Manila * Cavite * Laguna * Cebu * Cagayan De Oro * Davao

Since 1977

TAX.3610-1 NARANJO/SIAPIAN/WONG/CRUZ/GUDANI
SUCCESSION MAY 2024

LECTURE NOTES
SUCCESSION
Governing Law:
Republic Act No. 386 or the Civil Code of the Philippines which is effective August 1, 1950
Modes of Acquiring Ownership:
• Occupation
• Law
• Donation
• Tradition
• Intellectual Creation
• Prescription
• Succession
Definition of Terms:
1. Succession -- is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations to the
extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are transmitted through his death to another or
others either by his will or by operation of law.
2. Decedent is the general term applied to the person whose property is transmitted through
succession, whether or not he left a will. If he left a will, he is also called the testator.
3. An heir is a person called to the succession either by the provision of a will or by operation of law.
Devisees and legatees are persons to whom gifts of real and personal property are respectively
given by virtue of a will.
4. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person which are not
extinguished by his death. The inheritance of a person includes not only the property and the
transmissible rights and obligations existing at the time of his death, but also those which have
accrued thereto since the opening of the succession.
5. Legitime is that part of the testator's property which he cannot dispose of because the law has
reserved it for certain heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs.
6. Compulsory heirs:
a. Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and
ascendants
b. In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to their
legitimate children and descendants
c. The widow or widower
d. Illegitimate Children* (filiation must be proved)
7. An executor (male) or executrix (female) is the person named in a will to perform these duties.
8. An administrator (male) or administratrix (female) is the person appointed by the probate court to
complete these tasks when there is no will or no executor or executrix has been named in the will.
9. Accrual - The rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the death of the
decedent. Payment of taxes accrues from the time of death of the decedent. (RR 2-2003, as
amended)
Kinds of Succession:
1. Testamentary
2. Legal or intestate
3. Mixed

As to effectivity:
1. Inter vivos
2. Mortis Causa
KINDS OF SUCCESSION:
1. Testamentary Succession – is that which results from the designation of an heir, made in a will
executed in the form prescribed by law.
2. Legal or Intestate Succession
a. If a person dies without a will
b. With a void will
c. With a will which has subsequently lost its validity
d. When the will does not institute an heir to, or dispose of all the property belonging to the
testator
e. If the suspensive condition attached to the institution of heir does not happen or is not fulfilled
f. If the heir dies before the testator
g. If the heir repudiates the inheritance, there being no substitution, and no right of accretion
takes place;
h. When the heir instituted is incapable of succeeding, except in cases provided in the Civil Code.
3. Mixed Succession - is that effected partly by will and partly by operation of law.

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TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION
Wills in General –

A will is an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities prescribed by law, to control to a
certain degree the disposition of this estate, to take effect after his death.

The making of a will is a strictly personal act; it cannot be left in whole or in part to the discretion of a
third person, or accomplished through the instrumentality of an agent or attorney.

The testator may entrust to a third person the distribution of specific property or sums of money that he
may leave in general to specified classes or causes, and also the designation of the persons, institutions
or establishments to which such property or sums are to be given or applied.

The testator may not make a testamentary disposition in such manner that another person has to
determine whether or not it is to be operative.

When there is an imperfect description, or when no person or property exactly answers the description,
mistakes and omissions must be corrected, if the error appears from the context of the will or from extrinsic
evidence, excluding the oral declarations of the testator as to his intention; and when an uncertainty arises
upon the face of the will, as to the application of any of its provisions, the testator's intention is to be
ascertained from the words of the will, taking into consideration the circumstances under which it was
made, excluding such oral declarations.
Testamentary Capacity and Intent
All persons who are not expressly prohibited by law may make a will.

Persons of either sex under eighteen years of age cannot make a will.

In order to make a will it is essential that the testator be of sound mind at the time of its execution.

To be of sound mind, it is not necessary that the testator be in full possession of all his reasoning
faculties, or that his mind be wholly unbroken, unimpaired, or unshattered by disease, injury or other
cause. It shall be sufficient if the testator was able at the time of making the will to know the nature of
the estate to be disposed of, the proper objects of his bounty, and the character of the testamentary act.

The law presumes that every person is of sound mind, in the absence of proof to the contrary. The
burden of proof that the testator was not of sound mind at the time of making his dispositions is on the
person who opposes the probate of the will; but if the testator, one month, or less, before making his will
was publicly known to be insane, the person who maintains the validity of the will must prove that the
testator made it during a lucid interval.

Supervening incapacity does not invalidate an effective will, nor is the will of an incapable validated by
the supervening of capacity.

A married woman may make a will without the consent of her husband, and without the authority of the
court.

A married woman may dispose by will of all her separate property as well as her share of the conjugal
partnership or absolute community property
FORMS OF WILLS
Every will must be in writing and executed in a language or dialect known to the testator.

1. NOTARIAL WILL
Every will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself or
by the testator's name written by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction, and
attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of
one another.
The testator or the person requested by him to write his name and the instrumental witnesses of the will,
shall also sign, as aforesaid, each and every page thereof, except the last, on the left margin, and all the
pages shall be numbered correlatively in letters placed on the upper part of each page. The attestation
clause xxx.

Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses.

If the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he must personally read the will, if able to do so; otherwise, he
shall designate two persons to read it and communicate to him, in some practicable manner, the
contents thereof.

If the testator is blind, the will shall be read to him twice; once, by one of the subscribing witnesses, and
again, by the notary public before whom the will is acknowledged.

In the absence of bad faith, forgery, or fraud, or undue and improper pressure and influence, defects and
imperfections in the form of attestation or in the language used therein shall not render the will invalid if

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it is proved that the will was in fact executed and attested in substantial compliance with all the
requirements of article 805.

2. HOLOGRAPHIC WILL
A person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written, dated, and signed by the hand
of the testator himself. It is subject to no other form, and may be made in or out of the Philippines, and
need not be witnessed.

In holographic wills, the dispositions of the testator written below his signature must be dated and signed
by him in order to make them valid as testamentary dispositions

In the probate of a holographic will, it shall be necessary that at least one witness who knows the
handwriting and signature of the testator explicitly declare that the will and the signature are in the
handwriting of the testator. If the will is contested, at least three of such witnesses shall be required. In
the absence of any competent witness referred to in the preceding paragraph, and if the court deem it
necessary, expert testimony may be resorted to.

When a number of dispositions appearing in a holographic will are signed without being dated, and the
last disposition has a signature and a date, such date validates the dispositions preceding it, whatever be
the time of prior dispositions.

In case of any insertion, cancellation, erasure or alteration in a holographic will, the testator must
authenticate the same by his full signature.

When a Filipino is in a foreign country, he is authorized to make a will in any of the forms established by
the law of the country in which he may be. Such will may be probated in the Philippines

Two or more persons cannot make a will jointly, or in the same instrument, either for their reciprocal
benefit or for the benefit of a third person.

Wills, prohibited by the preceding article, executed by Filipinos in a foreign country shall not be valid in
the Philippines, even though authorized by the laws of the country where they may have been executed.
Witnesses to Wills
Any person of sound mind and of the age of eighteen years or more, and not blind, deaf or dumb, and
able to read and write, may be a witness to the execution of a will mentioned in Article 805 of this
Code.

The following are disqualified from being witnesses to a will:

1. Any person not domiciled in the Philippines;
2. Those who have been convicted of falsification of a document, perjury or false testimony.

If the witnesses attesting the execution of a will are competent at the time of attesting, their becoming
subsequently incompetent shall not prevent the allowance of the will.

If a person attests the execution of a will, to whom or to whose spouse, or parent, or child, a devise or
legacy is given by such will, such devise or legacy shall, so far only as concerns such person, or spouse,
or parent, or child of such person, or any one claiming under such person or spouse, or parent, or child,
be void, unless there are three other competent witnesses to such will. However, such person so
attesting shall be admitted as a witness as if such devise or legacy had not been made or given.
Revocation of Wills and Testamentary Dispositions
A will may be revoked by the testator at any time before his death. Any waiver or restriction of this right
is void.

A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person who does not have his domicile in this country, is
valid when it is done according to the law of the place where the will was made, or according to the law
of the place in which the testator had his domicile at the time; and if the revocation takes place in this
country, when it is in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

No will shall be revoked except in the following:

1. By implication of law; or
2. By some will, codicil, or other writing executed as provided in case of wills; or
3. By burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating the will with the intention of revoking it, by the
testator himself, or by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction. If
burned, torn, cancelled, or obliterated by some other person, without the express direction of the
testator, the will may still be established, and the estate distributed in accordance therewith, if
its contents, and due execution, and the fact of its unauthorized destruction, cancellation, or
obliteration are established according to the Rules of Court.
Probate of Wills (Allowance and Disallowance of Wills)
No will shall pass either real or personal property unless it is proved and allowed in accordance with the
Rules of Court. The testator himself may, during his lifetime, petition the court having jurisdiction for the
allowance of his will. In such case, the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court for the allowance of wills

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after the testator's a death shall govern. xxx. Subject to the right of appeal, the allowance of the will,
either during the lifetime of the testator or after his death, shall be conclusive as to its due execution.

The will shall be disallowed in any of the following cases:

1. If the formalities required by law have not been complied with
2. If the testator was insane, or otherwise mentally incapable of making a will, at the time of its
execution
3. If it was executed through force or under duress, or the influence of fear, or threats
4. If it was procured by undue and improper pressure and influence, on the part of the beneficiary
or of some other person
5. If the signature of the testator was procured by fraud
6. If the testator acted by mistake or did not intend that the instrument he signed should be his will
at the time of affixing his signature thereto
Institution of Heir
Institution of heir is an act by virtue of which a testator designates in his will the person or persons who
are to succeed him in his property and transmissible rights and obligations.

A will shall be valid even though it should not contain an institution of an heir, or such institution should
not comprise the entire estate, and even though the person so instituted should not accept the
inheritance or should be incapacitated to succeed. In such cases the testamentary dispositions made in
accordance with law shall be complied with and the remainder of the estate shall pass to the legal heirs

The testator shall designate the heir by his name and surname, and when there are two persons having
the same names, he shall indicate some circumstance by which the instituted heir may be known.
Even though the testator may have omitted the name of the heir, should he designate him in such
manner that there can be no doubt as to who has been instituted, the institution shall be valid.

An error in the name, surname, or circumstances of the heir shall not vitiate the institution when it is
possible, in any other manner, to know with certainty the person instituted. If among persons having the
same names and surnames, there is a similarity of circumstances in such a way that, even with the use
of other proof, the person instituted cannot be identified, none of them shall be an heir.

Every disposition in favor of an unknown person shall be void, unless by some event or circumstance his
identity becomes certain. However, a disposition in favor of a definite class or group of persons shall be
valid.

Heirs instituted without designation of shares shall inherit in equal parts.

The preterition or omission of one, some, or all of the compulsory heirs in the direct line, whether living
at the time of the execution of the will or born after the death of the testator, shall annul the institution
of heir; but the devises and legacies shall be valid insofar as they are not inofficious. If the omitted
compulsory heirs should die before the testator, the institution shall be effectual, without prejudice to the
right of representation.

The share of a child or descendant omitted in a will must first be taken from the part of the estate not
disposed of by the will, if any; if that is not sufficient, so much as may be necessary must be taken
proportionally from the shares of the other compulsory heirs.

A voluntary heir who dies before the testator transmits nothing to his heirs. A compulsory heir who dies
before the testator, a person incapacitated to succeed, and one who renounces the inheritance, shall
transmit no right to his own heirs except in cases expressly provided for in this Code
Disposition of Estate
One who has no compulsory heirs may dispose by will of all his estate or any part of it in favor of any
person having capacity to succeed.

One who has compulsory heirs may dispose of his estate provided he does not contravene the provisions
of this Code with regard to the legitime of said heirs.
Substitution of Heirs
Substitution is the appointment of another heir so that he may enter into the inheritance in default of the
heir originally instituted.
Conditional Testamentary Dispositions and Testamentary Dispositions With a Term
The institution of an heir may be made conditionally, or for a certain purpose or cause.

The testator cannot impose any charge, condition, or substitution whatsoever upon the legitimes
prescribed in this Code. Should he do so, the same shall be considered as not imposed.

Impossible conditions and those contrary to law or good customs shall be considered as not imposed and
shall in no manner prejudice the heir, even if the testator should otherwise provide.
Table of Legitime and Intestate Share
Surviving heir Legitime Intestate share
Illegitimate children 1/3 1/2

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Surviving spouse 1/3 1/2

1/3 free portion
Illegitimate children 1/4
1/4
Surviving spouse 1/8
1/4
Legitimate parents 1/2
1/2
1/8 free portion
1/2 (divided by number of
Legitimate children alone legitimate children) All
1/2 free portion
1/2
Legitimate parents alone All
1/2 free portion
1/2
Illegitimate parents alone All
1/2 free portion
1/2 or 1/3*,
Surviving spouse alone 1/2 or 2/3 (free portion) All
*In articulo mortis
1/2 (divided by the number of
Legitimate children (or their
children) All
descendants) alone
1/2 free portion
One legitimate child (or 1/2
1/2
descendant) 1/4
1/2
Surviving spouse 1/4 free portion
Two or more legitimate children 1/2 (divided by the number of
Consider spouse as 1 legitimate
(or their descendants) children)
child and divide estate by total
Surviving spouse Equal to the share of one child
number
Remainder is free portion
1/2 1/2
Surviving spouse 1/2 free portion 1/2 (divided by the number of
Not entitled to anything since brothers and sisters; nephews
Brothers and sisters (nephews they are not compulsory heirs; and nieces of deceased siblings
and nieces, in case of deceased testator may choose to give divide among themselves the
siblings) them something out of the free share that should have to their
portion parents)
Disinheritance
A compulsory heir may, in consequence of disinheritance, be deprived of his legitime, for causes
expressly stated by law.

Disinheritance can be effected only through a will wherein the legal cause therefor shall be specified.

The burden of proving the truth of the cause for disinheritance shall rest upon the other heirs of the
testator, if the disinherited heir should deny it.

Disinheritance without a specification of the cause, or for a cause the truth of which, if contradicted, is
not proved, or which is not one of those set forth in this Code, shall annul the institution of heirs insofar
as it may prejudice the person disinherited; but the devises and legacies and other testamentary
dispositions shall be valid to such extent as will not impair the legitime.
Common Causes for Disinheritance
Children and Descendants Parents or Spouse
Ascendants
When a child or descendant has When the parent or ascendant When the spouse has been
been found guilty of an attempt has been convicted of an convicted of an attempt against
against the life of the testator, attempt against the life of the the life of the testator, his or
his or her spouse, descendants, testator, his or her spouse, her descendants, or ascendants
or ascendants descendants, or ascendants
When a child or descendant has When the parent or ascendant When the spouse has accused
accused the testator of a crime has accused the testator of a the testator of a crime for
for which the law prescribes crime for which the law which the law prescribes
imprisonment for six years or prescribes imprisonment for six imprisonment of six years or
more, if the accusation has years or more, if the accusation more, and the accusation has
been found groundless has been found to be false been found to be false
When a child or descendant has When the parent or ascendant
been convicted of adultery or has been convicted of adultery
concubinage with the spouse of or concubinage with the spouse
the testator of the testator
When a child or descendant by When the parent or ascendant When the spouse by fraud,
fraud, violence, intimidation, or by fraud, violence, intimidation, violence, intimidation, or undue
undue influence causes the or undue influence causes the influence cause the testator to
testator to make a will or to testator to make a will or to make a will or to change one
change one already made change one already made already made

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A refusal without justifiable Unjustifiable refusal to support

cause to support the parent or the children or the other
ascendant who disinherits such spouse.
child or descendant
Other Causes for Disinheritance
Children and Descendants Parents or Spouse
Ascendants
Maltreatment of the testator by When the parents have When the spouse has given
word or deed, by the child or abandoned their children or grounds for the loss of parental
descendant induced their daughters to live authority
a corrupt or immoral life, or
attempted against their virtue
When a child or descendant The loss of parental authority When the spouse has given
leads a dishonorable or for causes specified in this cause for legal separation
disgraceful life Code
Conviction of a crime which The refusal to support the
carries with it the penalty of children or descendants without
civil interdiction justifiable cause

An attempt by one of the

parents against the life of the
other, unless there has been a
reconciliation between them.
Disinheritance
A subsequent reconciliation between the offender and the offended person deprives the latter of the right
to disinherit, and renders ineffectual any disinheritance that may have been made.

The children and descendants of the person disinherited shall take his or her place and shall preserve the
rights of compulsory heirs with respect to the legitime; but the disinherited parent shall not have the
usufruct or administration of the property which constitutes the legitime.
Relationship
Proximity of relationship is determined by the number of generations. Each generation forms a degree.

A series of degrees forms a line, which may be either direct or collateral. A direct line is that constituted
by the series of degrees among ascendants and descendants. A collateral line is that constituted by the
series of degrees among persons who are not ascendants and descendants, but who come from a
common ancestor

The direct line is either descending or ascending. The former unites the head of the family with those
who descend from him. The latter binds a person with those from whom he descends.

In the line, as many degrees are counted as there are generations or persons, excluding the progenitor.
In the direct line, ascent is made to the common ancestor. Thus, the child is one degree removed from
the parent, two from the grandfather, and three from the great-grandparent. In the collateral line,
ascent is made to the common ancestor and then descent is made to the person with whom the
computation is to be made. Thus, a person is two degrees removed from his brother, three from his
uncle, who is the brother of his father, four from his first cousin, and so forth.

Full-blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the same father and the same mother.
Half-blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the same father, but not the same
mother, or the same mother, but not the same father.
Blood Lines
Direct Line Collateral Line

Descending / Ascending

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Order of Succession in Legal or Intestate Succession

• Descending Direct Line
• Ascending Direct Line
• Illegitimate Children
• Surviving Spouse
• Collateral Relatives
• The State
Incapacity to Succeed
The following are incapable of succeeding:
1. The priest who heard the confession of the testator during his last illness, or the minister of the
gospel who extended spiritual aid to him during the same period;
2. The relatives of such priest or minister of the gospel within the fourth degree, the church,
order, chapter, community, organization, or institution to which such priest or minister may
belong;
3. A guardian with respect to testamentary dispositions given by a ward in his favor before the final
accounts of the guardianship have been approved, even if the testator should die after the
approval thereof; nevertheless, any provision made by the ward in favor of the guardian when
the latter is his ascendant, descendant, brother, sister, or spouse, shall be valid;
4. Any attesting witness to the execution of a will, the spouse, parents, or children, or any one
claiming under such witness, spouse, parents, or children;
5. Any physician, surgeon, nurse, health officer or druggist who took care of the testator during his
last illness;
6. Individuals, associations and corporations not permitted by law to inherit.
Incapacity to Succeed by Reason of Unworthiness
The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness:
1. Parents who have abandoned their children or induced their daughters to lead a corrupt or
immoral life, or attempted against their virtue
2. Any person who has been convicted of an attempt against the life of the testator, his or her
spouse, descendants, or ascendants
3. Any person who has accused the testator of a crime for which the law prescribes imprisonment
for six years or more, if the accusation has been found groundless
4. Any heir of full age who, having knowledge of the violent death of the testator, should fail to
report it to an officer of the law within a month, unless the authorities have already taken action;
this prohibition shall not apply to cases wherein, according to law, there is no obligation to make
an accusation
5. Any person convicted of adultery or concubinage with the spouse of the testator;
6. Any person who by fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence should cause the testator to
make a will or to change one already made;
7. Any person who by the same means prevents another from making a will, or from revoking one
already made, or who supplants, conceals, or alters the latter's will;
8. Any person who falsifies or forges a supposed will of the decedent.
END

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