Succession and Inheritance

Start with your family’s situation: who has died, whether a will exists, who may be entitled to inherit, and which property or debt needs attention. Choose a guide below for shares, estate settlement, tax and title transfer, or a disagreement between heirs.

These guides provide general information. A guide or calculator does not identify every lawful heir, resolve a disputed share, or complete an estate settlement.

WHAT HAPPENED? CHOOSE YOUR NEXT STEP
• Someone has died: what happens now? — See what passes to the heirs, who pays the debts and the first steps. Start with the overview.
• We need to understand the heirs’ shares — Start with the guide to legitimes and inheritance without a will before estimating a share.
• There is a will, or we are unsure — Compare inheritance with and without a will and find the relevant next guide.
• Can we settle the estate without court? — Check the conditions for extrajudicial settlement before choosing that route.
• An heir refuses to sign — Find options when agreement is missing. Review disagreement routes.
• The title remains in a deceased parent’s name — Prepare the settlement and transfer documents. Follow the transfer guide.

START HERE — WHO INHERITS?
• What Happens to Property and Debts After Death — what passes to the heirs, what ends, creditors, settlement routes and estate tax.
• Will vs No Will — how testamentary and intestate succession differ, from heirs and legitime to probate and settlement.
• Who Inherits When Someone Dies Without a Will? — intestate succession by family situation.
• Compulsory Heirs and Legitime — protected heirs and reserved shares.
• How Is Inheritance Divided? — overview of legitimes and intestate shares.
• Representation in Inheritance — when descendants step into an heir’s place.
• Surviving spouse’s inheritance share — Read how the guide separates the spouse’s own property from their inheritance and compares family situations.
• Estimate a compulsory heir’s legitime — Check the existing calculator’s supported situations and limits before using it. It estimates minimum protected shares, not the full distribution without a will or estate tax.

SETTLE THE ESTATE
• Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate — Rule 74 requirements and common problems.
• Judicial Settlement of Estate — when court supervision is needed.
• Probate of a Will — allowance of wills, objections, and procedure.
• How Long Does Estate Settlement Take? — stages and common delays.

TAX, eCAR, AND TITLE TRANSFER
• Estate Tax in the Philippines — Read the tax guide and, for a straightforward estate within its stated scope, use the existing basic estimator. Check its limits and the law applicable at the date of death.
• How to Get an eCAR for Inherited Property — BIR tax-clearance step before registration.
• Transfer a Land Title From a Deceased Parent — settlement, BIR/eCAR, and Registry of Deeds.
• Land Title Still in a Grandparent’s Name — multi-generation settlement and title chain.

TRANSFER OR DIVIDE INHERITED PROPERTY
• Co-Ownership Disputes — the heirs’ rights as co-owners before partition, legal redemption and partition rules.
• Can One Heir Sell Inherited Land? — hereditary shares versus a specific parcel.
• Can Heirs Sell Before Estate Settlement? — undivided rights and buyer risk.
• Divide Inherited Property When Siblings Cannot Agree — negotiated and judicial partition.
• Can an Heir Be Forced to Sell Inherited Property? — partition, buyout, and court-ordered sale.
• Heirs Disagree About Property Value — appraisal, buyout, and valuation evidence.

INHERITANCE DISPUTES
• Missing Heir — what to do when a lawful heir cannot be located.
• One Heir Occupies the Property — possession, exclusion, rent, and partition.
• One Heir Collects the Rent — accounting and sharing income from common property.
• An Heir Dies Before Settlement — second-estate and succession-layer issues.
• Challenge a Signed Extrajudicial Settlement — fraud, consent, forgery, and prescription issues.
• Hidden Heir or Property — fraud, reconveyance, and omitted-estate remedies.
• Can an Heir Be Removed? — when heirship can actually be disputed.

ESTATE EXPENSES, REIMBURSEMENTS & ACCOUNTING
• Who Pays Real Property Tax Before Partition? — taxes and proportional contribution among co-heirs.
• Reimbursement for Estate Tax Paid by One Heir — advances and credits during settlement.
• Who Pays Repairs and Maintenance? — preservation expenses versus optional upgrades.
• Reimbursement for Improvements — necessary and useful expenses.
• One Heir Pays the Mortgage — debt, foreclosure risk, and reimbursement.
• Funeral, Medical, and Settlement Expenses — estate charges and advances.
• Can an Heir Use Estate Money? — estate funds, authority, and misuse.
• Demand an Accounting From the Managing Heir — records, income, and disbursements.
• Who Gets Rental Income Before Settlement? — rent, expenses, and allocation.
• Deductions Before Sharing Sale Proceeds — taxes, mortgage, repairs, and closing costs.

REMEDIES, PRESCRIPTION & COURT ACTIONS
• Which Remedy Should an Heir Use? — decision guide for partition, reconveyance, cancellation, accounting, injunction, and title remedies.
• How to File a Partition Case — Rule 69 procedure, parties, accounting, division, and sale.
• Reconveyance of Inherited Property — recovering land wrongfully transferred or registered.
• Cancel a Fraudulent Deed or Title — nullity, cancellation, and registration relief.
• Injunction to Stop Sale or Transfer — preserving disputed property while a case is pending.
• Lis Pendens — notice to later buyers that property is under litigation.
• Prescription and Deadlines — when partition, fraud, reconveyance, and recovery claims may differ.
• Buyer in Good Faith — third-party purchaser risk and notice.
• Accounting Action Between Heirs — judicial disclosure of rent, estate funds, expenses, and proceeds.
• Quieting of Title — removing clouds and conflicting claims affecting inherited property.

POSSESSION, REPUDIATION & LONG-RUNNING PROPERTY CLAIMS
• Can One Heir Become Sole Owner Through Adverse Possession? — when prescription can run against co-heirs.
• When Does Co-Heir Possession Become Adverse? — repudiation, notice, and proof.
• Can an Heir Lose Inherited Property by Prescription? — partition versus recovery after repudiation.
• Repudiation of Co-Ownership — acts and evidence needed to reject shared ownership.
• Long-Term Exclusive Possession — why decades of occupation are not automatically enough.
• One Heir Paying Real Property Tax for 20 Years — tax payments, reimbursement, and ownership claims.
• Can a Tax Declaration Prove Ownership Against Other Heirs? — evidentiary value and limits.
• One Family Branch Occupied the Land for Generations — multi-generation co-ownership and prescription.
• Can an Heir File an Adverse Claim? — Section 70 title annotation and limits.
• Adverse Claim vs Lis Pendens — which annotation fits which stage of the dispute.

WILLS, LEGITIMES, AND EXCLUSION OF HEIRS
• Notarial vs Holographic Wills — formalities and common defects.
• Preterition — omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line.
• Disinheritance — statutory grounds and proof.
• Waiver of Inheritance — repudiation versus transfer.
• An Heir Was Left Out — remedies for omitted heirs.

Core legal framework: Civil Code, Book III on succession; Rules of Court on probate, settlement, partition, evidence, and Rule 74; Republic Act No. 11576 on probate jurisdiction; Supreme Court jurisprudence; and current BIR and Land Registration Authority procedures.

In the Code: Book III — Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership. Family-status questions such as legitimacy, filiation, adoption, and spousal status are governed by the Family Code and may also be covered on FamilyCode.ph.Related property guides: For ownership, possession, title and co-ownership issues affecting inherited land, see the Property and Ownership hub, Land Title vs Tax Declaration, Co-Owner Sale Without Consent, and Land Boundary Disputes.

Quick answers: See the Succession and Inheritance FAQ for short, cited answers to the most common questions in this hub.