) Worked examples (typical real-life patterns)

Example 1: Wife dies; husband survives; wife has living parents; no children

Liquidate ACP/CPG: husband takes his ownership share.
Wife’s estate: husband gets 1/2, wife’s parents get 1/2.

Example 2: Husband dies; wife survives; husband has no parents but has siblings; no children

Wife gets 1/2 of husband’s estate.
Husband’s siblings (and nephews/nieces by representation) share the other 1/2.

Example 3: Both die in the same accident; no proof who died first; no children

Husband leaves siblings; wife leaves parents.

Liquidate property regime: split net community/conjugal into two halves attributable to each.
Husband’s half goes to his siblings/nieces/nephews.
Wife’s half goes to her parents.
Neither inherits from the other.

Example 4: Husband dies first (proven). Wife survives for two days, then dies; no children

Husband has siblings; wife has parents.

On husband’s death: wife inherits 1/2 of husband’s estate; husband’s siblings get 1/2.
Two days later wife dies: wife’s parents inherit wife’s estate, which includes what wife inherited from husband.
Net result: some of husband’s property ends up with wife’s parents.

10) Planning note (why this topic matters)

Intestacy is a default scheme; it can produce outcomes many couples do not anticipate—especially when spouses die close in time and there are no children, because wealth can shift between the two families based on survivorship proof. The law’s structure (liquidation first, then succession; survivorship affecting transmission) is the key to predicting results.

11) Checklist for analyzing any “spouses died, no children” case

Confirm valid marriage and whether the spouse is legally a “surviving spouse.”
Identify property regime (ACP/CPG/separation) and list exclusive vs community/conjugal assets.
Determine debts/charges and liquidate to get the net estate for each spouse.
Determine who died first (or whether the law treats them as dying simultaneously for succession).
Identify the decedent’s surviving relatives:
- Ascendants (parents/grandparents)
- Siblings and representation by nephews/nieces
- More distant collaterals up to 5th degree
Apply the spouse-share rules:
- With ascendants: spouse 1/2
- With siblings/nieces/nephews (no ascendants): spouse 1/2
- With none of the above: spouse all
Account for assets that bypass the estate (insurance beneficiaries, certain benefits).
Decide settlement route (extrajudicial vs judicial) and complete tax compliance.

12) Legal caution

Succession outcomes can change materially with small facts (property regime details, proof of survivorship, legitimacy/recognition of relatives, unworthiness, validity of marriage, asset titling, beneficiary designations). For any actual case, the “right answer” is the one that matches the proven facts and documents (titles, marriage records, death certificates, beneficiary forms, and the liquidation accounting).