Intestate Shares Philippines: Who Gets What
Who inherits when there is no will: shares of children, the spouse, parents, illegitimate children, siblings and the State under the Civil Code rules.
| Who survives the deceased | How the estate is divided | Civil Code articles | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate children only | Equal shares among the children. A child who died before the parent is represented by his or her own children | Arts. 979, 980 and 981 | Civil Code, Articles 979 to 981, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate children (or their descendants) and the surviving spouse | The spouse has "the same share as that of each of the children" | Art. 996 | Civil Code, Article 996, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate children and illegitimate children | Article 983 gives the illegitimate children shares "in the proportions prescribed by article 895". Today the legitime of each illegitimate child is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child (Family Code Art. 176) | Art. 983; Family Code Art. 176 | Civil Code, Article 983, Supreme Court E-Library (Family Code Article 176 as amended by Republic Act No. 9255: see its article page) |
| Legitimate children, illegitimate children and the surviving spouse | The spouse is "entitled to the same share as that of a legitimate child". The illegitimate children's shares follow Article 983, read with Family Code Art. 176 (see the row above) | Arts. 999 and 983; Family Code Art. 176 | Civil Code, Articles 983 and 999, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate parents only (no children or descendants) | Father and mother in equal shares; if only one survives, he or she takes the whole estate. If both are dead, the nearest ascendants (for example grandparents) inherit: equal shares if of the same line, one-half to the father's side and one-half to the mother's side if of different lines | Arts. 985, 986 and 987 | Civil Code, Articles 985 to 987, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate parents or ascendants and the surviving spouse | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the parents or ascendants | Art. 997 | Civil Code, Article 997, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate parents or ascendants and illegitimate children | One-half to the illegitimate children, one-half to the ascendants, "whatever be the number of the ascendants or of the illegitimate children" | Art. 991 | Civil Code, Article 991, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Legitimate parents or ascendants, the surviving spouse and illegitimate children | One-half to the ascendants, one-fourth to the spouse, one-fourth to the illegitimate children | Art. 1000 | Civil Code, Article 1000, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Illegitimate children only (no legitimate descendants or ascendants) | The whole estate. A dead illegitimate child is represented by his or her descendants | Arts. 988 and 989 | Civil Code, Articles 988 and 989, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Illegitimate children and the surviving spouse | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the illegitimate children or their descendants | Art. 998 | Civil Code, Article 998, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Surviving spouse only | The whole estate, but brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces of the deceased, if any, keep their right under Article 1001 (next row) | Art. 995 | Civil Code, Article 995, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Surviving spouse and brothers and sisters of the deceased (or their children) | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the brothers and sisters or their children | Art. 1001 | Treyes v. Larlar (2020), applying Civil Code Article 1001, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Brothers and sisters only | Equal shares if all are of the full blood. With full-blood and half-blood siblings, each full-blood sibling gets double the share of a half-blood sibling. If only half-blood siblings survive, equal shares | Arts. 1004, 1006 and 1007 | Civil Code, Articles 1004, 1006 and 1007, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Brothers and sisters together with nephews and nieces (children of a dead brother or sister) | Brothers and sisters inherit per capita (each in his own right); nephews and nieces per stirpes (together, the share their parent would have had) | Art. 1005 | Civil Code, Article 1005, Supreme Court E-Library |
| Other collateral relatives only (no siblings, nephews or nieces) | The nearest in degree inherit, without distinction of lines or of full or half blood, but never beyond the fifth degree (first cousins are in the fourth degree) | Arts. 962, 966, 1009 and 1010 | Civil Code, Articles 962, 966, 1009 and 1010, Supreme Court E-Library |
| No one entitled to inherit | The State. After debts are paid, personal property goes to the city or municipality where the deceased last lived, and real property to the city or municipality where it is located, for the benefit of public schools and public charitable institutions | Arts. 1011 and 1013 | Civil Code, Articles 1011 and 1013, Supreme Court E-Library |
| The deceased was an illegitimate child and left no children | The father or mother takes the whole estate (both parents share alike if filiation is proved as to both). If neither parent survives, the surviving spouse takes it; a spouse with brothers, sisters, nephews or nieces takes one-half, and they take the other half | Arts. 993 and 994 | Civil Code, Articles 993 and 994, Supreme Court E-Library |
| An illegitimate child and the legitimate relatives of his or her father or mother | Article 992 says they do not inherit from each other without a will. Exception set by the Supreme Court in Aquino v. Aquino (2021): a child, whatever the circumstances of birth, may inherit from a grandparent by right of representation of the child's parent | Art. 992 | Aquino v. Aquino (2021), En Banc, Supreme Court E-Library |
| A surviving spouse who gave cause for a legal separation | No share: the spouse loses the rights in the rows above | Art. 1002 | Civil Code, Article 1002, Supreme Court E-Library |
Notes
- These rules apply when a person dies without a will, with a void will, or with a will that does not dispose of all the property (Article 960). When there is a valid will, the legitime rules apply instead: see the Legitime table.
- The fractions apply to the net estate: debts and charges are paid first. If the deceased was married, the couple's community or conjugal property is liquidated first, and only the deceased's share of it, with his or her own separate property, is inherited.
- An adopted child is a legitimate child of the adopter for inheritance. Article 979 says an adopted child succeeds "in the same manner as a legitimate child", and Republic Act No. 11642, Section 43, gives the adopters and the adoptee "reciprocal rights of succession without distinction from legitimate filiations" (RA 11642). Who inherits from an adopted child who dies without children is not shown in this table, because Article 984 of the Civil Code and the later adoption law have not been reconciled in a decision we have read.
- Illegitimate children: Articles 983 and 999 still send their shares to Article 895, which uses the old 1950 classes of illegitimate children. The Family Code, Article 176 as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, now sets the legitime of each illegitimate child at "one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child". How these combine in a particular estate without a will is a question for a lawyer. Filiation must be proved. See Inheritance rights of an illegitimate child.
- The nearer relative excludes the more distant one, except where the right of representation applies (Article 962). Representation works downward in the direct line (grandchildren for a dead child) and, among collateral relatives, only for the children of brothers and sisters (Article 972). An heir who repudiates the inheritance cannot be represented (Article 977).
- A person who is entitled to the estate but appears late can still claim it from the State within five years from the date the property was delivered to the State (Article 1014).
- Made-up example: Jose dies without a will. His net estate is ₱1,200,000 and he leaves his wife Maria and three legitimate children. Under Article 996, Maria has the same share as each child: four equal shares of ₱300,000.
- Made-up example: Elena dies without a will and without children. Her net estate is ₱800,000 and she leaves her husband and her mother. Under Article 997, each takes one-half: ₱400,000.
- Made-up example: Ramon, single and without children, dies without a will. His parents died before him. His net estate is ₱600,000 and he leaves two brothers of the full blood. Under Article 1004, each takes ₱300,000.
- More on this topic: Who inherits if there is no will?, Surviving spouse's inheritance share, Article 996, intestate succession in the glossary, Extrajudicial settlement of estate and the inheritance topic. Real estates often involve unclear filiation, a disputed will or a missing heir: see Free legal help.
General information, not legal advice. For your case, ask a lawyer, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) or the agency.
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