1) The Philippine legal setting: what governs “conjugal property” and succession

Succession rights of children to “conjugal property” are determined by two bodies of law that interact:

Property relations of spouses (Family Code): what property belongs to the spouses as a community during the marriage, and what happens to it when the marriage ends.
Succession law (Civil Code rules on wills and intestate succession, as modified by later family legislation): who inherits, how much, and in what order, after the death of a person.

A crucial starting point: children do not automatically inherit “the conjugal property” as a single mass. When one spouse dies, the law first separates:

the surviving spouse’s share in the marital property regime; and
the decedent spouse’s estate, which includes the decedent’s share in that regime plus the decedent’s exclusive properties (if any), minus obligations.

Only the decedent’s estate is inherited by the decedent’s heirs.

So, when people say “children inherit conjugal property,” what they really mean is: children inherit from the deceased parent’s share of the conjugal/community property, not from the portion that already belongs to the surviving spouse.

2) Conjugal Property vs. Community Property: terminology that matters

Many Filipinos use “conjugal property” to refer to all property acquired during marriage. Legally, the term depends on the marriage date and applicable regime:

A. Absolute Community of Property (ACP)

Default regime for marriages celebrated on or after the effectivity of the Family Code (generally August 3, 1988), unless there is a valid marriage settlement providing otherwise.
In ACP, most properties owned by the spouses at the time of marriage and acquired thereafter become community property, subject to exclusions (e.g., gratuitous acquisitions to one spouse, personal and exclusive property by law, etc.).

B. Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG)

Commonly applicable to marriages before the Family Code, or when chosen by marriage settlement.
In CPG, spouses typically retain ownership of what they brought into the marriage (paraphernal/exclusive), while gains and properties acquired for consideration during the marriage are generally part of the conjugal partnership.

Succession mechanics are similar in both: upon death, the regime is liquidated; the surviving spouse gets their share; only the deceased spouse’s net share becomes part of the estate.

3) Legitimacy categories and why they change shares

Philippine law distinguishes between:

Legitimate children

Children conceived or born during a valid marriage (or legitimated/adopted children treated as legitimate for many purposes), entitled to full legitime as compulsory heirs.

Illegitimate children

Children conceived and born outside a valid marriage, generally entitled to a reduced legitime compared to legitimate children.

As a broad rule in Philippine succession:

Illegitimate children inherit from their parents, but their legitime is generally one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child.

This “half-share rule” is one of the most important organizing principles in computing shares when both legitimate and illegitimate children survive the deceased.

4) The basic workflow when a spouse dies: from conjugal/community property to heirs

To understand who gets what, follow the standard sequence:

Step 1: Identify and classify property

List all assets and classify them as:

community/conjugal property, or
exclusive property of the deceased, or
exclusive property of the surviving spouse.

Step 2: Pay obligations chargeable to the regime

Certain obligations and charges are settled from the community/conjugal funds (depending on regime rules). Also consider:

debts of the deceased,
administration expenses,
taxes and expenses of settlement,
obligations chargeable to the marital regime vs. personal obligations.

Step 3: Liquidate the regime

After settlement of charges:

Half (1/2) of the net community/conjugal property belongs to the surviving spouse outright.
The other half (1/2) is the deceased spouse’s share and becomes part of the estate.

Step 4: Determine the deceased’s net estate

The estate generally equals:

deceased spouse’s 1/2 share in community/conjugal property, plus
deceased spouse’s exclusive properties, minus
debts and obligations chargeable to the deceased (and settlement expenses as applicable).

Step 5: Distribute the estate to heirs (testate or intestate)

Distribution depends on whether there is a valid will and whether compulsory heirs exist. Children (legitimate and illegitimate) are compulsory heirs; so is the surviving spouse.

Key: children’s succession rights attach to the estate, not to the surviving spouse’s share.

5) Compulsory heirs and legitimes: the non-negotiable minimums

Under Philippine succession law, certain heirs cannot be deprived of a minimum portion called the legitime, except in cases of valid disinheritance on grounds and with formalities prescribed by law.

Compulsory heirs relevant here

Legitimate children and descendants
Illegitimate children
Surviving spouse

Their legitimes must be respected whether succession is by will (testate) or without will (intestate).

A will may control the free portion, but cannot impair legitimes.

6) Intestate succession: when there is no will (or no valid will)

Intestate succession frequently governs family disputes over conjugal/community property after a parent’s death. In intestacy:

The estate is distributed by operation of law.
The shares depend on which heirs survive (legitimate children, illegitimate children, spouse, parents, etc.).

A. If the deceased is survived by legitimate children and a surviving spouse

General principle: legitimate children inherit in equal shares, and the surviving spouse shares with them in a manner set by law (commonly treated as a share equal to one legitimate child in many configurations, but computations must be done carefully depending on the full set of heirs and presence/absence of other compulsory heirs).

B. If the deceased is survived by illegitimate children and a surviving spouse (no legitimate children)

Illegitimate children inherit, and the surviving spouse inherits. Their exact proportions depend on which compulsory heirs exist and the applicable rules.

C. If the deceased is survived by both legitimate and illegitimate children (and possibly a surviving spouse)

This is the most common “mixed-child” scenario, and it triggers the half-share rule:

Each illegitimate child is treated, for purposes of legitime comparison, as entitled to one-half of the share of a legitimate child.

A practical way to think about computations in mixed cases is through weighted shares:

Assign each legitimate child a “weight” of 2
Assign each illegitimate child a “weight” of 1
Then allocate the children’s portion of the estate proportionally to these weights, subject to the spouse’s share and legitime rules.

However, because the surviving spouse is also a compulsory heir, the spouse’s share must be integrated into the total distribution. In real cases, you compute by:

liquidating conjugal/community property;
determining the net estate; and
distributing the net estate among compulsory heirs according to intestate rules and legitimes.

7) Testate succession: when there is a will

A will can change who gets the free portion, but it cannot reduce compulsory heirs below their legitimes.

Practical effects in conjugal/community contexts

Even with a will, you still liquidate the marital regime first.
The will can only dispose of the deceased spouse’s estate (their share plus exclusive property), not the surviving spouse’s half.
The will must still allocate at least:
- legitimes of legitimate children,
- legitimes of illegitimate children (generally half of legitimate child’s legitime),
- legitime of surviving spouse.

If the will impairs legitimes, it is subject to reduction (abatement) to restore legitimes.

8) Concrete illustrations (conceptual, not tax/accounting advice)

Example 1: Purely community/conjugal property; mixed children; surviving spouse

Assume:

Net community/conjugal property after obligations: ₱10,000,000
No exclusive properties; ignore other heirs for simplicity.
Deceased leaves: surviving spouse, 2 legitimate children, 2 illegitimate children.

Step A: Liquidate marital regime

Surviving spouse gets ₱5,000,000 outright.
Deceased’s estate includes the other ₱5,000,000 (decedent’s share).

Step B: Distribute the ₱5,000,000 estate Now apply succession rules among compulsory heirs (spouse + children). Illegitimate children’s entitlement relative to legitimate children follows the half-share rule. The spouse’s portion must be accounted for under the applicable intestacy rules and legitime constraints.

The key takeaway from this example:

The children (legitimate/illegitimate) are dividing ₱5,000,000, not ₱10,000,000.
The surviving spouse’s ₱5,000,000 is not inherited property; it is the spouse’s own share.

Example 2: Community/conjugal property plus exclusive property of deceased

Assume:

Net community/conjugal property: ₱10,000,000
Deceased’s exclusive property (e.g., inherited land solely to the deceased): ₱4,000,000
Deceased’s personal debts: ₱1,000,000

Liquidation

Spouse gets ₱5,000,000 outright.
Estate starts with deceased’s half ₱5,000,000 + exclusive ₱4,000,000 = ₱9,000,000
Minus debts ₱1,000,000 → net estate ₱8,000,000

Children and spouse share in the ₱8,000,000 following succession rules; illegitimate children’s legitime remains generally half of legitimate children’s.

9) Important boundaries: what children can and cannot claim

A. Children cannot claim the surviving spouse’s half

Because that half is not part of the estate, children cannot “inherit” it from the deceased parent.

B. Children can challenge classification and liquidation

Many disputes aren’t about the succession rules; they’re about:

whether a property is exclusive or conjugal/community,
whether a property was acquired during marriage for consideration,
whether a property was bought with exclusive funds but titled jointly,
whether certain obligations should have been charged to the regime or to the estate.

A successful reclassification changes the size of the estate—often more than any argument about the ratio among heirs.

C. Children can assert legitimes against a will or transfers

If a deceased parent tries to “give away” property to defeat legitimes, heirs may question:

simulated sales,
donations inter vivos,
transfers for inadequate consideration,
other devices that effectively impair legitimes.

The law provides mechanisms to bring certain dispositions back into account for legitime protection, depending on facts.

10) Illegitimate children: recognition, proof, and practical issues

Succession rights of an illegitimate child generally depend on being legally recognized as a child of the deceased. In practice, disputes focus on:

whether the child’s filiation is established by the birth record, acknowledgment, or judicial proof;
whether there are conflicting claims of filiation;
whether the deceased acknowledged the child, or paternity/maternity can be proven under rules of evidence.

Without established filiation, succession rights cannot be enforced.

11) Special complication: children from different relationships and multiple “families”

Common real-world patterns:

A. Deceased leaves a lawful spouse and legitimate children, plus illegitimate children from another relationship

The lawful spouse has:
1. their marital share; and
2. their hereditary share as compulsory heir from the estate.
Legitimate and illegitimate children share in the estate, but illegitimate children’s legitime is generally half of legitimate children’s.

B. Deceased leaves no lawful spouse, but leaves legitimate children (from prior marriage) and illegitimate children

The estate is divided among children; the half-share rule remains relevant for legitimes and distribution, depending on whether succession is testate or intestate.

C. “Second marriage” issues

If the second marriage is void (e.g., prior marriage subsists), it affects:

the existence of a lawful spouse as compulsory heir,
the applicable property regime,
whether children in the second union are legitimate or illegitimate (often illegitimate if there is no valid marriage, though there are nuanced rules on legitimacy tied to valid marriage and recognition).

These issues can drastically change both the estate and heirship.

12) Usufruct, family home, and other rights that affect enjoyment of property

Even when children inherit, the use and enjoyment of certain properties may be affected by family protections, such as:

rules on the family home (which can be exempt from execution up to statutory limits and subject to conditions),
administration and partition rules during estate settlement,
rights of the surviving spouse in relation to the home and support-related entitlements (depending on circumstances),
co-ownership rules among heirs pending partition.

These often shape practical outcomes more than abstract fractions.

13) Settlement mechanics: why procedure changes outcomes

Inheritance rights are exercised through estate settlement, which may be:

A. Extrajudicial settlement (EJS)

Possible only if:

the decedent left no will, and
the decedent left no unpaid debts (or debts are settled), and
all heirs are of age or represented properly, and
heirs agree.

In mixed legitimate/illegitimate heir situations, EJS commonly becomes contentious because:

some heirs may be excluded or not notified,
illegitimate children may appear later and challenge the settlement,
properties may have been transferred without accounting for legitimes.

B. Judicial settlement

Used when:

there is a will to probate,
there are disputes among heirs,
there are debts, or
heirship/property classification is contested.

Heirs can seek:

accounting,
inventory,
collation-related adjustments (where applicable),
partition.

14) Frequent misconceptions and clarifications

Misconception 1: “Illegitimate children have no right to conjugal property.”

They do not inherit the surviving spouse’s half, but they generally inherit from the deceased parent’s estate, including the deceased parent’s share in conjugal/community property.

Misconception 2: “The surviving spouse can keep everything because it’s conjugal.”

The surviving spouse keeps only their marital share outright. The deceased spouse’s share becomes part of the estate for distribution among compulsory heirs.

Misconception 3: “A will can exclude illegitimate children entirely.”

Illegitimate children are compulsory heirs (once filiation is established). A will cannot reduce them below their legitime, absent valid disinheritance under strict requirements.

Misconception 4: “Titled in the surviving spouse’s name means children get nothing.”

Title matters, but it is not always conclusive. If the property is proven to be conjugal/community or part of the deceased’s estate, it may still be included in liquidation and partition.

15) Practical guide to analyzing any case

To evaluate succession rights of legitimate and illegitimate children to conjugal/community property, build the analysis in this order:

Confirm the marriage’s validity and identify the applicable property regime (ACP/CPG/other via marriage settlement).
Inventory and classify assets (community/conjugal vs exclusive) with supporting documents.
Identify obligations chargeable to the regime and to the estate.
Liquidate the regime and compute the decedent’s net estate.
Identify heirs and confirm filiation/legitimacy status (legitimate, illegitimate, adopted).
Determine whether succession is testate or intestate and apply:
- compulsory heirs’ legitimes,
- intestate distribution rules, and
- the half-share rule for illegitimate children relative to legitimate children.
Check for lifetime transfers that may impair legitimes and whether legal remedies apply.
Choose the correct settlement procedure (extrajudicial vs judicial) and ensure all heirs are included.

16) Bottom-line principles to remember

Conjugal/community property is not inherited as a whole; it is first split by liquidation.
Children inherit only from the deceased parent’s estate, including the deceased’s share in conjugal/community property.
Legitimate children are compulsory heirs with full legitimes.
Illegitimate children are compulsory heirs once filiation is established, generally entitled to a legitime equal to one-half of a legitimate child’s legitime.
A surviving spouse usually has two layers of rights:
1. a marital share in conjugal/community property, and
2. a successional share from the deceased’s estate as compulsory heir.
Wills cannot defeat legitimes; invalid or excessive dispositions are subject to reduction to preserve compulsory heirs’ minimum shares.