LEGITIME

Who are entitled

Art 887. The following are compulsory heirs:

(1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and ascendants;

(2) In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to their legitimate children and
descendants;

(3) The widow or widower;

(4) Acknowledged natural children, and natural children by legal fiction;

(5) Other illegitimate children referred to in article 287.

Compulsory heirs mentioned in Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are not excluded by those in Nos. 1 and 2; neither do they exclude
one another.

In all cases of illegitimate children, their filiation must be duly proved.

The father or mother of illegitimate children of the three classes mentioned, shall inherit from them in the manner
and to the extent established by this Code.

Art 287. Illegitimate children

other than natural in accordance with article 269 1
and other than natural children by legal fiction
are entitled to support and such successional rights as are granted in this Code.

Art 189. FC. Adoption shall have the following effects:

(1) For civil purposes, the adopted shall be deemed to be a legitimate child of the adopters and both shall acquire
the reciprocal rights and obligations arising from the relationship of parent and child, including the right of the
adopted to use the surname of the adopters;

(2) The parental authority of the parents by nature over the adopted shall terminate and be vested in the adopters,
except that if the adopter is the spouse of the parent by nature of the adopted, parental authority over the adopted
shall be exercised jointly by both spouses; and

(3) The adopted shall remain an intestate heir of his parents and other blood relatives.

Sec 15. RA 8552. All hearings in adoption cases shall be confidential and shall not be open to the public. All records,
books, and papers relating to the adoption cases in the files of the court, the Department, or any other agency or
institution participating in the adoption proceedings shall be kept strictly confidential.

If the court finds that the disclosure of the information to a third person is necessary for purposes connected with or
arising out of the adoption and will be for the best interest of the adoptee, the court may merit the necessary
information to be released, restricting the purposes for which it may be used.

Sec 16. Parental Authority. – Except in cases where the biological parent is the spouse of the adopter, all legal ties
between the biological parent(s) and the adoptee shall be severed and the same shall then be vested on the
adopter(s)

Sec 17. Legitimacy. – The adoptee shall be considered the legitimate son/daughter of the adopter(s) for all intents
and purposes and as such is entitled to all the rights and obligations provided by law to legitimate sons/daughters

1
Children born outside wedlock of parents who, at the time of the conception of the former, were not disqualified by any
impediment to marry each other, are natural
born to them without discrimination of any kind. To this end, the adoptee is entitled to love, guidance, and support
in keeping with the means of the family

Sec 18. Succession. – In legal and intestate succession, the adopter(s) and the adoptee shall have reciprocal rights of
succession without distinction from legitimate filiation. However, if the adoptee and his/her biological parent(s) had
left a will, the law on testamentary succession shall govern.

Art 902. The rights of illegitimate children set forth in the preceding articles are transmitted upon their death to their
descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate.

Jose Baritua, Edgar Bitancor v CA, Nicolas Nacario, Victoria Nacario (1990, Sarmiento)

- Deceased: Bienvenido Nacario, tricycle driver

o Figured in accident with JB Bus 80, 1979 Nov 7
 Owned, operated by Jose Baritua
o No criminal case
- Extrajudicial settlement
o Widow Alicia received 18,500
o Alicia executed release of claim in favor of Baritua and Bitancor and Ph First Insurance
- Parents of Bienvenido: Nicolas and Victoria
- RTC/CFI: parents filed complaint for damages (25 for death, 25 for for com, exem; 10 for tri; 5 fees, moral)
o Parents: were promised indemnification for death of son and futures expenses by reason thereof,
damages for tricycle. But Baritua reneged on promise and instead negotiated with estranged wife
and late son
o Dismissed. Baritua paid preferred heirs and successors-in-interest of Bienvenido
 To the exclusion of parents
- CA: reversed and set aside
o Discharge did not discharge parents
o Parents suing in own capacity and not as heirs, etc of Alicia
o No valid waiver by Alicia who did not suffer damages arising from death of ‘son’
o No rebuttal that parents bough tricycle and expenses shouldered by parents
- SC:
o Baritua and Bitancor no longer liable
 || Art 1231: Obligations extinguished by payment or performance
 Alicia entitled to payment of obligation by Baritua and Bitancor
 Parents of deceased succeed only when the latter dies without legitimate
descendant
 Surviving spouse concurs with all classes of heirs; mere estrangement not a legal
ground for disqualification of surviving spouse as heir of deceased
o || Art 1240, CC: payment shall be made to the person in whose favor the
obligation has been constituted, or his successor in interest, or any person
authorized to receive it
o || Art 887, CC: f are compulsory heirs: legit children, desc; in default of
foregoing, legit parents and ascendants
o || Art 985: in default of legitimate children and desc of deceased, parents
and asc shall inherit from him, to the exlusion of his collateral relatives
 Purchase price of tricycle not a liability of Baritua and Bitancor
 Instead, estate answers for them
 + released from damages by widow
o GRANTED. CA REVERSED, set aside. RTC REINSTATED. Costs against Nacarios
Sharing among compulsory heirs

Art 888. The legitime of legitimate children and descendants consists of

one-half of the hereditary estate of the father and of the mother.

The latter may freely dispose of the remaining half,

subject to the rights of illegitimate children and of the surviving spouse
as hereinafter provided. (808a)

Article 889. The legitime of legitimate parents or ascendants consists of

one-half of the hereditary estates of their children and descendants.

The children or descendants may freely dispose of the other half, s

ubject to the rights of illegitimate children and of the surviving spouse as hereinafter provided. (809a)

Article 890. The legitime reserved for the legitimate parents shall be divided between them equally; if one of the
parents should have died, the whole shall pass to the survivor.

If the testator leaves neither father nor mother, but is survived by ascendants of equal degree of the paternal and
maternal lines, the legitime shall be divided equally between both lines. If the ascendants should be of different
degrees, it shall pertain entirely to the ones nearest in degree of either line. (810)

Article 891. The ascendant who inherits from his descendant any property which the latter may have acquired by
gratuitous title from another ascendant, or a brother or sister, is obliged to reserve such property as he may have
acquired by operation of law for the benefit of relatives who are within the third degree and who belong to the line
from which said property came. (871)

Article 892. If only one legitimate child or descendant of the deceased survives, the widow or widower shall be
entitled to one-fourth of the hereditary estate. In case of a legal separation, the surviving spouse may inherit if it was
the deceased who had given cause for the same.

If there are two or more legitimate children or descendants, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to a portion equal
to the legitime of each of the legitimate children or descendants.

In both cases, the legitime of the surviving spouse shall be taken from the portion that can be freely disposed of by
the testator. (834a)

Article 893. If the testator leaves no legitimate descendants, but leaves legitimate ascendants, the surviving spouse
shall have a right to one-fourth of the hereditary estate.

This fourth shall be taken from the free portion of the estate. (836a)

Article 894. If the testator leaves illegitimate children, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-third of the
hereditary estate of the deceased and the illegitimate children to another third. The remaining third shall be at the
free disposal of the testator. (n)

Article 895. The legitime of each of the acknowledged natural children and each of the natural children by legal
fiction shall consist of one-half of the legitime of each of the legitimate children or descendants.

The legitime of an illegitimate child who is neither an acknowledged natural, nor a natural child by legal fiction, shall
be equal in every case to four-fifths of the legitime of an acknowledged natural child.

The legitime of the illegitimate children shall be taken from the portion of the estate at the free disposal of the
testator, provided that in no case shall the total legitime of such illegitimate children exceed that free portion, and
that the legitime of the surviving spouse must first be fully satisfied. (840a)
Article 896. Illegitimate children who may survive with legitimate parents or ascendants of the deceased shall be
entitled to one-fourth of the hereditary estate to be taken from the portion at the free disposal of the testator.
(841a)

Article 897. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate children or descendants, and acknowledged
natural children, or natural children by legal fiction, such surviving spouse shall be entitled to a portion equal to the
legitime of each of the legitimate children which must be taken from that part of the estate which the testator can
freely dispose of. (n)

Article 898. If the widow or widower survives with legitimate children or descendants, and with illegitimate children
other than acknowledged natural, or natural children by legal fiction, the share of the surviving spouse shall be the
same as that provided in the preceding article. (n)

Article 899. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate parents or ascendants and with illegitimate
children, such surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-eighth of the hereditary estate of the deceased which must
be taken from the free portion, and the illegitimate children shall be entitled to one-fourth of the estate which shall
be taken also from the disposable portion. The testator may freely dispose of the remaining one-eighth of the estate.
(n)

Article 900. If the only survivor is the widow or widower, she or he shall be entitled to one-half of the hereditary
estate of the deceased spouse, and the testator may freely dispose of the other half. (837a)

If the marriage between the surviving spouse and the testator was solemnized in articulo mortis, and the testator
died within three months from the time of the marriage, the legitime of the surviving spouse as the sole heir shall be
one-third of the hereditary estate, except when they have been living as husband and wife for more than five years.
In the latter case, the legitime of the surviving spouse shall be that specified in the preceding paragraph. (n)

Article 901. When the testator dies leaving illegitimate children and no other compulsory heirs, such illegitimate
children shall have a right to one-half of the hereditary estate of the deceased.

The other half shall be at the free disposal of the testator. (842a)

Article 902. The rights of illegitimate children set forth in the preceding articles are transmitted upon their death to
their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate. (843a)

Article 903. The legitime of the parents who have an illegitimate child, when such child leaves neither legitimate
descendants, nor a surviving spouse, nor illegitimate children, is one-half of the hereditary estate of such illegitimate
child. If only legitimate or illegitimate children are left, the parents are not entitled to any legitime whatsoever. If
only the widow or widower survives with parents of the illegitimate child, the legitime of the parents is one-fourth of
the hereditary estate of the child, and that of the surviving spouse also one-fourth of the estate. (n)

Art 176. FC. Illegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be under the parental authority of their mother,
and shall be entitled to support in conformity with this Code. The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of
one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. Except for this modification, all other provisions in the Civil Code
governing successional rights shall remain in force

Renunciation of future legitime

Art 905. Every renunciation or compromise as regards a future legitime between the person owing it and his
compulsory heirs is void, and the latter may claim the same upon the death of the former; but they must bring to
collation whatever they may have received by virtue of the renunciation or compromise. (

Right of completion

Art 906. Any compulsory heir to whom the testator has left by any title less than the legitime belonging to him may
demand that the same be fully satisfied.
Art 907. Testamentary dispositions that impair or diminish the legitime of the compulsory heirs shall be reduced on
petition of the same, insofar as they may be inofficious or excessive

Art 855. 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.
RESERVA TRONCAL

Art 891.

Purpose

Requisites

Chua v CFIi

Gonzales v CFI

Nature

Edroso v Sablan

Sienes v Esparcia

Persons involved

Solivio v CA

Mendoza v Delos Santos

Preference among resevatarios

Padura v Baldovino

Florention v Florentino

De Papa v Camacho

Gonzales v CFI (supra)

Registration

Sumaya v IAC

Extinguishment

Reserva maxima v reserve minim