Property key representing land still titled in a deceased grandparent's name

What If the Land Title Is Still in the Grandparent’s Name?

ByCivilLaw.PH Editorial Team

Quick Answer: If land is still titled in a deceased grandparent’s name, the family usually cannot skip directly to the grandchildren. The ownership chain must be established from the registered owner through each deceased generation. That may require settling more than one estate, determining the heirs at each death, completing estate-tax and eCAR requirements for each relevant transfer, and then registering the proper instruments with the Registry of Deeds.

Why This Happens

Many Philippine properties remain under an old title for decades while ownership changes informally within the family. The legal problem appears when the family tries to sell, mortgage, partition, or issue a new title.

Can the Grandchildren Sign an EJS for the Grandparent Directly?

Only if they are actually the persons entitled to inherit from that decedent under the applicable succession rules. If the grandparent’s child survived the grandparent and later died, that child’s acquired hereditary rights may form part of the child’s own estate. The family may therefore have to settle the grandparent’s estate and then the parent’s estate.

Typical Sequence

  1. Get a certified copy of the current title.
  2. Build the family tree for each deceased registered owner.
  3. Obtain PSA death, birth, and marriage records.
  4. Determine whether each estate is testate or intestate.
  5. Prepare the correct EJS, self-adjudication, or court proceeding for each estate.
  6. Address estate-tax filing and eCAR requirements.
  7. Complete local transfer requirements.
  8. Register the chain of transfers with the Registry of Deeds.

What If Some Intermediate Heirs Also Died?

That is a multi-generation estate. Their interests do not vanish. Each death may create a separate succession layer, and the persons now claiming must trace their rights through those layers.

Can the Property Be Sold Before Fixing the Title?

A buyer may agree to a transaction structured around estate settlement, but the old title cannot simply be ignored. Buyers and banks normally require a defensible chain of ownership and the tax and registration documents needed for transfer.

Common Problems

  • different spellings of names across PSA and title records;
  • missing marriage or birth records;
  • unknown or omitted heirs;
  • unpaid estate tax from older deaths;
  • several generations of deceased heirs;
  • informal family partitions never registered;
  • buyers relying only on tax declarations or possession.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one deed cover several generations?

Sometimes estate documents can be coordinated, but the legal and tax consequences of each succession must still be accounted for. Do not assume one shortcut document cures every intervening transfer.

Does paying real-property tax put the title in the heir’s name?

No. Tax payment does not substitute for estate settlement and registration.

What if the old title has already been lost?

That is a separate title-document issue. Obtain a certified copy and determine whether reconstitution or another Land Registration Authority process is needed.

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