Quick answer

Under Philippine law, an heir’s rights generally arise at the moment of the decedent’s death—but the heir receives only a share in the net estate, not automatic ownership of every asset associated with the deceased.

The result depends on:

whether there is a valid will;
the decedent’s citizenship and, when applicable, Muslim personal law;
which relatives and spouse survived;
whether filiation, marriage, or adoption is legally established;
which assets actually belonged to the decedent after the marital or co-ownership property regime is liquidated;
outstanding debts, taxes, and administration expenses; and
lifetime donations that must be considered in computing protected shares.

A will cannot ordinarily take away the legitime, or minimum share reserved for compulsory heirs. Without a will, the Civil Code’s rules on intestate succession determine who inherits and in what proportions. Rights may vest at death, but titles, bank accounts, and possession usually cannot be transferred safely until the estate has been properly settled.

First determine what actually belongs to the estate

Inheritance is not computed from the family’s informal list of properties. The proper starting point is the decedent’s net hereditary estate.

Separate the surviving spouse’s or co-owner’s property

If the decedent was married, the absolute community, conjugal partnership, or applicable separation-of-property regime must first be identified and liquidated. The surviving spouse’s ownership share is returned to that spouse; only the decedent’s share enters the estate.

A live-in partner is not automatically a surviving spouse or intestate heir. The partner may nevertheless own part of property acquired during the relationship under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code. That ownership claim must be determined before the decedent’s share is calculated. Contributions through household and family care can matter under Article 147, while Article 148 generally requires proof of actual joint contribution. These are ownership rights, not inheritance rights. See the Family Code, Articles 147–148.

Identify estate and non-estate assets

Prepare a verified inventory of:

land, condominium units, houses, vehicles, businesses, shares, deposits, investments, receivables, and digital assets;
the decedent’s fractional interests in jointly owned property;
property transferred before death but potentially subject to collation or reduction;
mortgages, loans, taxes, funeral expenses, and other enforceable obligations; and
insurance, retirement, employment, and statutory death benefits.

A benefit payable directly to a validly designated beneficiary may be governed by the contract or a special law rather than ordinary succession. Do not assume that every death benefit forms part of the estate—or that every beneficiary designation is valid—without checking the governing plan and documents.

Deduct obligations and account for relevant donations

Debts and charges are deducted in determining the hereditary estate. Certain lifetime donations are added back for purposes of calculating legitimes and may be charged against an heir’s share or reduced if they impaired another compulsory heir’s legitime. Ordinary support, education, and medical expenses are generally treated differently from gratuitous transfers. The controlling rules are in Articles 908–911 and 1061–1077 of the Civil Code.

Who are compulsory heirs?

Compulsory heirs are persons for whom the law reserves a legitime when the decedent leaves a will.

Person	General rule	Important qualification
Legitimate children and descendants	Compulsory heirs of their legitimate parents or ascendants	A nearer descendant normally excludes a more remote one, except when representation applies
Legitimate parents and ascendants	Compulsory heirs if there are no legitimate children or descendants	They can still concur with nonmarital children and a surviving spouse under specific rules
Surviving legal spouse	Compulsory heir who may concur with descendants, ascendants, and nonmarital children	A void marriage or qualifying legal-separation judgment can change the result
Children born outside marriage	Compulsory heirs of their parents once filiation is proved	The statute calls them “illegitimate children”; each generally receives one-half of a legitimate child’s legitime
Adopted children	Treated as legitimate children of the adopter	A legally effective adoption order is essential; older adoptions may require examination of the law then in force
Parents of a child born outside marriage	May be compulsory heirs of that child in the situations specified by Article 903	Their share changes if the child left descendants or a surviving spouse

Under Republic Act No. 11642, an adoptee is the adopter’s legitimate child for all purposes. The filiation extends to the adopter’s parents, legitimate siblings, and legitimate descendants, and the adopters and adoptee have reciprocal testate and intestate succession rights. Except in a step-parent adoption, legal ties with the biological parents are severed; a will left by the adoptee or biological parent remains subject to testamentary-succession law. See Sections 41–43 of the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act.

Stepchildren, foster children, godchildren, caregivers, nieces, nephews, siblings, and live-in partners are not compulsory heirs merely because of affection, dependency, or long cohabitation. They may inherit through a valid will or, for certain relatives, through intestate succession if the nearer classes of heirs are absent.

A child already conceived when the decedent died may inherit if later born under the conditions stated in the Civil Code.

What is a legitime?

A legitime is the portion of the estate that a testator cannot freely give away because the law reserves it for compulsory heirs. The balance, after all legitimes are satisfied, is the free portion.

Common minimums include:

Legitimate children or descendants collectively receive one-half of the hereditary estate. The other half is initially disposable, subject to the legitimes of a surviving spouse and nonmarital children.
If there are no legitimate descendants, legitimate parents or ascendants generally receive one-half.
A surviving spouse with one legitimate child has a legitime of one-fourth. With two or more legitimate children, the spouse receives an amount equal to the legitime of one legitimate child.
A surviving spouse with legitimate parents or ascendants receives one-fourth.
If the only compulsory heirs are the surviving spouse and children born outside marriage, the spouse receives one-third, those children collectively receive one-third, and one-third remains disposable.
If children born outside marriage are the only compulsory heirs, they collectively receive one-half.
If the surviving spouse is the only compulsory heir, the spouse generally receives one-half. A special one-third rule may apply when the marriage was celebrated in articulo mortis, death followed within three months, and the spouses had not previously lived together as spouses for more than five years.
When legitimate ascendants, a spouse, and nonmarital children all survive, the statutory allocation is different: one-half for the ascendants, one-eighth for the spouse, one-fourth for the nonmarital children, and one-eighth as the free portion.

These are testamentary minimums, not a complete inheritance calculator. Multiple descendants by representation, lifetime donations, predeceased heirs, renunciations, disqualifications, and mixed classes of heirs can change the computation. The governing provisions are Articles 886–914 of the Civil Code and Article 176 of the Family Code.

Who inherits when there is no will?

Intestate succession applies when there is no valid will, when a will fails to dispose of the entire estate, or when a testamentary disposition becomes ineffective without a valid substitute or other applicable mechanism.

Common intestate combinations are:

Surviving heirs	General division of the net intestate estate
Legitimate children only	Equal shares
Legitimate and nonmarital children, no spouse	Each nonmarital child receives one-half of the share of each legitimate child; the estate is divided using that proportion
Spouse and legitimate children	The spouse receives the same share as each legitimate child
Spouse, legitimate children, and nonmarital children	The spouse receives the same share as one legitimate child; each nonmarital child receives one-half of a legitimate child’s share
Nonmarital children only	They inherit the entire estate in equal shares
Spouse and nonmarital children only	One-half to the spouse and one-half collectively to the children
Legitimate parents or ascendants only	They inherit under the rules favoring the nearest degree and, where applicable, the paternal and maternal lines
Spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants	One-half to the spouse and one-half to the parents or ascendants
Legitimate ascendants and nonmarital children, no spouse	One-half to the ascendants and one-half collectively to the children
Spouse, legitimate ascendants, and nonmarital children	One-half to the ascendants, one-fourth to the spouse, and one-fourth collectively to the children
Spouse and brothers, sisters, nephews, or nieces	One-half to the spouse and one-half to the qualifying collateral relatives
Spouse with no qualifying descendants, ascendants, nonmarital children, siblings, nephews, or nieces	The spouse inherits the entire estate
No qualifying descendants, ascendants, nonmarital children, or spouse	Collateral relatives inherit in the statutory order, but intestate succession does not extend beyond the fifth collateral degree
No qualified heir	The State inherits through escheat proceedings

Parents of a decedent born outside marriage and descendants inheriting by representation can require special calculations. Full-blood and half-blood siblings also receive different shares in some combinations.

There is no general rule giving the eldest child, the child who cared for the parent, or the child occupying the family home a larger intestate share.

Representation: when grandchildren take a parent’s place

Representation allows a descendant to take the place and degree of another heir. It commonly applies when a child of the decedent died before the decedent or was disqualified. The descendants divide that branch’s share per stirpes: together, they receive no more than the person represented would have received.

Representation does not ordinarily occur merely because an heir voluntarily repudiates the inheritance. A person may represent an heir who renounced a different inheritance, but the descendants cannot represent that person in the inheritance the person personally repudiated.

In Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court reinterpreted Article 992 so that a child born outside marriage may represent a deceased parent in inheriting from a direct ascendant such as a grandparent, regardless of the child’s birth status. The ruling is limited to inheritance from direct ascendants by representation; the Court expressly did not decide the full extent of intestate rights involving collateral relatives. Filiation must still be proved. See Aquino v. Aquino, G.R. Nos. 208912 and 209018, December 7, 2021.

Children born outside marriage have inheritance rights

A child does not lose inheritance rights merely because the parents were unmarried. The decisive issue is usually whether filiation to the decedent has been legally established.

Under Articles 172 and 175 of the Family Code, evidence may include:

a civil-registry birth record or final judgment;
an admission of filiation in a public document;
a private handwritten instrument signed by the parent;
open and continuous possession of the status of a child; or
other evidence permitted by the Rules of Court and special laws, which may include properly admitted scientific evidence.

The deadline for an action to establish filiation depends on the type of evidence, the child’s circumstances, the alleged parent’s lifetime, and which law applied when rights vested. When the claim relies only on open and continuous status or other secondary evidence under Article 172’s second paragraph, Article 175 generally requires the action during the alleged parent’s lifetime. Older cases may involve vested rights under the former Civil Code. Obtain advice immediately if the alleged parent is alive, seriously ill, or has died without a clear written acknowledgment.

A birth certificate should be examined in its certified form. The presence of a name alone does not necessarily prove that the alleged father personally acknowledged the entry.

A will does not automatically defeat an heir

No will transfers Philippine property unless it is proved and allowed in court. Probate determines due execution; questions involving ownership, legitimes, interpretation, and distribution may still remain. The person holding the will must deliver it to the proper court or named executor within 20 days after learning of the testator’s death. A named executor likewise has a 20-day duty under Rule 75.

Omission or insufficient provision

A compulsory heir who received less than the required legitime may demand completion of the share. Excessive testamentary gifts can be reduced.

Preterition is the total omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line—without institution, legacy, devise, advance, or valid disinheritance. It generally annuls the institution of heirs, while legacies and devises remain effective only to the extent they do not improperly invade protected shares. A mere shortfall is usually addressed by completing the legitime rather than treating it as total preterition. See Morales v. Olondriz, G.R. No. 198994, February 3, 2016.

Disinheritance requires more than family conflict

A parent cannot validly disinherit a compulsory heir merely by saying so, by omitting the heir’s name, or by alleging ingratitude in general terms.

Disinheritance must:

appear in a valid will;
identify a cause expressly recognized by law; and
be supported by proof if the disinherited heir denies the cause.

The Civil Code contains separate exclusive causes for disinheriting descendants, parents or ascendants, and a spouse. Reconciliation can remove the right to disinherit or render an earlier disinheritance ineffective.

Separate rules on incapacity or unworthiness may disqualify a person who committed specified serious acts, such as certain offenses against the decedent or fraudulently causing, preventing, concealing, altering, or falsifying a will. These rules should not be applied by accusation alone.

Rights before the estate is partitioned

When there are several heirs, they generally own the estate in common, subject to the decedent’s debts. Each heir owns an undivided hereditary interest—not a particular bedroom, parcel, vehicle, or bank account—until a lawful partition assigns specific property.

Accordingly:

one heir cannot validly sell the entire estate or another heir’s share;
an heir who transfers hereditary rights generally transfers only the interest that may ultimately be allotted to that heir;
any co-heir may ordinarily demand partition;
if an heir sells hereditary rights to a stranger before partition, the co-heirs may exercise the statutory right of redemption by reimbursing the buyer within one month from written notice of the sale by the selling heir; and
income, rent, necessary expenses, improvements, and damage to estate property must be accounted for in the partition.

A person occupying estate property should preserve it and account for income rather than treat it as exclusively owned. The relevant rules appear in Articles 1078–1105 of the Civil Code.

How to settle the estate

Extrajudicial settlement

An extrajudicial settlement under Rule 74 is available only when:

the decedent left no will;
the estate has no outstanding debts;
all heirs participate;
every heir is of age, or a minor or incapacitated heir is represented by a duly authorized legal or judicial representative; and
the required public instrument, filing, bond, and publication requirements are satisfied.

If there is only one heir, that person may use an affidavit of self-adjudication—but only if the statement of sole heirship is true.

The deed or affidavit must be filed with the Register of Deeds when applicable. Rule 74 also requires publication in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks and a bond corresponding to the value of personal property covered by the settlement.

An extrajudicial settlement does not bind a person who did not participate and had no notice. Rule 74 provides a two-year remedy for an heir, creditor, or other person unduly deprived of lawful participation, with an additional one-year period after specified disabilities are removed. The two-year period is not a safe universal deadline for every omitted-heir case; other remedies may depend on participation, notice, fraud, registration, possession, prescription, or laches. Act promptly rather than assuming an old settlement is either automatically valid or automatically void.

Judicial settlement

Court proceedings are ordinarily required or advisable when:

there is a will requiring probate;
heirs dispute filiation, marriage, adoption, ownership, shares, or the will’s validity;
debts remain unsettled;
an heir is missing, excluded, or inadequately represented;
an executor or administrator must preserve or recover property;
estate assets are being concealed, wasted, or transferred; or
the parties cannot agree on partition.

Venue is generally where the decedent resided at death. If the decedent was an inhabitant of another country, proceedings may be brought where Philippine estate property is located, subject to the first court properly taking cognizance.

Under Republic Act No. 11576, first-level courts have probate jurisdiction when the gross estate does not exceed ₱2 million; the Regional Trial Court has jurisdiction when it exceeds ₱2 million. See Republic Act No. 11576.

A compulsory or intestate heir does not always need a separate prior declaration of heirship before filing an ordinary action to protect inherited ownership rights. When no estate or heirship proceeding is pending, the Supreme Court allows heirs to bring an appropriate action for nullity, recovery, or reconveyance; the resulting ruling binds the parties to that action. If a settlement proceeding is already pending, the issue should generally be raised there. See Treyes v. Antonio, G.R. No. 232579, September 8, 2020.

Taxes and transfer requirements

Estate tax compliance is separate from determining the correct heirs. Paying tax or obtaining a tax clearance does not cure an invalid will, false affidavit of self-adjudication, omitted heir, or defective partition.

The estate tax return is generally due within one year from death. The Commissioner may grant a filing extension not exceeding 30 days in meritorious cases. Tax is generally payable when the return is filed. If the estate lacks sufficient cash, the law permits installment payment within two years from the statutory payment date, subject to the applicable requirements.

Filing and payment may be electronic or manual through the channels authorized by the BIR. The applicable tax rate, deductions, valuation rules, forms, and documentary requirements depend principally on the date of death. Use the BIR’s current estate-tax guidance and the current version of BIR Form 1801.

The latest statutory estate-tax amnesty period ended on June 14, 2025. An old unsettled estate should therefore be evaluated under the regular law unless a later enactment expressly provides new relief. See Republic Act No. 11956.

After tax compliance, the estate may still need an electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration, local transfer-tax payment, registration fees, and agency-specific documents before land, shares, vehicles, or other registered assets can be transferred.

Evidence to preserve immediately

Keep originals secure and make indexed digital copies of:

the death certificate and all known versions of the will or codicil;
PSA birth, marriage, and death certificates;
adoption, legitimation, annulment, nullity, legal-separation, or recognition orders;
documents bearing the parent’s signed acknowledgment of filiation;
titles, deeds, tax declarations, surveys, vehicle records, stock certificates, and business records;
bank, investment, loan, insurance, pension, and benefit statements;
marriage settlements and proof of the spouses’ property regime;
proof of contributions to property acquired during cohabitation;
gift deeds, advances, receipts, and records of lifetime transfers;
tax returns, assessments, payment confirmations, and BIR correspondence;
rental records and expenses paid to preserve estate property;
communications concerning admissions, threats, concealment, coercion, or proposed sales; and
identities and contact information of witnesses.

Do not alter a will, forge access to an account, impersonate the deceased, remove assets secretly, or obtain DNA material unlawfully. Court-supervised production, preservation, or scientific testing may be requested when appropriate.

Common mistakes

Dividing the gross family property without first identifying the decedent’s actual ownership share.
Assuming that property titled to one spouse was necessarily that spouse’s exclusive property.
Treating a live-in partner’s possible co-ownership as inheritance—or assuming the partner has no property rights at all.
Excluding a child because the parents were unmarried, the child uses another surname, or relatives did not know about the child.
Ignoring a valid adoption or assuming an informal arrangement created adoption rights.
Believing the eldest child automatically controls the estate or receives the family home.
Using an affidavit of self-adjudication despite the existence of another heir.
Letting one heir sell a specific estate property as though partition had already occurred.
Executing an extrajudicial settlement despite a will, unresolved debt, missing heir, or disputed filiation.
Signing a waiver, quitclaim, or deed without an inventory, valuation, tax computation, and explanation of its irrevocable effects.
Relying on verbal disinheritance or mere family estrangement.
Assuming that publication alone binds an heir who did not participate and had no notice.
Ignoring the estate-tax deadline while waiting for the family to agree.
Assuming that a tax clearance or transferred title conclusively determines lawful heirship.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly when:

someone is hiding, destroying, or refusing to deliver a will;
an estate asset is being sold, mortgaged, withdrawn, or transferred without all heirs’ authority;
a false affidavit of self-adjudication or extrajudicial settlement has been registered;
filiation is disputed and the alleged parent is still alive;
a child, incapacitated person, absent heir, or overseas heir is involved;
the court has published a deadline for creditor claims;
fraud, forgery, undue influence, incapacity, or violence affected a will or deed;
the two-year Rule 74 period or another prescriptive period may be running;
estate taxes are overdue;
the decedent or an heir was a foreign citizen, or Philippine land will pass to a foreigner;
property exists in several countries; or
Muslim personal law may apply.

Qualified indigent parties may inquire about assistance from the Public Attorney’s Office or an appropriate legal-aid program.

Special cases: Muslim and cross-border succession

The ordinary Civil Code calculations should not be applied mechanically to every estate.

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws, Presidential Decree No. 1083, contains separate rules on succession and inheritance applicable to Muslims under its coverage provisions. Questions involving conversion, mixed marriages, acknowledgment, adoption, surviving spouses, and the proper Shari’a court require specific analysis.

For cross-border estates, Article 16 of the Civil Code generally makes the decedent’s national law govern the order of succession, the amount of successional rights, and the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, regardless of where the property is located. The form of a will, situs rules, foreign probate, constitutional land-ownership limits, and conflict-of-laws principles may introduce additional requirements. A foreign national may encounter different heirship rules, while a foreign heir to Philippine land requires careful review of the constitutional hereditary-succession exception.

Frequently asked questions

Can a parent give everything to only one child?

Not ordinarily if other compulsory heirs survive. The favored child may receive more from the free portion, but the other compulsory heirs’ legitimes must remain intact. Relevant lifetime donations may also be brought into the computation.

Can a child born outside marriage inherit from the father?

Yes, once filiation is duly proved. The child is a compulsory and intestate heir of the parent. In mixed succession, the child’s share is generally one-half of a legitimate child’s corresponding share, subject to the exact combination of heirs.

Does using the mother’s surname prevent inheritance from the father?

No. A surname is not conclusive. The controlling question is whether filiation has been established by legally admissible evidence and within the applicable period.

Does the surviving spouse always receive half?

No. The spouse’s share depends on whether succession is testate or intestate and which descendants, ascendants, nonmarital children, siblings, nephews, or nieces survive. The spouse’s separate or community-property share must also be distinguished from the inheritance.

Does a live-in partner inherit automatically?

No. A live-in partner is not an intestate or compulsory heir merely because of cohabitation. The partner may inherit under a valid will and may separately prove ownership in co-owned property under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code.

Can one heir sell inherited land without the others?

An heir may generally transfer only the heir’s undivided hereditary interest before partition, subject to the rights of co-heirs. One heir cannot convey the entire property or the other heirs’ shares. A sale to a stranger may also trigger the co-heirs’ one-month redemption period after written notice.

Can an heir refuse an inheritance?

Yes, but repudiation must occur after the decedent’s death and must be made in a public or authentic instrument or through a petition in the proper estate proceeding. It is generally irrevocable. A parent or guardian needs judicial authority to repudiate for a minor or incapacitated heir.

Is an heir automatically barred after two years from an extrajudicial settlement?

Not necessarily. Rule 74 creates a two-year remedy and lien, but an excluded person who neither participated nor had notice is not bound by the settlement merely because it was executed or published. The correct remedy and deadline depend on fraud, notice, possession, registration, and the relief sought.

Must heirs obtain a court declaration before protecting estate property?

Not always. If no estate or heirship proceeding is pending, compulsory or intestate heirs may bring an appropriate ordinary action to enforce inherited ownership rights without a separate prior declaration of heirship. A disputed estate still commonly requires judicial settlement.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not advice for a particular estate. Shares and remedies can change based on documents, dates, citizenship, filiation, property ownership, prior transfers, and pending proceedings. Sources and current procedures were checked as of August 4, 2026.