Cajucom, Katrina Monica T.

09-8253

2010

Topic: Partition

Question:

True or False.

X, a widower, died leaving a will stating that the house and lot where he lived cannot be
partitioned for as long as the youngest of his four children desires to stay there. As coheirs and
co-owners, the other three may demand partition anytime. (1%)

Answer:

False. Article 1083 of the New Civil Code allows a decedert to prohibit, by will, the partition of a
property in his estate for a period not longer than 20 years no matter what his reason may be.
Hence, the three co-heirs can only demand partition 20 years from the death of their father. Even
if the deceased parent did not leave a will, if the house and lot constituted their family home,
Article 159 of the Family Code prohibits its partition for a period of ten (10) years, or for as long
as there is a minor beneficiary living in the family home.

Topic: Notarial Wills

Question:

Multiple Choice:

A executed a 5-page notarial will before a notary public and three witnesses. All of them signed
each and every page of the will.

One of the witnesses was B, the father of one of the legatees to the will. What is the effect of B
being a witness to the will? (1%)

1. The will is invalidated

2. The will is valid and effective
3. The legacy given to B’s child is not valid

Answer:

No. 3. The legacy given to B’s child is not valid.

The validity of the will is not affected by the legacy in favor of the son of an attesting witness to
the will. However, the said legacy is void under Article 823 NCC.
Topic: Legal Heirs; Inheritance

Question:

The spouses Peter and Paula had three (3) children. Paula later obtained a judgment of nullity of
marriage. Their absolute community of property having been dissolved, they delivered P1
million to each of their 3 children as their presumptive legitimes.

Peter later re-married and had two (2) children by his second wife Marie. Peter and Mare, having
successfully engaged in business, acquired real properties. Peter later died intestate.
1. Who are Peter’s legal heirs and how will his estate be divided among them? (5%)
2. What is the effect of the receipt by Peter’s 3 children by his first marriage of their
presumptive legitimes on their right to inherit following Peter’s death? (5%)

Answer:

1. The legal heirs of Peter are his children by the first and second marriages and his surviving
second wife.

Their shares in the estate of Peter will depend, however, on the cause of the nullity of the first
marriage. If the nullity of the first marriage was psychological incapacity of one or both spouses,
the three children of that void marriage are legitimate and all of the legal heirs shall share the estate
of Peter in equal shares. If the judgment of nullity was for other causes, the three children are
illegitimate and the estate shall be distributed such that an illegitimate child of the first marriage
shall receive half the share of a legitimate child of the second marriage, and the second wife will
inherit a share equal to that of a legitimate child. In no case may the two legitimate children of the
second marriage receive ashare less than one-half of the estate which is their legitime. When the
estate is not sufficient to pay all the legitimes of the compulsory heirs, the legitime of the spouse
is preferred and the illegitimate children will suffer the reduction.

Computation:

A If the ground of nullity is psychological incapacity:

3 children by first marriage – 1/6th of the estate for each

2 children by second marriage – 1/6th of the estate for each

Surviving second spouse – 1/6th of the estate

1. If the ground of nullity is not psychological incapacity

2 legitimate children – -1/4 of the estate for each of second marriage

surviving second spouse -1/4 of the estate

3 illegitimate children -1/12 of estate for each of first marriage

2. In the distribution of Peter’s estate, one-half of the presumptive legitime received by the three
children of the first marriage shall be collated to Peter’s estate and shall be imputed as an advance
on their respective inheritance from Peter. Only half of the presumptive legitime is collated to the
estate of Peter because the other half shall be collated to the estate of his first wife.