D, an Overseas Filipino Worker, was on his way home to the Philippines after working for so many years in the Middle East. He had saved ₱100,000.00 in his local savings account which he intended to use to start up a business in his home country. On his flight home, tragedy struck as a suicide bomber blew up the plane. All the passengers, including D, died. He left behind his widowed mother M; his common-law wife, W, who is the mother of his twin sons, T and S; and his brother, B. He left no will, no debts, no other relatives, and no other properties except the money in his savings account.
Who are the heirs entitled to inherit from D and how much should each receive? Explain. (5%)
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D's heirs entitled to inherit are his mother M, who receives ₱50,000.00, and his twin sons T and S, who receive ₱25,000.00 each. Under Article 991 of the Civil Code, if legitimate ascendants survive with illegitimate
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Quick check
Under Article 991 of the Civil Code, how is an intestate estate divided when surviving heirs are legitimate ascendants and illegitimate children?
Article 991 provides that legitimate ascendants get one-half and illegitimate children get the remaining one-half of the estate.
What is the successional right of a common-law spouse under the Philippine rules on intestate succession?
A common-law spouse is not a legal spouse and has no right to inherit in intestate succession.
Under the Civil Code rules on intestacy, when do collateral relatives like brothers and sisters inherit?
Collateral relatives inherit in intestacy only when there are no compulsory heirs in the direct line or surviving spouse.
In the given case, how much does the surviving widowed mother M receive from D's ₱100,000.00 intestate estate?
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How much does each of the twin illegitimate sons, T and S, receive from D's ₱100,000.00 estate?
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Learn more about these topics
1. Intestate Succession Concurrence
Under Article 991 of the Civil Code, when legitimate ascendants survive together with illegitimate children in intestate succession, the estate is divided equally between the two classes of compulsory heirs. The legitimate ascendants receive one-half of the net estate, regardless of their number, while the illegitimate children divide the remaining one-half equally among themselves. This rule applies in intestacy to balance the successional rights of legitimate ascendants with those of the decedent's illegitimate progeny.
2. Common-Law Wife Exclusion
Under Philippine succession law, a common-law spouse is not a compulsory or legal heir in intestate succession. Article 887 and Article 995 of the Civil Code grant successional rights exclusively to a surviving legal spouse whose marriage was validly celebrated. Consequently, no matter how long a cohabitation lasted, a common-law wife cannot claim a share in the deceased partner's intestate estate as an heir, though she may assert co-ownership rights over properties acquired through joint work or industry during cohabitation.
3. Collateral Relative Exclusion
Under the rules of intestate succession in the Civil Code, compulsory heirs exclude collateral relatives from inheriting. Relatives in the direct line, such as legitimate ascendants and illegitimate children, possess superior successional rights over brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces. Under Article 1003, collateral relatives inherit only in the complete absence of compulsory heirs in the direct ascending and descending lines and surviving legal spouses. Therefore, the presence of a surviving mother and illegitimate children completely excludes the decedent's brother.