How Is Inheritance Divided in the Philippines? Legitimes and Intestate Shares
Under Philippine law, most of an estate is not freely disposable. Compulsory heirs — legitimate children and descendants, legitimate parents and ascendants in their default, the surviving spouse, and illegitimate children — are entitled to a reserved share called the legitime, and a will can dispose only of what is left after those legitimes are satisfied (Civil Code, Arts. 886–887). Where the legitime of legitimate children applies, it is one-half of the estate (Art. 888). If there is no will, the Code itself distributes everything according to the order of intestate succession (Arts. 960–1014). So the first question is not what the deceased wanted, but who survived: the combination of survivors decides the shares, and each illegitimate child receives one-half of what a legitimate child gets (Family Code, Art. 176, as amended by RA 9255). Start by listing every surviving heir, then apply the combination below.
Quick Answer
If there is no will, the estate is divided under the rules of intestate succession: a surviving spouse who concurs with legitimate children takes the same share as each child (Art. 996); a spouse with legitimate parents or ascendants takes one-half (Art. 997); a spouse with illegitimate children takes one-half (Art. 998); and a spouse with brothers and sisters or their children takes one-half (Art. 1001). If there is a will, it can only dispose of the free portion — the legitime of legitimate children is one-half of the estate (Art. 888), and each illegitimate child’s legitime is one-half of a legitimate child’s (Family Code, Art. 176). Debts, taxes and settlement costs are paid before any share is computed.
Key takeaways
- Who survived the deceased decides the shares. Change one survivor and every share changes.
- A will cannot disinherit a compulsory heir by silence. It can only dispose of the free portion.
- A legitimate child and the surviving spouse are treated equally in intestate succession (Art. 996); an illegitimate child receives one-half of a legitimate child’s share (Family Code, Art. 176, applied through Art. 983).
- Grandchildren inherit by representation only when their own parent predeceased or is excluded — and never more than that parent would have received (Arts. 972, 974).
- Nothing is divided until debts, estate tax and settlement expenses are dealt with. Shares are computed on the net estate.
- Whether someone is a spouse, a legitimate child, an illegitimate child or an adopted child is a Family Code question. The share that follows is a Civil Code question.
What decides your answer
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Was there a valid will? | With a will, only the free portion is at the testator’s disposal; without one, the Code distributes the whole estate |
| Who survived — spouse, children, parents, siblings? | The combination selects the governing article and therefore the fractions |
| Are any of the children illegitimate? | Each illegitimate child takes one-half of a legitimate child’s share |
| Did any child die before the deceased? | That child’s own children may inherit by representation, per stirpes |
| Was the property exclusive or part of the spouses’ property regime? | Only the decedent’s share forms the estate; the spouse’s own half of the community is not inherited |
| Are there debts, unpaid taxes or advances to heirs? | Debts and taxes come first, and advances may be collated against a share |
If there is a will: the legitime
Article 886 defines the legitime as the part of the estate the testator cannot dispose of because the law has reserved it for compulsory heirs. Article 887 lists who those heirs are, and provides that the surviving spouse and illegitimate children are not excluded by children or parents, nor do they exclude one another.
| Who survives | Reserved legitime | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Legitimate children and descendants | One-half of the estate, divided among them | Art. 888 |
| Legitimate parents or ascendants (no legitimate children) | One-half of the estate | Art. 889 |
| Surviving spouse, with one legitimate child | One-fourth of the estate, taken from the free portion | Art. 892 |
| Surviving spouse, with two or more legitimate children | A portion equal to the legitime of each legitimate child, taken from the free portion | Art. 892 |
| Surviving spouse, with legitimate ascendants and no legitimate descendants | One-fourth of the estate, from the free portion | Art. 893 |
| Surviving spouse and illegitimate children, no legitimate children | One-third to the spouse, one-third to the illegitimate children, one-third free | Art. 894 |
| Each illegitimate child | One-half of the legitime of a legitimate child | Family Code, Art. 176, as amended by RA 9255 |
One caution about printed editions of the Civil Code. Article 895 still sets different fractions for “acknowledged natural children” and other illegitimate children, and Article 887 still refers to those categories. The Family Code abolished the distinction, and Article 176 as amended by Republic Act No. 9255 now fixes a single rule: the legitime of each illegitimate child is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. Material that still applies the old four-fifths fraction is outdated.
If there is no will: intestate shares
Succession pertains in the first place to the descending direct line (Art. 978). Children inherit in their own right and in equal shares (Art. 980); in their default, parents and ascendants inherit to the exclusion of collateral relatives (Art. 985), the father and mother sharing equally (Art. 986).
| Who survives | How the estate is divided | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Legitimate children only | Equal shares among them | Art. 980 |
| Spouse and legitimate children | The spouse takes the same share as each child | Art. 996 |
| Spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the ascendants | Art. 997 |
| Spouse and illegitimate children | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the illegitimate children | Art. 998 |
| Spouse, legitimate children and illegitimate children | The spouse takes the share of a legitimate child; each illegitimate child takes half a legitimate child’s share | Arts. 999, 983 |
| Legitimate ascendants, spouse and illegitimate children | One-half to the ascendants, one-fourth to the spouse, one-fourth to the illegitimate children | Art. 1000 |
| Spouse with brothers and sisters or their children | One-half to the spouse, one-half to the siblings or their children | Art. 1001 |
| Spouse alone | The entire estate, without prejudice to siblings, nephews and nieces under Art. 1001 | Art. 995 |
| Illegitimate children only | The entire estate | Art. 988 |
| Collateral relatives only | Brothers and sisters in equal shares; full blood takes double the half blood; the right does not extend beyond the fifth degree | Arts. 1004, 1006, 1010 |
| No one entitled | The State inherits | Art. 1011 |
Worked examples
These are illustrations, not computations of any real estate. Each assumes a net estate of ₱1,200,000 after debts, taxes and settlement expenses, consisting entirely of the deceased’s own property.
Example 1 — spouse and three legitimate children, no will
Under Article 996 the spouse takes the same share as each child, so the estate is divided into four equal parts: ₱300,000 each to the spouse and to each of the three children.
Example 2 — spouse, two legitimate children and one illegitimate child, no will
Article 999 gives the spouse the share of a legitimate child, and Article 983 read with Family Code Article 176 gives the illegitimate child one-half of a legitimate child’s share. Counting in units: two legitimate children (1 each) plus the spouse (1) plus the illegitimate child (0.5) makes 3.5 units. ₱1,200,000 ÷ 3.5 = ₱342,857.14 per unit. So each legitimate child and the spouse receive ₱342,857.14, and the illegitimate child receives ₱171,428.57.
Check the legitimes are not impaired: the legitime of the two legitimate children is one-half of the estate, ₱600,000, or ₱300,000 each — each receives more. The spouse’s legitime equals a legitimate child’s, ₱300,000 — satisfied. The illegitimate child’s legitime is half of ₱300,000, or ₱150,000 — satisfied.
Example 3 — no spouse, no children, both parents alive
In default of legitimate children and descendants, the parents inherit to the exclusion of collateral relatives (Art. 985) and share equally (Art. 986): ₱600,000 each. Surviving siblings receive nothing in this combination.
Example 4 — a will leaving everything to one of three legitimate children
The will cannot take effect as written. One-half of the estate, ₱600,000, is the legitime of the legitimate children and must be divided among all three, ₱200,000 each (Art. 888). Only the remaining ₱600,000 is the free portion, and even that is subject to the surviving spouse’s legitime and to the legitime of any illegitimate child. Leaving a compulsory heir out entirely raises questions of preterition and of disinheritance, which have different consequences and different requirements.
Facts that could change the answer
- The property regime. If the property belonged to the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, the community is liquidated first and only the deceased’s share is inherited. The surviving spouse’s own half is not part of the estate. The regime itself is a Family Code question — see FamilyCode.ph.
- A child who died before the deceased. That child’s children inherit by representation, per stirpes, and receive no more than their parent would have (Arts. 972, 974). An heir who repudiates cannot be represented (Art. 977).
- An adopted child. An adopted child succeeds to the property of the adopting parents in the same manner as a legitimate child (Art. 979).
- Advances during the deceased’s lifetime. Donations to a compulsory heir may be collated and charged against that heir’s share.
- Legal separation. A surviving spouse who gave cause for the legal separation loses the rights granted in these articles (Art. 1002).
- A foreign decedent. The order of succession and the amount of successional rights are governed by the national law of the deceased, whatever the nature of the property and wherever it is located (Art. 16). Philippine fractions may not apply at all.
What to do next
- List every survivor and their status — spouse, legitimate, illegitimate and adopted children, parents, siblings, and the children of any child who died first. The combination, not the family’s sense of fairness, selects the rule.
- Gather proof of relationship — the death certificate, marriage certificate, and the birth certificates that establish filiation. Shares cannot be computed from assertion.
- Separate the estate from the property regime — obtain titles, tax declarations and bank records, and identify what was exclusive property and what was community or conjugal.
- Establish whether a will exists, and whether it was notarial or holographic. A will must be probated to have effect, even where all the heirs agree.
- Identify debts and the tax position before dividing anything. Estate tax rates, the filing deadline and available deductions are set by tax legislation and change; verify the current rule with the Bureau of Internal Revenue rather than relying on a figure found online.
- Choose the settlement route. Where there is no will, no debts, and all heirs are of age or duly represented, an extrajudicial settlement under Rule 74 of the Rules of Court may be available, with its publication and bond requirements. Otherwise the estate is settled judicially.
- Get advice before signing anything — a deed of extrajudicial settlement, a waiver or a quitclaim can give away a legitime permanently.
What this guide does not decide
It does not determine status. Whether a marriage was valid, whether a child is legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, and whether filiation can be proved are Family Code questions handled on FamilyCode.ph. It does not cover the mechanics of settling and transferring the estate — the deed, the publication, the estate tax return and the registration steps — and it states no tax rate or deadline, because those are set outside the Civil Code and change. For the structure of the Code itself, see Book III — Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership, and for the wider subject our Succession and Inheritance hub.
Frequently asked questions
Does the surviving spouse get half of everything?
Not as an inheritance rule. Where the spouse survives with legitimate children, the spouse takes the same share as each child (Art. 996) — with three children, that is one-fourth, not one-half. The impression that the spouse gets half usually comes from the property regime: on liquidation the surviving spouse keeps their own half of the community, and only the deceased’s half is inherited. Those are two different halves.
Can my parents disinherit me by leaving me out of the will?
Not by silence. A legitimate child is a compulsory heir whose legitime is reserved by law (Arts. 886–888). Disinheritance is possible only for a cause specified in the Code, stated in the will, and proved if challenged. Omitting a compulsory heir without a valid disinheritance raises preterition, which affects the will’s dispositions rather than the heir’s right.
How much does an illegitimate child inherit?
One-half of what a legitimate child receives. Family Code Article 176, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255, fixes the legitime of each illegitimate child at one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child, and Article 983 of the Civil Code applies the same proportion where illegitimate children survive with legitimate children. Filiation must be duly proved (Art. 887).
Do grandchildren inherit if their parent is still alive?
No. Representation operates only where the person represented cannot inherit — because they predeceased the decedent or are excluded — and the representative takes no more than that person would have taken (Arts. 972, 974). A living child inherits in their own right, and their children take nothing from that grandparent’s estate.
If there are no children, do the brothers and sisters inherit?
Only if no nearer heir exists. Parents and ascendants exclude collateral relatives entirely (Art. 985). Where a spouse survives with siblings or their children, the spouse takes one-half and the siblings the other half (Art. 1001). Where siblings inherit alone, they share equally, and a full-blood sibling takes double the share of a half-blood sibling (Arts. 1004, 1006).
Sources and Legal Citations
- Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, Arts. 886, 887, 888, 889, 892, 893, 894, 895 (legitime); Arts. 972, 974, 977 (representation); Arts. 978, 980, 983, 985, 986, 987, 988 (intestate succession); Arts. 995, 996, 997, 998, 999, 1000, 1001, 1002 (surviving spouse); Arts. 1003, 1004, 1006, 1010, 1011 (collateral relatives and the State); Art. 16 (national law of the decedent). Full text at lawphil.net. Status: each cited article read against the published text.
- Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209 (1987), Art. 176, as amended by Republic Act No. 9255 (24 February 2004), s. 1: “The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child.” Text at lawphil.net. Supports: the one-half rule and the abolition of the old sub-classifications of illegitimate children.
- Rules of Court, Rule 74. Supports: that extrajudicial settlement is available only where there is no will, no debts, and the heirs are of age or represented, subject to publication and bond.
Sources rechecked as of 11 September 2026. No estate tax rate, deduction or filing deadline is stated on this page; those are set by tax legislation and must be verified with the Bureau of Internal Revenue for the date of death concerned.
Disclaimer
This is general legal information, not legal advice, and the computations above are illustrations rather than advice on any particular estate. Actual shares depend on who survived the deceased, proof of filiation, the property regime, debts and taxes, and the law in force at the date of death. CivilLaw.PH is independent and is not a government website, a court, a registry or a law firm. Before signing a settlement, waiver or quitclaim, consult a Philippine lawyer, or the Public Attorney’s Office if you qualify for its assistance.