Quick answer

In the Philippines, an heir’s share depends on four things: who died, what property actually belonged to that person, whether there is a valid will, and which relatives survived.

A person cannot freely give away the entire estate by will when compulsory heirs exist. Legitimate and adopted children, properly proven nonmarital or “illegitimate” children, the surviving legal spouse, and—in the absence of legitimate descendants—legitimate parents or ascendants may have reserved shares called legitimes. A valid disinheritance requires a will, a legal cause expressly recognized by law, and proof of that cause if challenged.

When there is no valid will, the Civil Code’s order and proportions for intestate succession apply. The estate must first be separated from the surviving spouse’s own community or conjugal share and reduced by enforceable debts, taxes, and settlement expenses. Heirs inherit only the decedent’s net estate, not property belonging to someone else.

Inheritance rights arise at death, but heirs should not immediately divide, withdraw, sell, or retitle assets. The will, estate debts, taxes, ownership documents, marital-property rules, filiation, and all possible heirs must first be addressed through an extrajudicial or judicial settlement.

What an heir actually inherits

Under Articles 774, 776, and 777 of the Civil Code, succession transmits the decedent’s property, transmissible rights, and obligations from the moment of death. Liability for inherited obligations is limited to the value of the inheritance.

The hereditary estate is not automatically everything registered in the decedent’s name. The following must first be examined:

Whether property was exclusive, conjugal, community, or co-owned property
Whether the decedent owned only an undivided share
Whether an asset had already been validly sold, donated, or transferred
Whether debts, mortgages, taxes, and valid creditor claims must be paid
Whether lifetime donations must be brought into the computation of legitimes
Whether insurance, employment death benefits, pensions, or similar benefits pass under a separate law, contract, or beneficiary rule

When a married person dies, the absolute community or conjugal partnership must be liquidated. The surviving spouse’s own share is separated first. Only the decedent’s net share enters the inheritance.

Not every amount received because of death forms part of the estate. The controlling benefit plan or statute must be checked. For example, the Supreme Court has held that the particular seafarer death benefits involved in Macalinao v. Macalinao were payable directly as contractual death benefits rather than as inheritance, although the applicable rules used succession law to identify the beneficiaries. Different insurance, SSS, GSIS, Pag-IBIG, employment, and pension arrangements may have different rules. See the Supreme Court decision in G.R. No. 250613.

Who are compulsory heirs?

Article 887 of the Civil Code identifies compulsory heirs whose legitimes generally cannot be impaired:

Legitimate children and descendants
In their default, legitimate parents and ascendants
The surviving legal spouse
Nonmarital or “illegitimate” children whose filiation is duly proved

An adopted person is treated as the legitimate child of the adopter. Under Sections 41 and 43 of Republic Act No. 11642, the legitimate filiation created by adoption extends to specified members of the adoptive family, and the adopter and adoptee have reciprocal succession rights without distinction from legitimate filiation. Rights involving the biological family can depend on the governing adoption law, the adoption order, whether it was a step-parent adoption, and whether succession is testate or intestate.

The father or mother of a nonmarital child may also inherit from that child under the specific conditions in Articles 903 and 993 of the Civil Code.

Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and more distant relatives are generally not compulsory heirs. They may inherit under a will or through intestate succession when the relatives preferred by law are absent. A testator ordinarily need not “disinherit” a sibling to leave that sibling nothing.

Children born outside marriage

A child born outside a valid marriage may inherit directly from either parent once filiation is legally established. Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, gives each nonmarital child a legitime equal to one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child.

Using the father’s surname is not, by itself, the controlling test for inheritance. Filiation may require a civil-registry record, acknowledgment, an admission in a public document or qualifying private handwritten instrument, or other evidence permitted by the Family Code. The applicable proof and deadline may depend on the child’s date of birth, the type of evidence, whether the parent is still living, and when a filiation claim was first asserted.

Article 992 of the Civil Code still contains a restriction on intestate succession across legitimate and nonmarital family lines. However, in Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court held that children, regardless of the circumstances of birth, may inherit from their direct ascendants—such as grandparents—by right of representation. The ruling should not be read as eliminating every Article 992 issue involving collateral relatives. See the Supreme Court’s official explanation of the ruling and G.R. Nos. 208912 and 209018.

Disputed filiation requires prompt legal advice. Waiting until land has been transferred or the estate proceeding has ended can make proof and recovery substantially harder.

The surviving spouse and unmarried partners

A surviving spouse ordinarily means the spouse in a legally valid marriage. The spouse remains an heir even if the couple was physically separated, unless a legal ground removes the right—for example, the spouse who gave cause for a final decree of legal separation is disqualified from intestate succession under Article 1002.

A void or bigamous marriage ordinarily does not make the later partner a surviving spouse for succession purposes. The children’s inheritance rights, however, are separate from the validity of their parents’ marriage.

A boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, or live-in partner is not automatically a compulsory or intestate heir. That person may nevertheless own an independent share in property under co-ownership rules, including Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code where applicable. The partner’s ownership share must be separated from the decedent’s estate, but it is not an inheritance merely because the owners lived together.

If there is a will

A will controls only to the extent that it is valid and does not impair compulsory heirs’ legitimes.

A notarial will generally requires the formalities in Articles 804 to 809 of the Civil Code, including execution in writing, the required signatures, attestation by at least three credible witnesses, and acknowledgment before a notary. A holographic will must be entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator’s own handwriting.

A private letter, unsigned list of intended heirs, video message, text conversation, or spoken promise is not automatically a valid will.

No will transfers property unless it is proved and allowed by the proper court. Under Rule 75 of the Rules of Court on estate proceedings, a 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 has a corresponding 20-day duty to present the will and state whether the appointment is accepted.

Legitimes under a will

Important statutory baselines include:

Legitimate children and descendants collectively reserve one-half of the hereditary estate.
Each nonmarital child’s legitime is one-half of a legitimate child’s legitime, subject to the rules protecting the surviving spouse and limiting the total charge against the disposable portion.
The surviving spouse’s legitime changes depending on whether the spouse concurs with children, parents, or nonmarital children.
Legitimate parents or ascendants generally reserve one-half when there are no legitimate children or descendants, subject to the concurrent rights of the spouse and nonmarital children.
Lifetime donations may have to be included in the computation and reduced if they impair legitimes.

The exact fractions must be computed from the complete family tree and net estate. It is unsafe to apply a single percentage without knowing every surviving compulsory heir.

Omission and disinheritance

A will cannot simply declare that a compulsory heir receives nothing because of estrangement, a family disagreement, or the testator’s preference.

Disinheritance is valid only when:

It is made in a will;
A statutory cause is expressly stated; and
The cause is proved by the other heirs if the disinherited heir denies it.

Articles 919 to 921 contain separate causes for disinheriting descendants, ascendants, and a spouse. An invalid disinheritance generally restores the affected legitime.

Complete omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line can constitute preterition under Article 854. It may annul the institution of heirs, while preserving valid devises and legacies that do not exceed the disposable portion. Whether an omission is preterition, defective disinheritance, or merely an underpayment of a legitime depends on the wording of the will and the facts.

If there is no valid will

Intestate succession applies when there is no will, the will is void, the will does not dispose of the entire estate, or a testamentary disposition fails for a reason recognized by law.

The following are common combinations under Articles 978 to 1010 of the Civil Code:

Surviving heirs	General intestate division
Legitimate children only	Equal shares
Legitimate children and surviving spouse	The spouse receives the same share as each legitimate child
Legitimate and nonmarital children	Each nonmarital child generally receives one-half of each legitimate child’s share
Legitimate children, nonmarital children, and spouse	The spouse generally receives a share equal to a legitimate child; each nonmarital child receives one-half of that share
Legitimate parents or ascendants and spouse, with no descendants	One-half to the spouse and one-half to the legitimate parents or ascendants
Legitimate parents or ascendants and nonmarital children, without a spouse	One-half to the ascendants and one-half collectively to the nonmarital children
Spouse and nonmarital children, without legitimate descendants or ascendants	One-half to the spouse and one-half collectively to the nonmarital children
Legitimate ascendants, spouse, and nonmarital children	One-half to the ascendants, one-fourth to the spouse, and one-fourth collectively to the nonmarital children
Nonmarital children only, with no legitimate descendants or ascendants and no spouse	The entire estate among them under the applicable rules
Spouse and brothers, sisters, nephews, or nieces, with no descendants, ascendants, or nonmarital children	One-half to the spouse and one-half to the siblings or qualifying nephews and nieces
Brothers and sisters only	Full siblings inherit equally; when full- and half-blood siblings concur, a full-blood sibling receives twice a half-blood sibling’s share
No closer heirs	Other collateral relatives may inherit up to the fifth degree; otherwise, the State succeeds

This table states general rules, not a substitute for an estate computation. Representation, repudiation, incapacity, adoption, legal separation, half-blood relationships, and the existence of descendants of a predeceased heir can change the result.

Representation by grandchildren and other descendants

Representation allows a descendant to take the place of the person through whom the descendant is related to the decedent. It generally operates in the direct descending line and, in the collateral line, only for children of the decedent’s brothers or sisters.

For example, when one of the decedent’s children died first and left children, those grandchildren may divide the share their parent would have received. This is division per stirpes, not necessarily an equal division among every individual grandchild and surviving child.

Representation does not generally arise merely because an heir voluntarily repudiates an inheritance. Article 977 states that an heir who repudiates cannot be represented. Representation may apply in other legally recognized situations, including predecease or incapacity to inherit.

Can an heir reject an inheritance?

Yes. Acceptance or repudiation is voluntary, but it may occur only after the decedent’s death and after the person is certain of the right to inherit.

A waiver or compromise involving a future legitime while the owner is still alive is void. After death, repudiation must be made in a public or authentic instrument or through a petition in the proper estate proceeding. A parent or guardian ordinarily needs judicial authority to repudiate an inheritance for a minor or incapacitated heir.

Acceptance may be express or implied. Selling, donating, or assigning hereditary rights can amount to acceptance. Acceptance or repudiation, once validly made, is generally irrevocable, subject to limited grounds such as defective consent or the later discovery of an unknown will.

Do not sign a waiver, quitclaim, deed of assignment, or “receipt of full share” without an inventory, valuation, family-tree review, and independent advice.

Rights of co-heirs before partition

Before partition, two or more heirs own the estate in common, subject to the decedent’s debts.

Each co-heir may generally:

Ask for an accounting of estate income and expenses
Participate in decisions affecting the common estate
Demand partition, subject to lawful restrictions
Challenge an unauthorized or fraudulent disposition
Seek reimbursement for necessary estate expenses properly paid
Ask that property incapable of fair physical division be assigned with cash equalization or, when legally appropriate, sold

No heir owns a particular house, lot, vehicle, or bank account exclusively merely because that heir occupies, manages, or holds the documents for it. Exclusive ownership arises only after a valid partition or adjudication. A co-heir should not sell the whole property as sole owner or exclude the others from the settlement.

Extrajudicial settlement

Under Rule 74, an estate may generally be settled extrajudicially when:

The decedent left no will;
The estate has no outstanding debts;
All heirs are of legal age and capacity, or minors are represented by duly authorized judicial or legal representatives; and
Every heir is included and agrees to the settlement.

The heirs execute a public instrument, commonly a deed of extrajudicial settlement. A sole heir may use an affidavit of self-adjudication. The settlement must be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. Filing, bonding, tax, eCAR, local-treasury, assessor, and Registry of Deeds requirements must also be satisfied as applicable.

Publication does not cure the deliberate exclusion of a known heir. Rule 74 expressly states that an extrajudicial settlement is not binding on a person who did not participate or have notice.

Rule 74 provides a two-year charge against the bond and estate for unpaid debts or an heir’s lawful participation, with a further one-year period after specified disabilities are removed. Supreme Court decisions have also held that the Rule 74 two-year period does not automatically defeat an heir who was excluded and had no notice. The correct remedy and prescriptive period nevertheless depend on possession, fraud, registration, notice, third-party transfers, and the relief requested. An omitted heir should act immediately.

When court settlement is required

Judicial settlement is ordinarily appropriate when:

There is a will requiring probate;
Heirs dispute filiation, shares, ownership, valuation, or the validity of a deed;
An heir refuses to participate;
There are unresolved creditors or substantial debts;
A minor or incapacitated heir lacks proper representation or authority;
Estate property must be sold under court supervision;
A personal representative is needed to collect, preserve, or manage assets; or
Extrajudicial settlement requirements cannot be met.

Venue is generally the court in the province or city where the Philippine resident decedent resided at death. If the decedent resided abroad, venue may be where Philippine estate property is located.

Under Republic Act No. 11576, first-level courts have probate jurisdiction when the gross estate does not exceed ₱2,000,000; the Regional Trial Court has jurisdiction when it exceeds that amount. Court assignment and venue should still be confirmed before filing.

In judicial administration, the court sets the creditor-claim period at not less than six months and not more than twelve months from the first publication of the notice. Claims within Rule 86 must be filed within the court-set period or risk being barred, subject to the rule’s limited exceptions.

Estate tax and property-transfer deadlines

Inheritance shares and estate tax are different questions. An heir may be legally entitled to a share even though the estate has unfinished tax obligations.

For decedents who died on or after January 1, 2018, the TRAIN Law generally imposes estate tax at 6% of the net taxable estate. For a citizen or resident, major deductions include a ₱5 million standard deduction, a family-home deduction of up to ₱10 million, qualifying debts and losses, and the surviving spouse’s net community or conjugal share. The applicable tax law is normally the law in force when the decedent died. See Republic Act No. 10963 and BIR Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018.

Key deadlines and procedures include:

File the estate-tax return within one year from death.
A meritorious filing extension may be granted for no more than 30 days.
Returns showing a gross estate above ₱5 million require the CPA-certified statement specified by law.
A return may still be required when no estate tax is payable, particularly when registered or registrable property needs an eCAR.
When estate cash is insufficient, the law allows application for installment payment within two years from the statutory payment date, subject to BIR procedure.
A separate undue-hardship payment extension may be granted for up to five years for a judicially settled estate or two years for an extrajudicially settled estate. Interest and possible bond requirements apply under the regulations.
Local transfer tax on inherited real property is generally due to the proper local treasurer within 60 days from death, with the rate and procedure determined by the applicable local ordinance. See Section 135 of the Local Government Code.
The extended estate-tax amnesty period under Republic Act No. 11956 ended on June 14, 2025. Families should not assume that the amnesty remains available.

For a resident decedent, the estate generally secures its own TIN and files with the BIR Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the decedent’s domicile. The executor, administrator, or heirs use the current BIR Form No. 1801, pay through an authorized channel accepted for the transaction, and apply for the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration. Consult the BIR’s current estate-tax information page and eCAR documentary checklist before filing because requirements depend on the assets and settlement document.

After the BIR process, inherited real property ordinarily requires local transfer-tax clearance, updated real-property tax clearance, assessor processing, and registration of the deed or court order with the Registry of Deeds.

Practical steps for heirs

Secure the death certificate and protect the original will. Obtain PSA and local civil-registry copies as needed. Do not alter, staple, mark, or conceal a will.
Prepare a complete family tree. Include every marriage, child, adopted child, child born outside marriage, predeceased child and that child’s descendants, surviving parent, and possible sibling heir.
Collect civil-status evidence. Preserve birth, marriage, death, adoption, legitimation, acknowledgment, and court records. Obtain certified copies rather than relying on photographs alone.
Inventory all assets and liabilities. Include land, condominium units, vehicles, business interests, shares, bank deposits, loans receivable, digital assets, debts, mortgages, taxes, and pending cases.
Determine ownership before valuation. Collect titles, tax declarations, deeds, marriage settlements, loan documents, corporate records, bank certificates, and proof of acquisition and payment.
Preserve the estate. Secure buildings, continue necessary insurance, document valuables, maintain essential payments, and keep receipts. Avoid unexplained withdrawals or transfers.
Choose the correct settlement route. Confirm whether there is a will, debt, dispute, minor heir, foreign document, or other fact requiring court involvement.
Calculate shares only from the net estate. Separate the surviving spouse’s property, validate debts, account for lifetime donations, and then compute legitimes or intestate shares.
Meet national and local tax deadlines. Do not wait for the family to agree before obtaining tax advice or requesting a permitted extension.
Register the final transfers. A deed among heirs does not by itself update land, vehicle, corporate, or bank records. Complete the requirements of each registry or institution.

Evidence worth preserving

Keep certified or authenticated copies of:

Death, birth, marriage, and adoption records
The original will and all envelopes or storage records
Land titles, tax declarations, survey plans, and deeds
Bank statements and certificates showing balances at death
Stock certificates, corporate records, and financial statements
Vehicle registrations
Insurance, pension, employment, and beneficiary documents
Loan agreements, promissory notes, mortgage records, and receipts
Proof of payment for property acquired during marriage or cohabitation
Documents acknowledging filiation
Records of lifetime donations and advances to heirs
Estate income, rent, taxes, repairs, and funeral or administration expenses
Messages or notices showing whether an heir knew of or participated in a settlement
Copies of publication, deeds, eCARs, tax clearances, and Registry of Deeds filings

Create a dated inventory and avoid handing over irreplaceable originals without a written acknowledgment.

Common mistakes

Dividing the entire property without first separating the surviving spouse’s or co-owner’s share
Assuming the person named on a title was the only beneficial owner
Treating a live-in partner as a legal spouse, or ignoring the partner’s possible co-ownership
Assuming a will can eliminate compulsory heirs
Excluding a child because the parents were unmarried or the child uses a different surname
Ignoring a legally adopted child
Dividing equally when the law requires representation or different proportions
Selling a specific estate asset before a valid partition
Using an affidavit of self-adjudication despite the existence of another heir
Believing newspaper publication cures an omitted heir
Paying heirs before creditors and taxes are addressed
Signing a waiver without an inventory or independent valuation
Assuming that paying estate tax proves ownership or determines heirship
Waiting for an expired tax amnesty instead of addressing current liabilities

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly when:

Someone is selling, mortgaging, withdrawing, or transferring estate assets
A will may be hidden, forged, destroyed, or obtained through undue influence
An heir was excluded from an affidavit or extrajudicial settlement
The one-year BIR deadline or 60-day local transfer-tax deadline is near or has passed
Parentage or civil status is disputed
A minor, incapacitated person, or overseas heir is involved
There are conflicting marriages, a void marriage, or a long-term unmarried partnership
The estate owns a business, foreign assets, intellectual property, or substantial debt
Property passed through several unsettled generations
The decedent or heirs are foreign nationals
The decedent was a Muslim whose succession may be governed by the Code of Muslim Personal Laws
A creditor notice, court summons, adverse claim, or demand from the BIR or local government has been received

Frequently asked questions

Can a parent leave everything to only one child?

Not if other compulsory heirs exist and the gift impairs their legitimes. The favored child may receive a larger amount from the disposable portion, but the other compulsory heirs may demand completion of their reserved shares.

Do legitimate children receive more than children born outside marriage?

Under the current statutory formula, each nonmarital child’s legitime is one-half of a legitimate child’s legitime. The same one-half relationship generally appears when both classes inherit together intestate. Filiation must be duly proved.

Does the eldest child receive the house?

No. Philippine succession law does not give the eldest child an automatic right to the family home. It remains part of the estate unless validly assigned by will or partition, subject to legitimes, ownership, tax, and settlement rules.

Can one heir live in or rent out estate property without the others?

Possession alone does not create exclusive ownership. A co-heir who receives rent or other income may have to account to the estate and the other heirs. Necessary preservation expenses may also be reimbursable.

Can an heir sell an inheritance before partition?

An heir may, in some circumstances, transfer an undivided hereditary interest, but cannot convey more than what is ultimately lawfully received. Selling a specific estate asset as sole owner is risky before settlement and partition.

Is an extrajudicial settlement valid without every heir’s signature?

It is not binding on an heir who did not participate and had no notice. Deliberately excluding an heir may support judicial relief against the settlement and later transfers.

Does payment of estate tax make someone the owner?

No. Estate-tax payment and an eCAR facilitate registration but do not create heirship, cure a void will, validate forged documents, or eliminate another heir’s share.

Do heirs inherit the decedent’s debts?

The estate must satisfy enforceable debts before distribution. Heirs are not personally liable beyond the value of what they inherit, although an heir who prematurely receives property may have to return or contribute it toward estate liabilities.

Which law applies when the decedent was a foreign national?

Article 16 of the Civil Code generally makes the decedent’s national law govern the order of succession, amounts of successional rights, and intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, regardless of where the property is located. Philippine rules still affect local procedure, taxation, registration, and the formal validity of documents. Cross-border estates require individualized advice and proof of foreign law.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice or a calculation of any particular heir’s share. Succession outcomes depend on the decedent’s citizenship, dates, family records, property regime, ownership documents, will, donations, debts, and proof of filiation. Laws, regulations, and official procedures were checked through August 5, 2026.