Succession (#4)

Flores, Michaela Therese A. August 3, 2018

Succession: Judge Dolores Español

SECTION 4. - CONDITIONAL TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS &

TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS WITH A TERM
Art. 871 General Rule
The institution of an heir may be made (1) conditionally, or for a (2) certain purpose or cause

Art. 872-876 Limitations

a.) The testator cannot impose any charge, burden, encumbrance, condition, or
substitution whatsoever upon the legitime of compulsory heirs.
b.) Impossible conditions and those contrary to law or good customs are presumed to
have been imposed erroneously or through oversight, thus, are considered as not
imposed.
c.) An absolute condition not to contract a first marriage is always void and will be
considered as not written.
d.) An absolute condition not to contract a subsequent marriage is generally void, unless
imposed upon a widow or widower by the deceased spouse or by the latter’s ascendants
or descendants. Even so, however, the legitime of the surviving spouse cannot be
impaired.
e.) Any disposition made upon the condition that the heir shall make some provisions in
his will in favor of the testator or of any other person shall be void (disposicion
captatoria)
f.) Conditions imposed by the testator upon the heirs shall be governed by the rules
established for conditional obligations in all matters not provided for by the law on
succession.

Art. 877 Kinds of Conditions

a.) Potestative - depends exclusively upon the will of the heir devisee or legatee and must
be performed by him personally.
b.) Causal Condition - depends upon the will of the heir, devisee, or legatee but upon the
will of a third person.
c.) Mixed - depends jointly upon the will of the heir, devisee or legatee and upon the
chance and/or will of a third person.
SECTION 5 - LEGITIME (Art. 886-914)
Art. 886 Legitime defined
Legitime is that part of the testator's property which he cannot dispose of because the law has
reserved it for certain heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs.

Art. 887 Compulsory Heirs

(1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and ascendants;
(2) In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to their legitimate
children and descendants;
(3) The widow or widower;
(4) Acknowledged natural children, and natural children by legal fiction;
(5) Other illegitimate children referred to in Article 287.

Art. 888
If there are legitimate children, they will get collective legitime of 1/2 of the estate. It does not
say how they will divide the legitime. Commentators agree that they will divide the 1/2 equally
regardless of age, sex, marriage of origin (whether 1st, 2nd, etc.)

Art. 889-890
Legitimate parents or ascendants alone -- 1/2 of the estate.

Art. 891 Reserva Troncal

The reservation by virtue of which an ascendant who inherits from his descendant any property
which the latter may have acquired by gratuitous title from another ascendant or a brother or
sister, is obliged to reserve such property for the benefit of relatives who are within the 3rd
degree and who belong to the line from which such property came. It constitutes as an exception
to both the system of legitime and the order of intestate succession.

Art. 892
A. Legitime of Surviving spouse:
1. If valid or voidable marriage - Qualified. Spouse may inherit.
2. If legally separated, it depends:
a.) If innocent spouse - not disqualified to inherit from the guilty spouse
b.) If guilty spouse - disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse

Art. 893
Legitimate parents or ascendants -1/2 (divide according to Art. 889 and 890.)
Spouse - ¼ Free portion - ¼
Art. 894 Exceptions to the basic rule of 1/2.
a.) Illegitimate children -1/3 collectively, divided depending if the decedent died before
(5 : 4) or after (equal) the Family Code.
b.) Surviving spouse - ⅓ Free portion - ⅓

Art. 895-903

HEIR SHARE

Acknowledged natural children and each of ½ of the legitime of each of the legitimate
the natural children by legal fiction children or descendants.

illegitimate child who is neither an four-fifths of the legitime of an acknowledged

acknowledged natural, nor a natural child by natural child
legal fiction

illegitimate children shall be taken from the portion of the estate at

the free disposal of the testator, provided that
in no case shall the total legitime of such
illegitimate children exceed that free portion,
and that the legitime of the surviving spouse
must first be fully satisfied

Illegitimate children who may survive with 1/4 of the hereditary estate to be taken from
legitimate parents or ascendants of the the portion
deceased (Art. 896)

widow or widower survives with legitimate entitled to a portion equal to the legitime of
children or descendants, and acknowledged each of the legitimate children which must be
natural children, or natural children by legal taken from that part of the estate which the
fiction (Art. 897) testator can freely dispose of
If the widow or widower survives with
legitimate children or descendants, and with
illegitimate children other than acknowledged
natural, or natural children by legal fiction
(Art. 898)

widow or widower survives with legitimate ⅛ of the hereditary estate of the deceased
parents or ascendants and with illegitimate which must be taken from the free portion
children (Art. 899)

only survivor is the widow or widower (Art. ½ of the hereditary estate

900)

marriage between the surviving spouse and ⅓

 the testator was solemnized in articulo mortis,
and the testator died within three months from
the time of the marriage

When the testator dies leaving illegitimate ½ of the hereditary estate of the deceased
children and no other compulsory heirs

Art. 904
GR: ​The testator cannot deprive his compulsory heirs of their legitime, except in cases expressly
specified by law.

Art. 905 Advanced Bounty

The money received by the compulsory heir shall be considered as an advance on his legitime.
Any contract or agreement between the predecessor and the successor is considered void. Even if
there is an agreement, the same is not binding and the heir can still get his legitime minus the
advance.

Art. 906
Gratuitous Title or Donation ​Inter Vivos a​ re considered advances on legitime which the
compulsory heir may demand

Art. 907-910
GR: ​Donations which an illegitimate child may have received during the lifetime of his father or
mother, shall be charged to his legitime.
XPN: ​If the testator provides otherwise

Art. 911 Order of Reduction

1. Legacies & Devises
2. Reduce donations to strangers
3. Reduce the share of illegitimate children
Art. 912
If the devise subject to reduction should consist of real property it shall go to the devisee if the
reduction does not absorb one-half of its value; and in a contrary case, to the compulsory heirs.
Art. 913
If the heirs or devisees do not choose to avail themselves of the right granted by the preceding
article, any heir or devisee who did not have such right may exercise it; should the latter not
make use of it, the property shall be sold at public auction at the instance of any one of the
interested parties.
Art. 914
The testator may devise and bequeath the free portion as he may deem fit.