Bar Q and A #39

FALSE. Not all the relatives within the third degree will inherit as reservatario, and not all those who are entitled to inherit will inherit in the equal shares. The applicable laws of intestate succession will determine who among the relatives will inherit as reservatarios and what shares they will take, i.e., the direct line excludes the collateral, the descending direct line excludes the ascending, the nearer excludes the more remote, the nephews and nieces exclude the uncles and the aunts, and half blood relatives inherit half the share of full-blooded relatives.

1. B = 1/2 ; C= 1/2

2. Under Art. 1005, should brothers and sisters survive together with nephews and nieces, who are the children of the decedent’s brothers and sisters of the full blood, the former shall inherit per capita, and the latter per stripes. B and C should inherit both ½ of the whole estate.

3. Under Art. 982, the grandchildren and other descendants shall inherit by right of representation, and if any one of them should have died, leaving several heirs, the portion pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in equal portions. X should inherit 1/2 share by representation of B. Y and Z should inherit 1/4 share each by representation of C.

4. X inherits 1/3 in his own right; Y inherits 1/3 in his own right; Z inherits 1/3 in his own right; Art. 977 provides that heirs who repudiate their share cannot be represented.

Under the theory of Concurrence, the shares are as follows:

A

Legitimate child (LC)

P200,000

B

Legitimate child

P200,000

C

Legitimate child

P200,000

D

Legitimate child

P0 (predeceased)

E

Legitimate child of D

P100,000 (by right of representation)

F

Legitimate child of D

P100,000 (by right of representation)

G

Illegitimate child

P100,000           (1/2

share of the LC)

H

Illegitimate child

P100,000           (1/2

share of the LC)

W

Widow

P200,000        (same share as LC)

No, his opposition is not correct. Arnel cannot inherit from Ricky in the representation of his father    Franco.  In representation, the representative must not only be a legal heir of the person he is representing, he must also be a legal heir of the decedent he seeks to inherit from.

While Arnel is a legal heir of Franco, he is not a legal heir of Ricky because under Art. 992, an illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of his father or mother. Arnel is disqualified to inherit from Ricky because Arnel is an illegitimate child of Franco and Ricky is a legitimate relative of Franco.

Art. 1001 of the Civil Code provides, "Should brothers and sisters or their children survive with the widow or widower, the latter shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and sisters or their children to the other half." Tessie's gross estate consists of a house and lot acquired during her marriage, making it part of the community property. Thus, one-half of the said property would have to be set aside as Mario's conjugal share from the community property. The other half, amounting to one million pesos, is her conjugal share (net estate), and should be distributed to her intestate heirs. Applying the above provision of law, Michelle and Jorelle, Tessie's nieces, are entitled to one-half of her conjugal share worth one million pesos, or 500,000 pesos, while the other one-half amounting to P500,000 will go to Mario, Tessie's surviving spouse. Michelle and Jorelle are then entitled to P250,000 pesos each as their hereditary share.

The intestate heirs are the two (2) legitimate children and the two (2) illegitimate children. In intestacy the estate of the decedent is divided among the legitimate and illegitimate children such that the share of each illegitimate child is one-half the share of each legitimate child. Their share are:

For each legitimate child – P333,333.33

For each illegitimate child – P166, 666.66 (Art. 983, NCC; Art. 176, FC)

As to the estate of Dr. Lopez:

Marilyn is not entitled to a share in the estate of Dr. Lopez. For purposes of succession, Dr. Lopez and his son Roberto are presumed to have died at the same time, there being no evidence to prove otherwise, and there shall be no transmission of rights from one to the other. (Article 43) Hence, Roberto inherited nothing from his father that Marilyn would in turn inherit from Roberto. The children of Roberto, however, will succeed their grandfather, Dr. Lopez, in representation of their father Roberto and together will receive 1/3 of the estate of Dr. Lopez since their father Roberto was one of the three children of Dr. Lopez. Marilyn cannot represent her husband Roberto because the right is not given by law to a surviving spouse.

As to the proceeds of the insurance on the life of Dr. Lopez:

Since succession is not involved as regards the insurance contract, the provisions of the Rules of Court on survivorship shall apply. Under the Rules, Dr. Lopez, who was 70 years old, is presumed to have died ahead of Roberto, who is presumably between the ages of 15 and 60. Having survived the insured, Roberto’s right as a beneficiary became vested upon the death of Dr. Lopez. When Roberto died after Dr. Lopez, his right to receive the insurance proceeds became part of his hereditary estate, which in turn was inherited in equal shares by his legal heirs, namely, his spouse and children. Therefore, Roberto’s children and his spouse are entitled to Roberto’s one-third share in the insurance proceeds.

1. Marian is presumed to have died ahead of the baby. Art. 43 applies to persons who are called to succeed each other. The proof of death must be established by positive or circumstantial evidence derived from facts. It can never be established from mere inference. In the present case, it is very clear that only Marian and Pietro were hacked with bolos. There was no showing that the baby was also hacked to death. The baby’s death could have been due to lack of nutrition.

2. Pietro, as the biological father of the baby, shall be entitled to claim the proceeds of life insurance of Marian because he is a compulsory heir of his child.

No, the action of A will not prosper. On the premise that B, C and D are legitimate brothers, as an illegitimate child of B, A cannot inherit in intestacy from C who is a legitimate brother of B. Only the wife of C in her own right and the legitimate relatives of C (i.e. the children of D as C's  legitimate  nephews inheriting  as  collateral relatives) can inherit in intestacy. (Arts. 992, 1001, 1OO5 and 975)