Real rights vs. Personal rights.

Intestate Estate of the Late Vito Borromeo v. Borromeo,

G.R. No. L-55000,
July 23, 1987.
PONENTE: GUTIERREZ, JR., J.

Doctrine:

Hereditary Rights: NCC Art. 6: “rights may be waived, unless the waiver is
contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs, or prejudicial
to a third person with a right recognized by law.”

Facts:

• Fortunato Borromeo claimed a portion of the legitime being an

illegitimate son of the deceased (Vito Borromeo), by incorporating a
Waiver of Hereditary Rights supposedly signed by the rest of the
Borromeo’s.

• In the waiver, of the 9 heirs relinquished to Fortunato their shares in the

disputed estate.

• The petitioners opposed this Waiver for reason that this is without force
and effect because there can be no effective waiver of hereditary rights
before there has been a valid acceptance of the inheritance from the
heirs who intend to transfer the same.

Issue:

Whether or not a Waiver of Hereditary Rights can be executed without a

valid acceptance from the heirs in question.

Ruling:

YES. The prevailing jurisprudence on waiver of hereditary rights is that “the

properties included in an existing inheritance cannot be considered as belonging
to third persons with respect to the heirs, who by fiction of law continue the
personality of the former. The heirs succeed the deceased by the mere fact of
death. More or less, time may elapse from the moment of the death of the
deceased until the heirs enter into possession of the hereditary property, but the
acceptance in any event retroacts to the moment of the death, in accordance
with article 989 of the Civil Code. The right is vested, although conditioned upon
the adjudication of the corresponding hereditary portion.

(ESCRA)

Waiver of hereditary rights, requisites.—In this case, however, the purported

"Waiver of Hereditary Rights" cannot be considered to be effective. For a waiver
to exist, three elements are essential: (1) the existence of a right; (2) the
knowledge of the existence thereof; and (3) an intention to relinquish such right.
(People v. Salvador, (CA) 53 O.G. No. 22, p. 8116, 8120). The intention to waive a
right or advantage must be shown clearly and convincingly, and when the only
proof of intention rests in what a party does, his act should be so manifestly
consistent with, and indicative of an intent to, voluntarily relinquish the particular
right or advantage that no other reasonable explanation of his conduct is
possible.

(Nutshell)

Waiver of Hereditary Rights is when an heir makes a total waiver of

inheritance. Some heirs waive their inheritance as they are no longer interested in
the property. One or some of the heirs can make a total waiver and decide to
have no part of the inheritance at all. This can be put in writing as an extrajudicial
settlement with waiver of rights. (https://lawyerphilippines.org/heir-waives-share-
inheritance/)