In the Philippine legal system, an Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate is a private agreement among heirs to divide the properties of a deceased person without going to court. However, for this private agreement to bind third parties, government agencies, and the Register of Deeds, it must be converted from a private document into a public instrument. This transformation is achieved through a precise legal act: the Acknowledgment.
Under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice and the Rules of Court, the Acknowledgment page is not a mere formality—it is a jurisdictional requirement for registration.
1. The Legal Definition and Purpose
An Acknowledgment is an act in which an individual appears before a Notary Public and presents an instrument, declaring that the same is their free and voluntary act and deed.
For an Extrajudicial Partition, the Acknowledgment serves two critical functions:
- Authenticity: It provides prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument.
- Registrability: Under Section 1 of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court, a partition must be by way of a public instrument to be filed with the Register of Deeds. Without a valid Acknowledgment, the deed is legally "unregistrable."
2. Essential Elements of the Acknowledgment Page
To meet the standards of Philippine Notarial Law, the Acknowledgment page must contain the following specific details:
A. Personal Appearance
The heirs must personally appear before the Notary Public. "Robo-signing" or acknowledging via a representative (unless a valid Special Power of Attorney is attached and cited) is a ground for the nullity of the notarial act and can lead to the disbarment of the notary.
B. Competent Evidence of Identity
The Notary must certify that the parties are known to them or identified through Competent Evidence of Identity.
- Requirements: A current identification document issued by an official agency bearing the photograph and signature of the individual (e.g., Passport, Driver’s License, UMID).
- Prohibited: The "Community Tax Certificate" (Cedula) is no longer considered competent evidence of identity for notarial acts under current Supreme Court rulings.
C. The "Free and Voluntary Act" Declaration
The page must explicitly state that the heirs acknowledged the instrument as their free and voluntary act. If the heir is signing in a representative capacity (e.g., as an administrator or attorney-in-fact), the Acknowledgment must state that they have the authority to sign for the principal.
D. The Jurat vs. Acknowledgment Distinction
It is a common error to use a Jurat ("Subscribed and Sworn to...") for a partition. An Extrajudicial Settlement requires an Acknowledgment. While a Jurat refers to the truth of the contents, an Acknowledgment refers to the genuineness of the signature and the voluntariness of the act.
3. Technical Requirements for the Notary
The bottom of the Acknowledgment page must contain the Notary’s professional "footprint":
- Signature and Notarial Seal.
- Commission Number and the jurisdiction where the notary is commissioned (e.g., Makati City).
- Roll of Attorneys Number.
- PTR (Professional Tax Receipt) and IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) Receipt numbers for the current year.
- MCLE (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) Compliance Number.
4. Specific Requirements for Extrajudicial Partition
Beyond the standard notarial format, the Acknowledgment for estate settlements must often coincide with specific recitals within the document:
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Documentary Stamp Tax | The Acknowledgment page is the primary location where the Notary affixes the documentary stamp or indicates that the tax has been paid. |
| Page Notations | The Notary must indicate the number of pages the document consists of (e.g., "This instrument consists of four (4) pages, including this page where the acknowledgment is written"). |
| Marginal Signatures | While not strictly part of the Acknowledgment text, the Notary must ensure the heirs sign on the left-hand margin of every page, including the Acknowledgment page itself. |
5. Consequences of a Defective Acknowledgment
A flaw in the Acknowledgment page is not merely a "clerical error." It has severe legal implications:
- Rejection by the Register of Deeds: The transfer of Land Titles (TCTs) from the deceased to the heirs will be denied.
- Reversion to Private Document Status: A defective Acknowledgment strips the deed of its status as a public instrument. It remains valid between the heirs who signed it, but it cannot bind the government (BIR) or innocent third parties.
- Invalidation of Summary Procedure: Since Extrajudicial Settlement is an exception to the general rule of judicial settlement, any failure to follow the "Public Instrument" rule can render the partition voidable.
6. Venue and Jurisdiction
The Acknowledgment must be signed within the territorial jurisdiction of the Notary Public. If the heirs are located in different cities, they may acknowledge the document before different notaries in their respective locations, resulting in multiple Acknowledgment pages (All-at-once or "split" acknowledgments). However, for the Register of Deeds to accept it, every signature on the document must be duly acknowledged.