So, Stephanie M.

Wills and Successions Assignment 5

Art. 960.
Legal succession is that kind of succession prescribed by the law (and presumed by it to be the desire of the
deceased), which takes place when the expressed will of the decedent has not been set down in a will.
Arranged in the order of decreasing superiority, we have three kinds of succession:
1) forced succession
2) testamentary succession
3) intestate succession
Reason, Purpose, or Basis for Legal Succession
Because unexpected death may come to any person, the law presumes what would have been the last wishes of
a person had such person made a will while still alive, taking into consideration his love and affection for those
closest to him.
When Intestate Heirs Can Inherit
Before intestate heirs can inherit on the ground that the will is void, there must fi rst be a declaration of the
nullity of the will or a positive disallowance of a will. If the intestate heirs merely petition to be declared the
owners without the abovementioned requirement, they cannot as yet inherit. (Castro, et al. v. Gallegos, et al., 10
Phil. 306).

Art. 961.
Who Inherits in Default of Testamentary Heirs
(a) An intestate heir is not necessarily a compulsory heir.
(b) The order of intestate succession cannot be altered by a contract. (Rodriguez v. Ravilan, 17 Phil. 63).
Query: May Intestate Heirs be Disinherited?
ANS.:
(a) If the intestate heirs are also compulsory heirs (e.g., legitimate children) YES.
(b) If the intestate heirs are NOT compulsory heirs (e.g., brothers) No. However, such intestate heirs
may be excluded, expressly or impliedly.
Principles for the Exclusion of an Intestate Heir
(a) The excluded heir must not be a compulsory heir.
(b) The State, as legal heir, must never be excluded expressly because if there be no relative left, a case
might arise when no one will succeed to the property. Such eventuality must not be allowed to happen.
(c) When a person is excluded, it is he alone who is excluded and not his own descendants or other heirs.
(d) Express exclusion of one intestate heir makes the property go to the heirs of the same degree, if any; if
none, then to the heirs of the next degree.

Art. 962.
Two Basic Principles of Intestate Succession
(a) Nearer relative excludes farther relative (without prejudice to the right of representation, because by
virtue of representation the farther becomes just as near).
(b) In general, inheritance is in equal shares. There are exceptions however.
Some Important Rules
(a) The right of representation takes place in the direct descending line, but never in the ascending. (Art.
972).
(b) In the collateral line, the right of representation takes place only in favor of the children of brothers or
sisters, whether they be of the full or half-blood. (Art. 972).
(c) Should brothers and sisters of the full blood survive together with brothers and sisters of the half-blood,
the former shall be entitled to a share double that of the latter. (Art. 1006).
(d) Should there be more than one ascendant of equal degree belonging to the same line, they shall divide
the inheritance per capita; should they be of different lines but of equal degree, one-half shall go to the
paternal and the other half to the maternal ascendants. In each line, the division shall be made per capita.
(Par. 2, Art. 987).
(e) Note that to the rule of equal division, we find at least three exceptions:
 1) division in the ascending line
2) division between relatives of the full and halfblood
3) division in cases of representation

Art. 963.
Article 963 gives the answer to determination of proximity of relationship.

Art. 964.
The Article defines the direct and collateral lines.

Art. 965.
The Article explains descending and ascending lines.

Art. 966.
The Article illustrates how degrees of generation are computed. Stated otherwise, Art. 966 gives direction in the
determination of the degree of relationship of the collateral relatives to the decedent. (Bagunu v. Piedad, GR
140975, Dec. 8, 2000).

Art. 967.
This Article defines full blood and half blood relationship.

Art. 968.
A decedent leaves 3 first-cousins and an estate of P300,000. If one of the cousins is incapacitated or repudiates,
the P100,000 which should have gone to him will accrue to the other two, who will each get P150,000. Each
therefore gets P100,000 in his own right, and P50,000 by virtue of accretion.

Art. 969.
Intestate estate of P1.2 million. A, B and C are the legitimate children of D. X and Y are the legitimate children
of A; W, the legitimate child of B; and Z, the legitimate child of C. If A, B, and C repudiate the inheritance, the
estate will be divided among the four grandchildren, and so each gets P300,000 in his own right. Remember, in
case of repudiation, there is no right of representation. (Art. 977). If only C repudiates, how will the estate be
divided?
ANS.: A and B will each get P600,000. X and Y are excluded, because the nearer excludes the farther. (Art.
962). Z is also excluded because there is no right of representation in case of repudiation. W is excluded by B.
(Art. 977).

Art. 970.
Right of Representation
Representation exists in case of:
(a) predecease (testate and intestate)
(b) incapacity (testate and intestate)
(c) disinheritance (this happens only in the case of testate succession)
Rules in Adoption
(a) An adopted child cannot represent.
(b) Neither may an adopted child be represented.
Reasons:
1) Reason for the principle that an adopted child cannot represent there is no filiation (whether by
blood or by law) between the adopted child and the parent of the adopter.
2) Reason for the principle that an adopted child cannot be represented same as the reasons pointed
out in (1), particularly the non-legal relationship between the adopter and the children of the adopted.
(Castan).

Art. 971.
Property received by representation cannot be taken by or be held responsible for the debts of the person
represented. Reason: Same is not part of his estate; it is part of the decedents estate. (TS, June 25, 1905).

Art. 972.
S and T were Ds sisters; N, is the child of S; X, the child of T; G, the child of X. D died intestate. S, T, and X
are all dead. G claims a share by the right of representation. N says G can have no share. Decide.
ANS.: G cannot inherit by right of representation, because she is only a grandniece. Hence, only N gets the
estate. In the collateral line, the right of representation takes place only in favor of the children of brothers or
sisters (that is to say, nephews and nieces). (Art. 972, 2nd par.; Linart y Pavia v. Ugarte, 5 Phil. 176).

Art. 973.
Capacity of Representative to Inherit
(a) Note that the representative must himself be capable of inheriting from the deceased.
(b) Capacity to succeed is governed, from the viewpoint of private international law, not by the national
law of the representative nor of the person represented, but of the decedent. (See Art. 1039).

Art. 974.
Two Ways of Inheriting
(a) per stirpes or per capita
(b) by representation or by ones own right

Art. 975.
B and C are As brothers: X is the child of B; Y and Z, the children of C. Estate is P900,000. A is the decedent.
If C predeceases A, divide the estate.
ANS.: B gets P450,000; and Y and Z each gets P225,000.

Arts. 976-977.
Principle A renouncer may represent (Art. 976) but may not be represented. (Art. 977).

Art. 978.
Reason for Preference of the Descending Direct Line
(a) descends (descendants)
(b) ascends (ascendants)
(c) then spreads (collaterals)
Thus, the descendants are preferred. Although descendants are preferred, two rules must be borne in mind:
(a) the nearer excludes the farther
(b) Art. 978 does not mean that other compulsory heirs (like the surviving spouse, and the illegitimate
children) are excluded. In fact, they are, together with the legitimate descendants, CONCURRENT
INTESTATE HEIRS.
Order of Intestate Succession to the Estate of a Legitimate Child
(a) Legitimate children and their legitimate descendants. (Art. 979. See also Art. 992).
(b) Legitimate parents and other legitimate ascendants. (Art. 986). (There is no right of representation in
the ascending line.) (If no legitimate parents, the adopting parents, if any, will take their place Art.
39, PD 603)
(c) Illegitimate children and their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate. (Arts. 988, 990 and 992).
(d) Surviving spouse, without prejudice to the rights of brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces should
there be any. (Art. 995).
(e) Collateral relatives up to the fifth degree of relationship. (Art. 1011).
(f) The State. (Art. 1011).

Art. 979.
Succession by Legitimate and Legitimated Children
The term legitimate includes legitimated. Children who are legitimated by subsequent marriage shall enjoy
the same rights as legitimate children. (See Arts. 178 and 179, Family Code). The effects of legitimation shall
retroact to the time of the childs birth. (Art. 180, Family Code). The effects of legitimation of children who died
before the celebration of the marriage shall benefit their descendants. (Art. 181, Family Code).
Rules For Adopted Children
(a) There is an exception to the 2nd paragraph of Art. 979 of the Civil Code. The law provides that If the
adopter is survived by legitimate parents or ascendants, and by an adopted person, the latter shall not
have more successional rights than an acknowledged natural child. (Art. 343, Civil Code).
(b) The adoption shall make the adopted person a legal heir of the adopter. (Art. 341). The adopter shall not
be a legal heir of the adopted person, whose parents by nature shall inherit from him. (Art. 342).

Art. 980.
Estate is P1 million. There are 5 legitimate children. Each gets P200,000. This is true even if the children come
from different marriages, for after all, the dead parent is the common parent.

Art. 981.
Art. 981 applies also to cases of incapacity.

Art. 982.
Inheritance by Grandchildren
When the children are all dead, the grandchildren inherit by right of representation (Art. 982), provided that
representation is proper. When all the children repudiate, there is no right of representation; and therefore the
grandchildren inherit in their own right, per capita and in equal portions. (Art. 969).
Inheritance by Nephews and Nieces
When nephews and nieces alone survive (to the exclusion of brothers and sisters), they inherit in equal portions,
that is per capita and in their own right. (Art. 975).

Art. 983.
Shares of Illegitimate Children Concurring With Legitimate Children
The shares of the illegitimate children are to be taken only from the half, which is the free portion. (11 Capistrano,
Civil Code, 467). This is so otherwise legitimate children would be prejudiced if there were so many illegitimate
children.

Art. 984.
A has a child B who was adopted by C. If B dies without issue, A will be the legal heir and not C. It goes without
saying that had B made a will, he would have been allowed to give something to C.

Art. 985.
Parents and ascendants referred to in this Article should be legitimate.

Art. 986.
(a) Reason for the 1st par. both are equally entitled to the gratitude of the children.
(b) Reason for the 2nd par. There is no right of representation in the ascending line. (Art. 972).

Art. 987.
A and B are the parents of E. C and D are the parents of F. E and F are married to each other, and G is their
child. Estate of G who dies without a will is P1 million.
If A, B, C, D, E and F survive, how will the estate be divided? E and F gets P500,000 each. (Art. 986, par. 1).
The others are excluded. (Art. 962, par. 1).