WHAT HAPPENED? CHOOSE YOUR NEXT STEP
• You have a civil dispute but do not know where to start — Identify the relevant process and prerequisites. Find your starting route.
• A debt remains unpaid — Organize the claim, payments and demands. Review the debt-dispute guide.
• You are considering a demand — Check its role before taking the next step. Understand the demand requirement.
Use this hub to identify where a civil claim belongs, what has to happen before a case can be filed and how long the right to sue lasts. Filing in the wrong forum, or skipping barangay conciliation where it is required, can end an otherwise valid claim on procedure alone.
START HERE — WHERE DOES YOUR DISPUTE GO?
• How to Resolve Everyday Civil Disputes — demand, barangay conciliation and court, in the order they usually apply.
• Civil Disputes in Business Deals — handling contract and payment disputes between businesses and customers.
BEFORE FILING — CHECK THE ROUTE
• Barangay conciliation and certificate requirements — Check the existing guide before preparing a filing.
• Small claims or regular civil action? — Compare the filing routes before preparing a claim.
• Preparing a small-claims filing? — Review the existing preparation guide and its limits.
LEASE AND EVICTION PROCEDURE
• Lease and Rental Disputes Hub — demand, barangay conciliation and Rule 70 ejectment.
• What Happens if a Tenant Stops Paying Rent? — arrears, demand and judicial ejectment.
• Can a Tenant Be Evicted Without a Court Order? — why self-help removal is risky.
• Lease Expired but Tenant Refuses to Leave — demand, implied renewal and unlawful detainer.
PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE REMEDIES
• Which Remedy Should an Heir Use? — partition, reconveyance, cancellation, injunction and accounting compared.
• How to File a Partition Case — parties, procedure and how property is divided.
• Reconveyance of Inherited Property — recovering land wrongfully transferred or registered.
• Cancel a Fraudulent Deed or Title — nullity, cancellation and registration relief.
• Injunction to Stop a Sale or Transfer — preserving disputed property while a case is pending.
• Quieting of Title — removing clouds and conflicting claims.
• Accounting Action Between Heirs — judicial disclosure of rent, funds and expenses.
TITLE ANNOTATIONS AND DEADLINES
• Lis Pendens — notice to later buyers that property is under litigation.
• Can an Heir File an Adverse Claim? — title annotation and its limits.
• Adverse Claim vs Lis Pendens — which annotation fits which stage of the dispute.
• How Long Do You Have to Sue? — deadlines for challenging a settlement or recovering property.
• Buyer in Good Faith — when a third-party purchaser is protected.
AFTER JUDGMENT
• Won the case but payment has not arrived? — Review enforcement of the judgment.
HELP WITH YOUR NEXT STEP
• Need free legal help? — Compare advice, representation and fee-assistance routes, including what to prepare.
Key topics: Katarungang Pambarangay conciliation and the certificate to file action · small claims cases · jurisdictional amounts of the first level courts and the Regional Trial Court · demand letters and extrajudicial demand · prescriptive periods for civil actions · provisional remedies · execution of judgments.
Statutory basis: Civil Code, Book III (Arts. 1106 to 1155 on prescription), read with RA 7160 Chapter 7 (Katarungang Pambarangay), the Rules of Court and the Rule of Procedure for Small Claims Cases.
In the Code: Book III, whose closing Title sets the periods within which an action must be brought.
Quick answers: See the Barangay, Courts and Civil Remedies FAQ for short, cited answers to the most common questions in this hub.
A triage guide for individuals: identify your everyday civil dispute, then follow the legal order — proof, written demand, barangay conciliation, small claims or a civil case — before the prescriptive period runs out.
A step-by-step process for handling civil disputes in Philippine business transactions — from reading the dispute clause and computing deadlines to choosing between barangay conciliation, arbitration, small claims and the regular courts.
Adverse claim or lis pendens? Learn when a Philippine heir should annotate each on a title under PD 1529, the 30-day rule, what each must contain, and its effect on buyers.
Can one heir become sole owner of inherited land by long possession? Learn Article 494, repudiation of co-ownership, how to prove it, and when prescription runs.
Which remedy fits an inheritance dispute? Compare partition, reconveyance, cancellation, quieting of title, accounting and injunction, and check each prescriptive period in the Philippines.
When can heirs use an action to quiet title over inherited property? Learn how clouds on title, conflicting claims, invalid instruments, and other remedies interact.
What happens when disputed inherited property is sold to a third party? Learn how buyer-in-good-faith rules, title records, possession, notice, and lis pendens affect recovery.
When can an heir seek reconveyance of inherited property in the Philippines? Learn how fraud, implied trust, excluded heirs, title registration, and prescription affect the remedy.
How can heirs challenge a deed or title created through a fraudulent estate transfer? Learn when nullity, cancellation, reconveyance, and title correction may be appropriate.
How do you file a partition case for inherited property in the Philippines? Learn when partition is available, who must be included, what the court decides, and how sale or physical division can follow.