RULE 74

Summary Settlement of Estate

Section 1. Extrajudicial settlement by agreement between heirs. — If the decedent left no will and no debts and the
heirs are all of age, or the minors are represented by their judicial or legal representatives duly authorized for the
purpose, the parties may without securing letters of administration, divide the estate among themselves as they see
fit by means of a public instrument filed in the office of the register of deeds, and should they disagree, they may do
so in an ordinary action of partition. If there is only one heir, he may adjudicate to himself the entire estate by means
of an affidavit filled in the office of the register of deeds. The parties to an extrajudicial settlement, whether by public
instrument or by stipulation in a pending action for partition, or the sole heir who adjudicates the entire estate to
himself by means of an affidavit shall file, simultaneously with and as a condition precedent to the filing of the public
instrument, or stipulation in the action for partition, or of the affidavit in the office of the register of deeds, a bond with
the said register of deeds, in an amount equivalent to the value of the personal property involved as certified to
under oath by the parties concerned and conditioned upon the payment of any just claim that may be filed under
section 4 of this rule. It shall be presumed that the decedent left no debts if no creditor files a petition for letters of
administration within two (2) years after the death of the decedent.

The fact of the extrajudicial settlement or administration shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the manner provided in the nest succeeding section; but no extrajudicial settlement shall be binding upon any
person who has not participated therein or had no notice thereof.

Section 2. Summary settlement of estate of small value. — Whenever the gross value of the estate of a deceased
person, whether he died testate or intestate, does not exceed ten thousand pesos, and that fact is made to appear
to the Court of First Instance having jurisdiction of the estate by the petition of an interested person and upon
hearing, which shall be held not less than one (1) month nor more than three (3) months from the date of the last
publication of a notice which shall be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation in the province, and after such other notice to interest persons as the court may direct, the court
may proceed summarily, without the appointment of an executor or administrator, and without delay, to grant, if
proper, allowance of the will, if any there be, to determine who are the persons legally entitled to participate in the
estate, and to apportion and divide it among them after the payment of such debts of the estate as the court shall
then find to be due; and such persons, in their own right, if they are of lawful age and legal capacity, or by their

guardians or trustees legally appointed and qualified, if otherwise, shall thereupon be entitled to receive and enter
into the possession of the portions of the estate so awarded to them respectively. The court shall make such order
as may be just respecting the costs of the proceedings, and all orders and judgments made or rendered in the
course thereof shall be recorded in the office of the clerk, and the order of partition or award, if it involves real
estate, shall be recorded in the proper register's office.

Section 3. Bond to be filed by distributees. — The court, before allowing a partition in accordance with the
provisions of the preceding section, my require the distributees, if property other than real is to be distributed, to file
a bond in an amount to be fixed by court, conditioned for the payment of any just claim which may be filed under the
next succeeding section.

Section 4. Liability of distributees and estate. — If it shall appear at any time within two (2) years after the
settlement and distribution of an estate in accordance with the provisions of either of the first two sections of this
rule, that an heir or other person has been unduly deprived of his lawful participation in the estate, such heir or such
other person may compel the settlement of the estate in the courts in the manner hereinafter provided for the
purpose of satisfying such lawful participation. And if within the same time of two (2) years, it shall appear that there
are debts outstanding against the estate which have not been paid, or that an heir or other person has been unduly
deprived of his lawful participation payable in money, the court having jurisdiction of the estate may, by order for that
purpose, after hearing, settle the amount of such debts or lawful participation and order how much and in what
manner each distributee shall contribute in the payment thereof, and may issue execution, if circumstances require,
against the bond provided in the preceding section or against the real estate belonging to the deceased, or both.
Such bond and such real estate shall remain charged with a liability to creditors, heirs, or other persons for the full
period of two (2) years after such distribution, notwithstanding any transfers of real estate that may have been
made.

Section 5. Period for claim of minor or incapacitated person. — If on the date of the expiration of the period of two
(2) years prescribed in the preceding section the person authorized to file a claim is a minor or mentally
incapacitated, or is in prison or outside the Philippines, he may present his claim within one (1) year after such
disability is removed.

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
Art. 1623.  The right of legal pre-emption or redemption shall not be exercised except within thirty days from the
notice in writing by the prospective vendor, or by the vendor, as the case may be.  The deed of sale shall not be
recorded in the Registry of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of the vendor that he has given written
notice thereof to all possible redemptioners.
The right of redemption of co-owners excludes that of adjoining owners.

Petitioners' right to redeem would have existed only had there been co-ownership among petitioners-siblings.  But
there was none.  For this right to be exercised, co-ownership must exist at the time the conveyance is made by a co-
owner and the redemption is demanded by the other co-owner or co-owner(s).[7] However, by their own admission,
petitioners were no longer co-owners when the property was sold to respondents in 1979.  The co-ownership had
already been extinguished by partition.

The regime of co-ownership exists when the ownership of an undivided thing or right belongs to different persons.
[8]
 By the nature of co-ownership, a co-owner cannot point to any specific portion of the property owned in common
as his own because his share in it remains intangible and ideal.[9]

Every act intended to put an end to indivision among co-heirs is deemed to be a partition.[10] Here, the particular
portions pertaining to petitioners had been ascertained and they in fact already took possession of their respective
parts. The following statement of petitioners in their amended answer [11] as one of their special and affirmative
defenses was revealing:

F-8. That all defendants [i.e., petitioners] in this case who are co-owners of lot 348 have their own respective
buildings constructed on the said lot in which case it can be safely assumed that that their respective shares in
the lot have been physically segregated although there is no formal partition of the land among themselves.
[12] 
(emphasis supplied)

Being an express judicial admission, it was conclusive on petitioners unless it was made through palpable mistake
or that no such admission was in fact made.[13] Petitioners proved neither and were therefore bound by it.

The purpose of partition is to separate, divide and assign a thing held in common among those to whom it belongs.
[14]
 By their own admission, petitioners already segregated and took possession of their respective shares in the lot.
Their respective shares were therefore physically determined, clearly identifiable and no longer ideal. Thus, the co-
ownership had been legally dissolved. With that, petitioners' right to redeem any part of the property from any of
their former co-owners was already extinguished. As legal redemption is intended to minimize co-ownership,[15] once
a property is subdivided and distributed among the co-owners, the community ceases to exist and there is no more
reason to sustain any right of legal redemption.[16]

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
DEED OF PARTITION
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE
PRESENTS THAT:
This Deed is entered into by and
between the below-named parties
th
this 24 day of May 2022 here in
Quezon City, Philippines:
MARIA PAROSE G. DE GALICIA,
of legal age, single, Filipino, and a
resident of No. 91 Malolos Ave.,
Bagong Barrio, Kalookan City,
hereinafter
referred to as the First Party; and
JOHN VIR T. GALLARDO, of age,
married, Filipino, and a resident of
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
hereinafter referred to as the Second
Party;
-WITNESSETH-
Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
That the First Party and the Second
Party by virtue of two (2) deeds of
absolute sale both dated April 6,
2022 are the new owners of that
property
situated at Malolos Avenue,
Caloocan City and covered by
Transfer
Certi 昀椀 cate of Title No. C-20599;
That the purpose of this
partition agreement, the above-
described
parcel of land was subdivided into
two (2) lots, in accordance with Psd-
04-
000965, the blue print and
approved technical description
are hereto
attached and made integral hereof;

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
That the above-named parties have
agreed to terminate their existing
community of of ownership and their
respective shares and participation
be adjudicated to them;
That the parties above-named
have agreed to partition the
above-
described parcel of land in the
manned as follows:
Unto MARIA PAROSE G. DE
GALICIA, her heirs and assigns –
Lot 1-A,
Block 14 of Psd-04-000965,
containing an area of SIXTY SIX
AND 50/100
(66.50) SQUARE METERS, more of
less; and

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
Unto JOHN VIR T. GALLARDO,
his heirs and assigns – Lot 1-B,
Block
14 of Psd-04-000965, containing an
area of SIXTY SIX AND 50/100
(66.50)
SQUARE METERS, more of less;
That it is hereby requested that the
new Transfer Certi 昀椀 cates of
Titles
be issued in the names of the above-
named parties in accordance with
this
Deed of Partition.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have
hereunto a 昀케 xed our signatures
this
___________ day of May 2022 here
in Quezon City, Philippines.

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
 MARIA PAROSE G. DE
GALICIA
First Party
DEED OF PARTITION
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE
PRESENTS THAT:
This Deed is entered into by and
between the below-named parties
th
this 24 day of May 2022 here in
Quezon City, Philippines:
MARIA PAROSE G. DE GALICIA,
of legal age, single, Filipino, and a
resident of No. 91 Malolos Ave.,
Bagong Barrio, Kalookan City,
hereinafter
referred to as the First Party; and
JOHN VIR T. GALLARDO, of age,
married, Filipino, and a resident of

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
hereinafter referred to as the Second
Party;
-WITNESSETH-
That the First Party and the Second
Party by virtue of two (2) deeds of
absolute sale both dated April 6,
2022 are the new owners of that
property
situated at Malolos Avenue,
Caloocan City and covered by
Transfer
Certi 昀椀 cate of Title No. C-20599;
That the purpose of this
partition agreement, the above-
described
parcel of land was subdivided into
two (2) lots, in accordance with Psd-
04-

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
000965, the blue print and
approved technical description
are hereto
attached and made integral hereof;
That the above-named parties have
agreed to terminate their existing
community of of ownership and their
respective shares and participation
be adjudicated to them;
That the parties above-named
have agreed to partition the
above-
described parcel of land in the
manned as follows:
Unto MARIA PAROSE G. DE
GALICIA, her heirs and assigns –
Lot 1-A,
Block 14 of Psd-04-000965,
containing an area of SIXTY SIX
AND 50/100
Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
(66.50) SQUARE METERS, more of
less; and
Unto JOHN VIR T. GALLARDO,
his heirs and assigns – Lot 1-B,
Block
14 of Psd-04-000965, containing an
area of SIXTY SIX AND 50/100
(66.50)
SQUARE METERS, more of less;
That it is hereby requested that the
new Transfer Certi 昀椀 cates of
Titles
be issued in the names of the above-
named parties in accordance with
this
Deed of Partition.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have
hereunto a 昀케 xed our signatures
this

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html
___________ day of May 2022 here
in Quezon City, Philippines.
MARIA PAROSE G. DE
GALICIA
First Party

Reference: https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_72-109_proceedings.html