Quick answer

An heir’s rights depend on four things: what property actually belongs to the deceased, whether there is a valid will, who survived the deceased, and whether each claimed relationship can be proved.

Under Philippine law, inheritance rights arise at death, but heirs do not immediately own particular assets such as “the house” or “the farm.” Before partition, they generally own the net estate in common, subject to the deceased’s debts, taxes, administration expenses, the surviving spouse’s own property rights, and any valid will. A compulsory heir cannot ordinarily be deprived of the share reserved by law—the legitime—unless there is a valid statutory ground and a properly executed disinheritance.

This discussion covers the general Civil Code rules. Different rules may apply to Muslim succession, foreign-national decedents, agrarian-reform land, ancestral domains, homesteads, trust property, insurance, pensions, and benefits governed by special laws or contracts.

Start with the estate—not the family tree

Before computing anyone’s inheritance, identify the net hereditary estate:

Inventory the deceased’s real and personal property, rights, receivables, businesses, shares, vehicles, bank accounts, digital assets, and other interests.
Separate property belonging to another person, including the surviving spouse’s exclusive property.
Liquidate the absolute community or conjugal partnership, if applicable.
Pay or account for enforceable debts, estate expenses, taxes, and charges.
Add donations that must legally be brought into the computation of legitimes or collation.
Apply the will, if valid, without impairing compulsory heirs’ legitimes.
Divide only the resulting net estate.

The fact that a title, account, or receipt is in the deceased’s name does not always mean that the entire asset belongs to the estate. Property acquired during marriage may belong to the absolute community or conjugal partnership. Ordinarily, the surviving spouse first receives his or her own share from the liquidation; only the deceased spouse’s resulting share enters the inheritance.

The Family Code requires community or conjugal property to be liquidated in the estate proceeding. If there is no judicial proceeding, liquidation must generally be made judicially or extrajudicially within six months from death. A later disposition or encumbrance involving unliquidated community or conjugal property may be void. See Articles 102–104 and 129–131 of the Family Code.

An unmarried partner is not automatically a surviving spouse or legal heir. The partner may nevertheless own part of property acquired during cohabitation under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code, depending on the circumstances and proof of contribution. That ownership must be separated from inheritance.

Who may inherit?

A person may inherit:

Under a valid will;
By intestate succession when there is no effective will, the will covers only part of the estate, or a testamentary disposition fails; or
Through a combination of testamentary and intestate succession.

The principal compulsory heirs under Article 887 of the Civil Code are:

Legitimate children and descendants;
In their default, legitimate parents and ascendants;
The surviving legal spouse;
Illegitimate children whose filiation is duly proved; and
In the situations specified by law, the parents of an illegitimate child.

“Compulsory heir” does not mean that everyone on this list always inherits together. Descendants may exclude ascendants, a nearer relative may exclude a more remote one, and the surviving combination of heirs changes the shares.

Children

All legitimate children inherit equally from the same parent, regardless of sex, age, order of birth, or whether they came from different marriages.

An illegitimate child may inherit directly from both parents once filiation is properly established. Under Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, the legitime of each illegitimate child is generally one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child, subject to the rules protecting the surviving spouse and limiting what may be taken from the disposable portion.

Use of the father’s surname is not, by itself, the controlling test of inheritance. Filiation—not the surname—must be proved through the evidence and procedures allowed by law.

Adopted children

A legally adopted child is treated as the adopter’s legitimate child. Republic Act No. 11642 gives adopters and adoptees reciprocal rights of testate and intestate succession without distinction from legitimate filiation. Adoption may also extend filiation to specified members of the adopter’s family, while legal ties to biological parents are generally severed except in a stepparent adoption. The adoption order and applicable law must be examined carefully. See Sections 41–43 of Republic Act No. 11642.

Grandchildren and representation

A grandchild does not normally inherit alongside a living parent who is nearer in degree. A grandchild may instead represent a parent who predeceased the grandparent, was disinherited, or was incapable of inheriting, when the legal conditions for representation exist. The representatives divide only the share their parent would have received.

A child cannot be represented merely because that child voluntarily repudiated the inheritance.

In Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court held that a nonmarital child may represent a deceased parent in inheriting from a direct ascendant such as a grandparent, regardless of the circumstances of birth. The ruling is limited to inheritance from direct ascendants by representation; the Court expressly did not resolve every issue involving collateral relatives. Filiation must still be proved. See G.R. Nos. 208912 and 209018, December 7, 2021.

Surviving spouse

Only a spouse in a legally recognized marriage ordinarily qualifies as the surviving spouse for Civil Code succession.

Separation in fact alone does not terminate the marriage or automatically remove inheritance rights. In a decree of legal separation, however, the spouse who gave cause for the separation is disqualified from intestate succession. Other Family Code provisions may disqualify a spouse who acted in bad faith in a void subsequent marriage.

A fiancé, long-term partner, common-law partner, or partner in a void marriage does not acquire the legitime of a surviving spouse merely because the couple lived together for many years or had children. Such a partner may inherit through a valid will within the disposable portion, subject to legal prohibitions, and may separately prove ownership under the cohabitation-property rules.

Parents, siblings, and more distant relatives

Legitimate parents or ascendants generally inherit only when the deceased left no legitimate children or descendants. Illegitimate children may still concur with legitimate ascendants in the combinations provided by law.

Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and other collateral relatives inherit intestate only when the preferred descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, and—subject to the spouse’s concurrence rules—surviving spouse do not exclude them. Intestate succession does not extend beyond the fifth degree in the collateral line. If no qualified heir exists, the State succeeds to the estate.

If there is a will

A will does not permit unlimited freedom to distribute property. The testator may freely dispose only of the portion left after compulsory heirs’ legitimes are protected.

Common baseline legitimes include:

Compulsory heir	Baseline protected share
Legitimate children or descendants	Collectively, one-half of the hereditary estate, ordinarily divided equally among children or by representation
Legitimate parents or ascendants, when there are no legitimate descendants	Collectively, one-half
Surviving spouse with one legitimate child	One-fourth
Surviving spouse with two or more legitimate children	A share equal to the legitime of one legitimate child
Surviving spouse with legitimate ascendants	One-fourth
Surviving spouse with illegitimate children but no legitimate descendants or ascendants	One-third
Illegitimate children without other compulsory heirs	Collectively protected as provided by law; each child’s baseline legitime is one-half of a legitimate child’s legitime
Surviving spouse as the only compulsory heir	One-half, subject to the special rule for certain marriages in articulo mortis

These are starting points, not a universal calculator. The presence of several classes of compulsory heirs can alter or limit the shares. Donations made during the deceased’s lifetime, advances to children, prior partitions, and the surviving spouse’s own property can also affect the result.

A will must still be probated. No will transfers real or personal property unless it is proved and allowed by the proper court. A person holding the will must generally deliver it to the proper court or named executor within 20 days after learning of the testator’s death. See Rules 75 and 76 of the Rules of Court.

If there is no will

Intestate succession follows the order and concurrence rules in Articles 960–1014 of the Civil Code.

The following table covers common configurations after the estate has been properly determined:

Survivors	General intestate distribution
Legitimate children only	Entire net estate, divided equally; descendants of a predeceased child may represent that child
Surviving spouse and one legitimate child, with no illegitimate children	One-half to the spouse and one-half to the child
Surviving spouse and two or more legitimate children, with no illegitimate children	Spouse receives the same share as each child
Illegitimate children only, with no legitimate descendants or ascendants	Entire net estate, divided among them
Surviving spouse and illegitimate children only	One-half to the spouse; one-half collectively to the illegitimate children
Legitimate parents or ascendants only	Entire net estate; father and mother divide equally if both survive
Surviving spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the ascendants
Legitimate ascendants and illegitimate children	One-half to the ascendants; one-half collectively to the illegitimate children
Spouse, legitimate ascendants, and illegitimate children	One-half to the ascendants; one-fourth to the spouse; one-fourth collectively to the illegitimate children
Surviving spouse with brothers, sisters, nephews, or nieces, and no preferred heirs	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the qualifying collateral relatives
Only full-blood siblings	Equal shares
Full-blood and half-blood siblings	A full-blood sibling generally receives twice the share of a half-blood sibling
No qualified heir through the fifth collateral degree	The State succeeds

Do not apply a simple “legitimate child equals two illegitimate children” formula to every mixed family. In Macalinao v. Macalinao, the Supreme Court addressed the specific concurrence of one legitimate child, a surviving spouse, and two illegitimate children: one-half went to the legitimate child, one-fourth to the spouse, and one-eighth to each illegitimate child. Other family configurations require their own computation under the Civil Code, Family Code, and controlling decisions.

Can a parent completely exclude a child?

Not merely by saying so, refusing contact, transferring possession to another child, or writing “I leave nothing to X” in an informal document.

A compulsory heir may be deprived of the legitime only through a valid disinheritance:

Made in a valid will;
Based on a cause expressly recognized by law;
With that legal cause specified in the will; and
Supported by proof if the disinherited heir denies the cause.

The statutory causes differ for descendants, ascendants, and spouses. They include particular serious acts listed in Articles 919–921—not ordinary family disappointment or a vague allegation of being “ungrateful.” Reconciliation can make a prior disinheritance ineffective.

Separately, a person may be legally incapable of succeeding because of unworthiness under Article 1032, such as specified conduct involving violence, fraud, undue influence, concealment or falsification of a will, or other acts expressly stated by law.

What if a compulsory heir was omitted?

The consequence depends on whether the omission was intentional, whether the heir received anything through another title, and whether the omitted person is a child or descendant in the direct line.

An unintentional total omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line may constitute preterition, which can annul the institution of heirs while preserving valid devises and legacies to the extent allowed by law. If a compulsory heir received less than the legitime, the heir may demand completion. Excessive testamentary gifts or lifetime donations may be reduced upon the proper heir’s petition.

Do not assume that the entire will becomes void whenever one heir is omitted. The precise remedy requires examination of the will, donations, family relationships, and the nature of each disposition.

Acceptance, repudiation, and inherited debts

An inheritance includes transmissible rights and obligations, but an heir is not personally liable beyond the value of property received from the deceased.

Acceptance may be express or implied. Selling, donating, or assigning one’s hereditary right can amount to acceptance. Repudiation must be made through a public or authentic instrument or a petition filed in the estate proceeding. Once validly accepted or repudiated, the choice is generally irrevocable, except for legally recognized defects in consent or the later discovery of an unknown will.

Parents or guardians need judicial authority to repudiate an inheritance belonging to a minor or incapacitated person. A waiver “in favor of” a particular co-heir may have consequences different from a simple repudiation, including possible tax consequences.

How an estate is settled

Extrajudicial settlement

Under Rule 74, heirs may generally settle an estate without administration proceedings when:

The deceased left no will;
There are no outstanding debts;
All heirs participate;
All heirs are adults, or minors are properly represented by authorized legal or judicial representatives; and
The settlement is executed in a public instrument—or, for a genuine sole heir, through an affidavit of self-adjudication.

The instrument must be filed with the Registry of Deeds when required, and the settlement must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. Rule 74 also requires a bond corresponding to the personal property involved when the instrument is filed with the Registry of Deeds.

Publication does not cure the omission of an heir. An extrajudicial settlement is not binding on a person who did not participate and had no notice. Under Rule 74, an excluded heir or unpaid creditor may invoke the rule’s remedy within two years after settlement and distribution; specified persons under disability have an additional period stated in Section 5. Other remedies or prescriptive rules may apply where there was fraud, lack of notice, void participation, or an invalid partition, so an excluded heir should not wait.

Judicial settlement

Court settlement is usually necessary when:

There is a will requiring probate;
Heirs disagree on identity, shares, valuation, possession, or partition;
An heir is missing or inadequately represented;
There are contested debts;
Someone has concealed, sold, or taken estate assets;
Filiation, marriage, adoption, ownership, or the validity of documents is disputed; or
Administration is needed to preserve and manage the estate.

Under Republic Act No. 11576, first-level courts have probate jurisdiction when the gross value of the estate does not exceed ₱2 million; the Regional Trial Court has probate jurisdiction when it exceeds ₱2 million. Venue and the exact court must still be determined under the Rules of Court. See Republic Act No. 11576.

Estate tax and transfer requirements

Inheritance shares and estate tax are separate questions. An heir may have a valid hereditary right even though the estate still needs tax clearance and registration.

For deaths on or after January 1, 2018:

Estate tax is generally 6% of the net taxable estate.
The standard deduction for a citizen or resident is ₱5 million.
The family-home deduction is limited to the property’s qualifying value, up to ₱10 million.
The estate tax return is generally due within one year from death.
A return showing a gross estate above ₱5 million requires the prescribed CPA-certified statement.
The tax is ordinarily paid when the return is filed.
If estate cash is insufficient, installment payment may be allowed within two years from the statutory payment date, subject to the law and BIR requirements.
An approved extension for payment may not exceed five years for a judicially settled estate or two years for an extrajudicially settled estate. An extension to file, when granted for a meritorious case, may not exceed 30 days.

The law in force on the date of death generally controls the estate tax computation, so earlier deaths may be governed by different rates and deductions. The deadline for filing a return should not be confused with the time needed to finish partition or secure an eCAR.

Start with the BIR Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the deceased’s domicile at death. If the deceased had no Philippine legal residence, the special BIR routing rule applies. The BIR’s 2026 checklist commonly calls for the death certificate, titles or proof of personal property, tax declarations, TINs, and the settlement document, court order, or sworn declaration appropriate to the case. Check the current BIR Citizen’s Charter before filing because documentary and routing requirements can change.

The estate-tax rules appear in Republic Act No. 10963 and BIR Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018.

Practical steps for heirs

Secure civil-registry records. Obtain the PSA death certificate, marriage certificates, birth certificates, adoption orders, and relevant judgments concerning marriage or filiation.
Locate the original will. Do not alter, staple, annotate, conceal, or destroy it. Record who found it, where, and when.
Identify every possible heir. Include children from other relationships, adopted children, descendants of predeceased children, the legal spouse, and relevant parents or collateral relatives.
Preserve the estate. Secure the property, maintain necessary insurance and utilities, document valuables, and prevent unauthorized withdrawals or transfers.
Prepare an inventory. Include titles, tax declarations, bank accounts, loans, shares, businesses, vehicles, insurance, pensions, receivables, digital accounts, and foreign assets.
Separate ownership from inheritance. Determine the marriage property regime, co-ownership, trust arrangements, and assets payable directly under a statute, policy, or contract.
List debts and expenses. Preserve loan documents, statements, receipts, medical bills, funeral expenses, taxes, and proof of payment.
Value assets as of death. Estate tax and partition may require different supporting valuations.
Do not distribute too early. Confirm debts, tax obligations, legitimes, and the proper settlement route first.
Use a written accounting. Anyone managing estate income or property should record collections, expenses, repairs, rents, and distributions.
File the estate tax return on time. Settlement disagreements do not automatically suspend the tax deadline.
Register the final transfers. A deed among heirs alone does not complete BIR, Registry of Deeds, assessor, corporate-record, or vehicle-registration requirements.

Evidence to preserve

Keep originals and secure digital copies of:

Death, birth, and marriage certificates;
Adoption orders and amended birth records;
The original will, codicils, envelopes, drafts, and execution records;
Titles, deeds, tax declarations, surveys, and mortgage documents;
Bank, investment, loan, insurance, pension, SSS, GSIS, Pag-IBIG, and employment records;
Corporate books, stock certificates, partnership agreements, and business accounts;
Marriage settlements and proof of when and how property was acquired;
Receipts for property payments, construction, taxes, repairs, medical care, and funeral expenses;
Written acknowledgments of paternity, public documents, and qualifying private handwritten instruments;
Messages or documents concerning donations, advances, loans, possession, or a promised partition;
Photographs and a dated inventory of movable property;
Rental contracts and records of income collected after death; and
Copies of every deed, affidavit, publication, tax filing, eCAR, court pleading, and registry receipt.

Do not obtain DNA samples secretly or mishandle human remains. Where kinship evidence is genuinely needed, seek legal advice on a court-supervised process and the Rule on DNA Evidence.

Common mistakes

Dividing the deceased’s gross property without first liquidating the marriage property regime;
Treating a long-term partner as a legal spouse without checking the marriage;
Assuming the eldest child receives a larger share;
Assuming the child who cared for the parent automatically owns the house;
Excluding an illegitimate or adopted child without examining filiation or adoption records;
Treating a surname, baptismal record, or family reputation as conclusive proof by itself;
Applying a single inheritance fraction to every family configuration;
Believing a notarized will no longer needs probate;
Using self-adjudication when another heir exists;
Publishing an extrajudicial settlement but failing to obtain the participation of all heirs;
Allowing one heir to sell the entire inherited property as though solely owned;
Signing a waiver without understanding whether it is a repudiation, assignment, donation, or sale;
Hiding assets, collecting rent without accounting, or withdrawing estate funds for personal use;
Ignoring the one-year estate-tax deadline while the family negotiates; and
Assuming an old estate automatically qualifies for an expired tax-amnesty program.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly if:

A property sale, mortgage, foreclosure, demolition, or transfer is imminent;
Someone is withdrawing money, taking valuables, collecting rent, or falsifying documents;
A will may be concealed, destroyed, forged, or executed under undue influence;
An heir was omitted from an extrajudicial settlement;
The estate-tax deadline is near or has passed;
There are minor, incapacitated, missing, or overseas heirs;
Filiation, adoption, marriage validity, or legitimacy is disputed;
The deceased had multiple marriages, families, foreign citizenship, or foreign assets;
The property is agrarian-reform land, ancestral land, a homestead, or subject to transfer restrictions;
The deceased was Muslim or the Code of Muslim Personal Laws may apply;
An heir is being pressured to sign a waiver; or
The family cannot agree on administration, valuation, accounting, or partition.

Frequently asked questions

Does inheritance pass automatically at death?

Successional rights arise at death, but the estate remains subject to debts, taxes, administration, and partition. Before partition, co-heirs generally own undivided hereditary interests—not specific rooms, lots, vehicles, or accounts.

Can one heir sell inherited land without the others?

An heir may generally transfer only the heir’s undivided hereditary interest, subject to settlement and the rights of co-heirs. A sale of the entire property by one co-heir does not ordinarily bind the nonconsenting co-heirs beyond the seller’s eventual share.

Does the child who lived with or cared for the parent inherit more?

Not automatically. Caregiving does not change the statutory share unless supported by a valid will, contract, reimbursable expense, ownership interest, or another legally enforceable arrangement.

Can an illegitimate child inherit from the father?

Yes, if filiation is duly established. The child’s surname is not the decisive issue. The child may also represent a deceased parent in a grandparent’s estate under the conditions recognized in Aquino v. Aquino.

Can grandchildren inherit while their parent is alive?

Ordinarily, the nearer relative—the living parent—excludes them. Representation applies only in situations recognized by law; repudiation by the parent does not allow the parent’s children to represent that parent.

Does a surviving spouse always receive half?

No. The spouse’s hereditary share depends on the other surviving heirs and must be kept separate from the spouse’s own share in community or conjugal property.

Is a live-in partner an heir?

Not automatically. A live-in partner may own a co-ownership share or inherit under a valid will within the disposable portion, but does not receive the surviving spouse’s statutory share merely because of cohabitation.

Can heirs settle an estate privately?

Yes, if all Rule 74 conditions for extrajudicial settlement are satisfied. A will, unpaid debt, missing heir, disputed relationship, or lack of proper representation can require judicial proceedings.

Can an heir refuse the inheritance?

Yes, but repudiation must follow the required form and is generally irrevocable. A waiver benefiting a named person may be treated differently from a pure repudiation and may carry tax consequences.

Must an estate tax return be filed even if no tax is due?

Possibly. Filing may still be required because of the gross-estate threshold or the transfer of property requiring tax clearance. Confirm the obligation with the proper BIR office rather than assuming that available deductions eliminate the filing requirement.

Official legal sources

This article provides general Philippine legal information, not legal or tax advice for a particular estate. Shares and remedies depend on the death date, citizenship, marriage and filiation records, property regime, will, donations, debts, special assets, and settlement documents. Primary legal and procedural sources were checked through August 3, 2026.