W&S.7.5 Santillon v.

Miranda

FACTS: Pedro Santillon died without testament leaving his wife, Perfecta Miranda and one son, Claro. Four years after Pedro’s death,
Claro filed a petition for letters of administration which was opposed by his mother and spouses Benito Miranda and Rosario Corrales.
The court appointed commissioners to draft a project of partition and distribution of all properties of Pedro. Claro then filed a motion to declare
share of heirs and to resolve conflicting claims of the parties invoking Art.892 of the New Civil Code insisting that after deducting ½ from the
conjugal properties (conjugal share of Perfecta), the remaining ½ must be divided as follows: ¼ for her and ¾ for him. On the other hand, Perfecta
claimed besides her conjugal half, she was entitled under Art. 996 of the NCC to another ½ of the remaining half. After due notice and hearing,
the court held that Perfecta is entitled to ½ shares and the remaining ½ share for Claro after deducting the share of the widow as co-owner of the
conjugal properties. Hence, this appeal.

ISSUE: The manner of division of share of the estate of an intestate decedent when the only survivors are the spouse and one legitimate child

RULING: Intestate proceedings in the New Civil Code’s chapter on legal or intestate succession, the only article applicable is Art.
996. Our conclusion (equal shares) seems a logical inference from the circumstance that whereas Article 834 of the Spanish Civil Code form
which Art. 996 was taken, contained two paragraphs governing two contingencies, the first, where the widow or widower survives with
legitimate children(general rule), and the second, where the widow or widower survives with only one child(exception), Art. 996 omitted to
provide for the second situation, thereby indicating the legislator’s desire to promulgate just one general rule applicable to both situations.

Surviving spouse concurring with a legitimate child entitled to one-half of the intestate estate.
“When an intestacy occurs, a surviving spouse concurring with only onelegitimate child of the deceased is entitled to one-half of the estate of
thedeceased spouse under Art. 996 of the Civil Code”