Title IV. - SUCCESSION CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS Art. 774.

Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are transmitted through his death to another or others either by his will or by operation of law. (n) Art . 774 talks about Succession Mortis Causa or Donation Mortis Causa which is a mode of transfer of ownership which takes upon the death of the person. If the transfer of ownership takes effect during the lifetime of the person, it is called DONATION INTER VIVOS. It is covered by the law on Donation. Concept.-- Succession is the last mode of acquiring ownership. It is an independent mode of acquiring ownership. Bases of Succession the reasons of succession. 1. Natural Law which obliges a person to provide for those he would leave behind as a consequence of family relations. A person will naturally choose to leave behind his property upon his death to those nearest to him. 2. Socio-economic postulate to prevent wealth from being stagnant or inactive. If a person would leave behind his property to no one, the property will not improve its economic value because no one will use and improve it. 3. Attribute of ownership as owner of property, it is a persons right not only to possess or sell it but to dispose it to another to take effect upon his death.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSION: Under Art 774 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Mode of acquisition of ownership The property, rights & obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance of a person (Grantor, transferor, decedent, testator or intestate) The transmission takes place only by virtue of death (not during lifetime) The transmission takes place either by will or by operation of law (Testate or Intestate succession) The transmission to another (grantee, transferee, heir, legatee or devisee)

Art. 775. In this Title, "decedent" is the general term applied to the person whose property is transmitted through succession, whether or not he left a will. If he left a will, he is also called the testator. (n)

The decedent is the person who died whether or not he left a will The testator is the person who died who left a will.

Art. 776. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person which are not extinguished by his death. (659) Inheritance is the bulk of property or a right of a person. Succession is a MANNER by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations are transmitted. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE INHERITANCE? 1. PROPERTY - Property includes real as well as personal properties except the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Those which are outside the commerce of men or which are not owned by men (res nullus) Those which are owned by everyone (res communes) Those which are prohibited by law Any property which is not capable of appropriation

2. RIGHTS a) Purely Personal Rights GENERAL RULE: estate) It is not transmissible since it is extinguished by death. (Not transmissible and not part of the

Examples: right to parental authority marital rights parental authority support action for legal separation agency, partnershi right to vote right to claim acknowledgement or recognition as a natural child. Right to hold public office or private office or job (Hu Niu vs. Collector of Customs, 36 Phil. 433)

EXCEPTION: It is transmissible: (Not extinguished by death part of estate) Right to bring or continue an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer. Right to compel execution of document necessary for convenience covered by the Statute of Fraud. Patrimonial rights: Right to continue a lease contract either as lessor or lessee except as provided under the contract. Action to claim legitimacy

Article 173 Family Code The action to claim legitimacy may be brought by the child during his lifetime and shall be transmitted to the heirs should the child die during minority or in a state of insanity. In these cases, the heirs shall have a period of five years within which to institute the action. 3. OBLIGATIONS: GENERAL RULE: It is transmissible EXCEPTIONS: 1. Purely personal obligation to support 2. Non-transferable by law 3. Non-transferable by contract or agreement between the parties. Examples of obligations extinguished by death: 1. Obligation to pay taxes 2. Criminal liability 3. Right to give support How about debts of the deceased, are they transmissible obligations? (2 views) 1. 2. Not transmissible since it is actually the estate of the deceased which pays the debts Transmissible because the shares of the heirs are reduced by the payment of the debts (preferred view) Example: The father leaves P100 thou as assets and P20thou debts, the children should first pay the P20 thou to the creditors and collects the remaining amount of P80 thou. But if the debt of the father is P120,000, the heirs are not liable to pay the balance of P20 thou to the creditor. Reason: the debt of the heirs is limited only to the value of the assets left behind of the deceased.

Art. 777. The rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the death of the decedent. (657a)

-This provision is the heart and soul of succession. The most essential provision of the law on succession. - Rights to succession vest at the moment of death, not transmitted. The right should be made effective from the moment of death. This is so because the rights to succession before death are mere inchoate. But from the moment of death, those inchoate rights become absolute. Rights to succession are vested from the moment of death, not upon the filing of petition for testate/ intestate proceedings, not upon the declaration of heirship or upon settlement of the estate. The rights to succession are automatic. Tradition or delivery is not needed. Fiction of the law is that from the moment of the death of the decedent, the right passes to the heirs.

During the lifetime of the predecessor, rights to succession are a mere expectancy. Hence, no contract can be legally entered into regarding the expected inheritance. When an heir receives his inheritance, he is deemed to have received it at the point of death. this is so by legal fiction to avoid confusion. Death is a condition for the transmission of a right by succession.

Conditions for the transmission of a successional right: 1. There should be death (ACTUAL or PRESUMED) of the 2. The rights or properties are transmissible 3. The transferee is alive Presumed Death: Under ordinary circumstances - 10 years After the age of 75 - 5 years transferor

In these 2 instances, the moment of death is reckoned after or AT THE END of 5 or 10 years, whichever is applicable. In other words, the death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the 10 year or 5 year period, as the case maybe. Under extraordinary circumstances - 4 years

In this instance, the moment of death is reckoned from the moment of disappearance or at the time the calamity took place and not at the end of 4 years. Example: A soldier is missing in action when he surrendered to the Japanese army on May 5, 1945 is presumed dead on or before that date and NOT LATER or after 4 years. Although the division of the estate will be made only after 4 years, succession really took place 4 years before. In other words, from the beginning of 4 years, the heir of the soldier shall be considered the owner and possessor of the estate of the soldier and not only from the end thereof. -Note: In both ORDINARY or EXTRA ORDINARY ABSENCES, the succession is only a PROVISIONAL CHARACTER because there is always a chance that the absentee may still be alive. ARTICLE 390 (New Civil Code). After an absence of seven years, it being unknown whether or not the absentee still lives, he shall be presumed dead for all purposes, except for those of succession. The absentee shall not be presumed dead for the purpose of opening his succession till after an absence of ten years. If he disappeared after the age of seventy-five years, an absence of five years shall be sufficient in order that his succession may be opened. (n)

ARTICLE 391 (New Civil Code). The following shall be presumed dead for all purposes, including the division of the estate among the heirs: (1) A person on board a vessel lost during a sea voyage, or an aeroplane which is missing, who has not been heard of for four years since the loss of the vessel or aeroplane; (2) A person in the armed forces who has taken part in war, and has been missing for four years; (3) A person who has been in danger of death under other circumstances and his existence has not been known for four years. (n)

ARTICLE 43 (New Civil Code). If there is a doubt, as between two or more persons who are called to succeed each other, as to which of them died first, whoever alleges the death of one prior to the other, shall prove the same; in the absence of proof, it is presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be no transmission of rights from one to the other. (33) If there are circumstances which point to the time of the actual death of the person, then, that time wherein there is proof should be followed and not the presumptions.

In theory, the heirs can immediately dispose of their properties when the decedent dies because of Article 777. But in reality, you cannot since the will has to be probated first. If you are the sole heir, all you have to do is execute an Affidavit of Self-Adjudication and follow the process provided by law. If there is more than one heir, they may execute and Extrajudicial settlement among themselves and follow the process provided by law

Art. 778. Succession may be: (1) Testamentary; (2) Legal or intestate; or (3) Mixed. (n)

Art. 779. Testamentary succession is that which results from the designation of an heir, made in a will executed in the form prescribed by law. (n) Art. 780. Mixed succession is that effected partly by will and partly by operation of law. (n) ARTICLE 778. Succession may be: (1) Testamentary; (2) Legal or intestate; or (3) Mixed. (n) ARTICLE 779. Testamentary succession is that which results from the designation of an heir, made in a will executed in the form prescribed by law. (n) Conditions for Testamentary Succession: 1. There must be a will 2. There should be a designation of heir 3. There must be observance of the formalities required by law. PRINCIPLES IN TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION -TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION IS PREFERRED OVER INTESTATE SUCCESSION: -When there is a will, the will has to undergo probate. Probate is a proceeding wherein you determine whether or not the will was validly executed and whether or not the will was executed by person who has testamentary capacity. -There is no prescriptive period in the probate of will as long as there is a will. DOUBTS MUST BE RESOLVED IN FAVOR OF TESTACY If there is doubt as to the validity of a will, the interpretation wherein the will is given effect should be preferred. Legal or Intestate Succession 1. 2. There is no will The will is not valid at all

ARTICLE 780.

Mixed succession is that effected partly by will and partly by operation of law. (n)

When mixed succession occurs: 1. When the testator fails to dispose all of his properties in a will 2. When the will does not validly dispose of all the property of the testator

Art. 781. The inheritance of a person includes not only the property and the transmissible rights and obligations existing at the time of his death, but also those which have accrued thereto since the opening of the succession. (n) This article refers to after-acquired properties. Those are acquired from the moment of death onwards will belong to the devisee, legatee or the heir to whom the property was given.

Inheritance includes: The property, transmissible rights and the transmissible obligations of the decedent to the extent of the value of the inheritance; and

Those properties, or rights or obligations, if any, which have accrued since the opening of the succession.

Professor Balane has this to say: It is better to scrap Art. 781. It has no significance. Even without it, those which accrue after death will still belong to the heirs. Example: A has a son, X. A dies in 1988. Inheritance is a mango plantation. In 1990, there is a crop. Is it part of the inheritance? 1. According to Art. 781, Yes. This is inconsistent with Art. 777 because succession occurs at the moment of death. Thus, Art. 781 implies a second succession. 2. Legal concept.-- No. X owns it through accession and not succession. Fruits are no longer part of the inheritance. It belongs to the heir because of ownership of the land he received at the moment of death. (Art. 777.) Those which have accrued thereto after death do not comprise the inheritance but they accrue by virtue of ownership (accretion.)

Art. 782. An heir is a person called to the succession either by the provision of a will or by operation of law. Devisees and legatees are persons to whom gifts of real and personal property are respectively given by virtue of a will. (n)

Heirs:

Are those who succeed to the universality of the rights, properties and obligations of the decedent. They are not given specific portions of the property but aliquot shares

Prof. Balane comments: The definitions given in this article are not good. The definitions contained in the Spanish Civil Code were better. An heir succeeds by universal title. Devisee or legatee succeeds by particular title. According to Castan, an heir is one who succeeds to the whole (universal) or aliquot part of the estate. Devisee or legatee is one who succeeds to definite, specific, and individualized properties. Example: I bequeathed 1/2 of my fishpond in Pampanga to A. Is the successor an heir, legatee or devisee? A devisee, the prop. being a specific real prop.

Kinds of Heirs: Compulsory or forced heirs are persons who are not deprived of their inheritance unless there are causes to disinherit them and the causes are provided by law. LEGITIME is that portion of the property, rights and obligations of the decedent which you cannot just dispose of because the law reserved it for the compulsory heirs. Legal or intestate heirs are heirs who inherit by operation of law. The person dies without a will. Voluntary, testamentary or testate heirs are heirs who will inherit because of the will of the decedent. All compulsory heirs are legal heirs. But not all legal heirs are compulsory heirs. When a person dies without a will, then, the compulsory heirs succeed by operation of law. If there is a will but the will is not valid, then, the compulsory heirs succeed by operation of law since the will is disregarded.

The free portion may be given to anybody except those who are prohibited by law to inherit from the decedent. If there is a will, the free portion is given to the voluntary heirs

Legatee or Devisee Legatee succeeds to personal properties car, jewelry, etc. Devisee succeeds to real properties or immovable properties of the decedent house and lot, etc.

Distinctions between Heirs & Legatees and Devisees: HEIRS 1. Succeed by general right or universal title to all or an aliquot part of the estate 2. Heirs exist both in testamentary succession and intestate succession 3. The heir, if compulsory, succeeds to the inheritance regardless of the will of the decedent 4. Quantity cannot be determined until after liquidation of properties of the estate 5. Heirs represent the juridical personality of the deceased, acquiring his property, rights and obligations 6. Heirs succeed to the remainder of the estate after all the debts, devisees and legatees have been paid LEGATEES & DEVISEES 1. Succeed by special particular title

or

2. Legatees and devisees exist only in testamentary succession 3. Legatees and devisees succeed only by testators will

4. Quantity determined

can

easily

be

5. Legatees and devisees do not represent the juridical personality of the deceased because it acquires only properties 6. Legatees and devisees succeed only to the determinate thing or amount given

Importance of distinguishing heirs from legatees and devisees: 1. When there is preterition, the instituted voluntary heirs do not get anything. The legatees/devisees retain the properties given to them as long as the legitime is not impaired. When there is invalid disinheritance, the instituted voluntary heir gets nothing while the one who received properties by way of legacy or devise retains the property given to them as long as the legitimes of the compulsory heirs are not impaired.

2.