Intestate share

Surviving heir Legitime

Illegitimate children 1/3 1/2

Surviving spouse 1/3 1/2

(Remaining 1/3 is
free portion; Art.
894, NCC)

Illegitimate children 1/4 1/4

Surviving spouse 1/8 1/4

Legitimate parents 1/2 1/2

(Art. 899, NCC;

testator may
freely dispose of
the remaining 1/8
of the estate.)

Illegitimate children 1/4 1/2

Legitimate parents 1/2 1/2

Legitimate parents 1/2 1/2

Surviving spouse 1/4 (taken from 1/2

the free portion)

(Art. 893, NCC)

Illegitimate parents 1/4 1/2

Surviving spouse 1/4 1/2

Illegitimate children alone 1/2 (divided by All

number of
illegitimate
children)

Remainder is
free portion (Art.
901, NCC)

Legitimate parents alone 1/2; remaining All

half is free
portion (Arts. 889
and 890, NCC)

Illegitimate parents alone 1/2 All

Surviving spouse alone 1/2, 1/3, 1/2 (Art. All

900, NCC)
Legitimate children (or their 1/2 (divided by All
descendants) alone the number of
children)

Remaining half is
free portion (Art.
888, NCC)

One legitimate child (or 1/2 1/2

descendant)

Surviving spouse 1/4 1/2

Remaining 1/4 is
free portion (Art.
892, NCC)

Two or more legitimate 1/2 (divided by Consider spouse

children (or their the number of as 1 legitimate
descendants) children) child and divide
estate by total
number

Surviving spouse Equal to the

share of one
child

Remainder is
free portion (Art.
892, NCC)

Legitimate child 1/2 Please read Article

176 of the Family
Illegitimate child 1/2 of each Code: computing
legitimate child the legitimes of
(Art. 176, Family legitimate and
Code) illegitimate
children; an
Remainder is illegitimate child
free portion (Art. gets one-half)
892, NCC)

Surviving spouse 1/2 (remaining 1/2

half is free
portion; Art. 900,
NCC)

Brothers and sisters Not entitled to 1/2 (divided by the

(nephews and nieces, in anything since number of brothers
case of deceased siblings) they are not and sisters;
compulsory nephews and
heirs; testator nieces of deceased
may choose to siblings divide
give them among themselves
something out of the share that
the free portion should have to
their parents)

Art. 1001 NCC

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Article 176 Family Code: how to compute the inheritance of legitimate and illegitimate
children

An illegitimate child gets only 50% of what a legitimate child is entitled to

Through an e-mail, I was informed of some confusion in the amount of inheritance an illegitimate
child is supposed to get from his biological father or mother. Some blogs and websites say that an
illegitimate child will get as inheritance exactly what a legitimate child will get. This is totally
erroneous because of the clear wording of Article 176. The article states:

Illegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be under the
parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled to support
in conformity with this Code. However, illegitimate children may use
surname of their father if their filiation has been expressly
recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the
civil register, or when an admission in a public document or private
handwritten instrument is made by the father. Provided, the father
has the right to institute an action before the regular courts to prove
non-filiation during his lifetime. The legitime of each
illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a
legitimate child. (As amended by Republic Act 9255, approved
February 24,2004; emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

What does the last sentence of Article 176 clearly say? The legitime of each illegitimate
child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. So how come these
blogs and websites say that an illegitimate child will get exactly what a legitimate child will
get by way of inheritance?

The books on civil law by the late Justice Edgardo L. Paras are still the premier textbooks for law
students and lawyers. In his Pre-Week Handbook on Civil Law (pages 274 and 275, 1989 Edition),
Justice Paras gives an example of how to compute the legitimes of legitimate and illegitimate
children:

Special Rule If Legitimate and Illegitimate Children Survived

Together, With or Without the Surviving Spouse
 1. First divide the estate among them in the proportion of 10, 5 (10
for each legitimate child, 10 for the surviving spouse, 5
for each illegitimate child) PROVIDED that with this proportion,
the legitimes of the legitimate children and of the surviving spouse
are NOT decreased. (Reason: the intestate shares are either the SAME
or GREATER than the legitimes; NEVER LESSER).

2. If said legitimes are impaired, just give the legitimes and

these will also be their INTESTATE shares.

Examples

Intestate Estate = Php 15,000.00

Survivors: 1 leg- child, 1 illegitimate child

Give their intestate shares.

ANS. Apply 10, 5

I legitimate child = 10 shares

1 illegitimate child = 5 shares

Total: 15 shares

15 shares = Php 15,000.00

1 share = Php 1,000.00

Therefore: 1 legitimate child = 10 (Php 1.000.00) = P10,000.00

1 illegitimate child = 5 (PI ,000.00) = Php 5,000.00

An algebraic way of presenting the example of Justice Paras is this: Let X be the amount of
legitime for the legitimate child and X/2 be the legitime of the illegitimate child.

X + X/2 = Php 15,000.00

(2X + X)/2 = Php 15,000.00

3X/2 = Php 15,000.00

3X = Php 30,000.00

X = Php 10,000.00 (the share of the legitimate child)

x/2 = Php 5,000.00 (the share of the illegitimate child)

Lets say that the heirs are the surviving spouse, three legitimate children and one
illegitimate child. Lets say the estate (the totality of the property left by the deceased spouse) is
Php 200,000.00. First of all, deduct 50% or Php 100,00.00 as the surviving spouse's share in the
conjugal property. The remaining Php 100,000.00 will then be divided among the heirs (the
surviving spouse is counted as one child).

The solution goes like this:

Let X be the amount of legitime for each of the legitimate children

and the surviving spouse.

X (surviving spouse) + (legitimate children) X + X + X + (one

 illegitimate child) X/2 = Php 100,000.00

4X + X/2 = Php 100,000.00

4X/1 + X/2 = Php 100,000.00

9X/2 = Php 100,000.00

X = Php 22,222.22 (the share of each of the legitimate children and

of the surviving spouse)

X/2 = Php 11,111.11 (the share of the illegitimate child in view of

Article 176)

Back in the early 1970s, I lost my NSDB science scholarship in UP Diliman because I failed
Physics 41 and Engineering Science I and barely passed Math 17. If you think my
mathematical solutions are wrong, hey, feel free to comment!