This article explains how Philippine law treats possession of a decedent’s family home when a surviving live-in/common-law partner remains in the property, and what reimbursements (if any) are due for improvements made on it. It synthesizes rules from the Civil Code, the Family Code, and related remedial doctrines. It is general information, not legal advice.

1) The moving parts at a glance

Who owns the property?
- Title in the name of the decedent alone → it enters the estate and is co-owned pro-indiviso by the heirs upon death.
- Property acquired during cohabitation → in some cases there can be co-ownership between the partners (Family Code arts. 147 or 148), which changes everyone’s rights.
- Title in the name of someone else (e.g., parents) → the stay of the live-in partner is generally by tolerance; heirs of the decedent have no ownership to enforce against the true owner.
Is the property a “family home”?
- Under the Family Code, a family home is constituted by operation of law from first occupancy as a family residence. It enjoys limited protection from execution and has beneficiaries (spouses or an unmarried head of a family and certain relatives living there).
- The “family home” status does not automatically give the live-in partner a superior right to possess against the heirs; the protection primarily relates to execution for debts and reservation of value for beneficiaries, not to defeating ownership or succession rules.
What kind of possessor is the live-in partner?
- In good faith (believes they have a right to possess; or possession began with the owner’s consent) → may have reimbursement and retention rights for necessary/useful improvements.
- In bad faith (knows or is deemed to know they have no right; stays after demand to vacate without legal basis) → reimbursement is sharply limited; no retention.

2) Succession & co-ownership among heirs

At the instant of death, the decedent’s property (including the family home, if owned by the decedent) becomes part of the estate, and the heirs become co-owners until partition (Civil Code on co-ownership). Each heir owns an ideal/undivided share.
Any one heir (or the administrator) can protect the estate’s possession through ejectment suits (unlawful detainer/forcible entry), accion publiciana (recovery of possession), or accion reivindicatoria (recovery of ownership), depending on facts and timelines.
Partition may be demanded (judicially or extrajudicially, where allowed). Before partition, no single heir may appropriate the entire property or exclude the others.

Effect on a live-in partner: if the decedent alone owned the home, the heirs step into the decedent’s shoes. The partner’s continued occupation must be justified by a valid right (e.g., co-ownership under arts. 147/148, a lease, usufruct, co-heirship through a recognized child’s hereditary share, or administrator’s leave). Absent such right, occupation is by tolerance and can be terminated.

3) Family home: what it is—and what it isn’t

Constitution: The family home is deemed constituted by operation of law from the time the property is actually occupied as a family residence.
Beneficiaries: The law enumerates beneficiaries (spouses, or an unmarried head of a family and certain relatives living in and dependent on the head). A live-in partner is not expressly listed as a beneficiary by virtue of the relationship alone.
Protection: The family home is exempt from execution except for specific obligations (e.g., taxes, purchase price, mortgage debts, and certain debts prior to constitution).
In succession: The family home forms part of the estate. The law reserves its net value for the beneficiaries, subject to statutory conditions and valuation rules. This reserve protects against creditors—not against co-heirs who rightfully seek partition, or an owner asserting title.
Duration/continuity: Statutory rules govern how long family-home protection persists after the death of the spouse or the unmarried head and while beneficiaries continue to actually occupy it. Protection does not transmute possession without title into ownership.

Practical upshot: The “family home” label does not bar heirs from recovering possession from a live-in partner who lacks title or co-ownership. It may, however, affect execution and valuation issues in estate settlement.

4) Property acquired during cohabitation: Articles 147 & 148

These articles govern property relations of parties living together without marriage:

Article 147 (both parties not disqualified to marry):
- Property acquired by their joint efforts, work, or industry is co-owned in proportion to contributions; absent proof, equal shares are presumed.
- Contributions include the care and maintenance of the family and the household.
- Bad faith (e.g., one party is validly married to someone else) changes the calculus.
Article 148 (one or both parties disqualified to marry):
- Only properties acquired through actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry are co-owned, strictly in proportion to proven contributions.
- No presumption of equality; domestic services alone do not count.

Relevance: If the family home was acquired during cohabitation and falls under art. 147 or 148, the live-in partner may be a co-owner. Heirs of the decedent can recover only the decedent’s share, not the entire property, and partition (not ejectment) is the proper route. If the home was pre-owned by the decedent, arts. 147/148 generally do not grant the partner an ownership interest in that pre-owned property (although later improvements and value increases may raise reimbursement issues).

5) Possession and remedies

A) For the heirs/estate (true owner or co-owners)

If tolerance ended: Serve a written demand to vacate. Refusal converts possession to illegal detainer, enabling a summary ejectment case (within 1 year from last demand or last possession by tolerance).
Beyond ejectment timelines or on disputed title: File accion publiciana (recovery of possession) or accion reivindicatoria (recovery of ownership).
Estate administration: If a probate/letters of administration case is pending, the court can issue orders to preserve the property and regulate possession (e.g., require reasonable rent, appoint a legal administrator).

B) For the live-in partner

If co-owner: Assert co-ownership (arts. 147/148) and seek partition instead of resisting ejectment.
If mere possessor in good faith: Assert reimbursement and retention (see Section 6), or negotiate a reasonable move-out period tied to payment.
If with minor children of the decedent: Children are heirs; their shares must be respected. The partner’s own status does not expand the children’s hereditary rights, but custodial realities can influence practical arrangements (e.g., temporary occupancy subject to bond/rent).

6) Reimbursement for improvements: rules you’ll actually apply

Civil Code accession and possession rules govern improvements made by a non-owner:

Necessary expenses (preserve the property: e.g., roof repairs, structural stabilization):
- Good-faith possessor: reimbursable plus interest (from demand), with a right of retention until paid.
- Bad-faith possessor: reimbursable without right of retention; may be liable for damages.
Useful expenses (increase value or productivity: e.g., extensions, added rooms):
- Good-faith possessor: reimbursable or right to remove separable useful improvements without substantial injury to the principal, plus right of retention until reimbursed (if owner chooses to appropriate).
- Bad-faith possessor: no reimbursement for useful expenses; owner may keep the improvements without paying, and the possessor may be ordered to remove at own cost and pay damages if warranted.
Luxurious/ornamental expenses (do not increase utility/value proportionately):
- Generally not reimbursable; the possessor may remove them if separable without damage.
Builder/planter/sower in good faith on land of another (Arts. 448 et seq.):
- The landowner may choose to appropriate the improvement after paying indemnity, or sell the land to the builder if the value of the building is more (or not considerably less) than the land. Courts apply these by analogy when a possessor in good faith builds substantial works on another’s land.

Right of retention (key in practice): A good-faith possessor can lawfully withhold surrender of possession of the premises until reimbursed for necessary (and in many scenarios, useful) expenses duly proven. This is often dispositive in negotiations and in crafting court relief (e.g., pay-and-vacate orders).

Good faith vs. bad faith triggers:

Continuing to possess after unequivocal demand to vacate by the owner/heirs, or after notice of adverse title, typically converts possession to bad faith going forward. Reimbursement/retention rights are assessed with reference to when the improvements were made and the possessor’s state of mind at that time.

Proof: Keep receipts, contracts, before-and-after photos, valuation reports, and testimony to support (a) the kind of expense, (b) necessity/usefulness, and (c) amounts.

7) Intersections with the family-home regime

Execution immunity ≠ possession immunity: Family-home protection limits creditor execution, not rightful recovery by the true owner or co-heirs.
Reservation of value for beneficiaries: In settling the estate, the law may reserve the net value of the family home for beneficiaries. This affects who ultimately receives value, but not an unentitled partner’s ability to exclude heirs.
Continuing occupancy arguments: A live-in partner generally cannot invoke family-home beneficiary status solely by being a partner. However, if the partner qualifies as an “unmarried head of a family” with dependents in the home, there may be distinct family-home protections—still not equivalent to ownership or a shield against partition.

8) Typical scenarios & likely outcomes

Decedent pre-owned the titled house and lot. Partner stays; heirs demand turnover.
- Heirs (estate) have the superior title.
- If partner made necessary/useful improvements in good faith, partner can claim reimbursement and retain possession until paid; otherwise must vacate.
- Family-home label does not block turnover but may affect how the estate value is allocated among beneficiaries and vis-à-vis creditors.
Home acquired during cohabitation; both were free to marry (Art. 147).
- Presumption of equal co-ownership absent contrary proof.
- Heirs can only recover the decedent’s share; proper remedy is partition, not ejectment.
- Improvements are addressed upon partition/valuation; reimbursement rules supplement.
One or both partners were disqualified to marry (Art. 148).
- Co-ownership exists only to the extent of proven contributions; no equal presumption.
- The partner must prove contributions to assert a share; otherwise heirs recover the property.
Partner refuses to vacate after demand, no co-ownership proven.
- Illegal detainer if within one year from last demand; else accion publiciana.
- If partner proves good-faith necessary/useful improvements, court may order payment with possession retained until payment, or allow removal of separable improvements.

9) Litigation & procedural guide (estate + possession)

Step 1: Open/testate–intestate proceedings (if needed).

Secure appointment of an executor/administrator who manages the estate property, collects income, and preserves assets.

Step 2: Document the property.

Get certified title, tax declarations, tax clearances, photos, and valuation.

Step 3: Establish or negate co-ownership under arts. 147/148.

The partner’s proof of contributions (money, industry) is decisive; domestic services count only under Art. 147 and only when both were free to marry.

Step 4: Choose the right action.

Ejectment (summary) for possession by tolerance terminated by demand; publiciana/reivindicatoria for broader title disputes; partition if co-ownership is conceded.

Step 5: Plead improvements clearly.

If you are the partner: itemize necessary/useful expenses, dates, good-faith basis, and invoke retention until paid.
If you are the heirs: challenge good faith, necessity/usefulness, and amounts; offer payment for necessary expenses where appropriate, and seek vacate.

Step 6: Interim relief.

Courts may set reasonable compensation (rent) during occupancy, require bonds, or appoint caretakers/administrators.

10) Evidence checklist

Proof of title or acquisition history (deed, title, tax records).
Cohabitation timeline; marital capacity (free to marry or not) for Art. 147 vs 148.
Contributions (bank transfers, receipts, payroll, vendor contracts).
Improvements: contracts, photos, permits, receipts, valuations, expert testimony.
Demands to vacate; proof of service; timeline (for ejectment clock).
Children’s birth certificates (establish heirs; legitimation/acknowledgment).
Estate pleadings and administrator’s authority.

11) Computation notes for reimbursements

Necessary expenses: full amount reasonably proven; courts may allow interest from demand or filing.
Useful expenses: typically capped at the value increase attributable to the improvement (not necessarily full cost); owner may choose to appropriate vs allow removal.
Depreciation: courts commonly apply depreciated value rather than original cost if years have passed.
No double recovery: If the partner is adjudged a co-owner, the “reimbursement for improvements” folds into partition valuation, not stacked on top of their share.

12) Practical strategies

For heirs/estate:

Act promptly: serve demand to vacate to prevent prolonged “good-faith” claims.
Offer reimbursement for truly necessary expenses to narrow issues and obtain turnover faster.
If co-ownership is plausible, file partition rather than ejectment to avoid dismissal and delay.

For a live-in partner:

Gather proof of contributions early (bank records, supplier receipts).
Emphasize good faith: possession originally permitted by the owner; improvements made before any dispute.
Consider proposing a pay-and-vacate or buy-out arrangement reflecting appraised values and reimbursements.

13) FAQs

Q: Can heirs evict a live-in partner from a family home immediately after death? A: If the decedent alone owned the home and the partner lacks a legal right (co-ownership, lease, usufruct), yes, subject to any good-faith retention rights for reimbursable improvements and to proper procedure.

Q: Does the “family home” shield the partner from eviction? A: Generally no. Family-home rules chiefly affect creditor execution and estate valuation, not title or possession against the rightful owner/heirs.

Q: What if the partner built an expensive extension? A: If in good faith, they may claim useful-expense reimbursement (measured by value increase) or remove separable additions; they may retain possession until reimbursed. If in bad faith, reimbursement is limited (usually necessary expenses only), and they may be compelled to remove at their cost.

Q: Our parents’ title lists only our late father; his partner and their minor child live there. A: The child is an heir; the partner is not an heir by virtue of partnership alone. The child’s share must be protected, but the partner’s possession must rest on a separate legal right (or reimbursement/retention if applicable).

14) Takeaways

Ownership and succession decide who has the superior right to possess; the family home label does not override those fundamentals.
A live-in partner may have co-ownership only within the strict confines of Arts. 147/148, or reimbursement/retention rights as a good-faith possessor.
Heirs should move quickly and select the correct remedy; partners should marshal proof of contributions and improvements.
Courts aim for equitable outcomes: rightful possession to the owner/heirs, and fair reimbursement for bona fide improvements—without rewarding bad faith.

If you want, I can turn this into a short checklist or a template demand/response pack (demand to vacate + offer to reimburse + inventory form for improvements).