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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
In the case of Aquino v. Aquino, G.R. Nos. 208912 and 209018, the Supreme Court held that a child whose parents did not marry each other can inherit from their grandparents by their right of representation, regardless of the grandparent’s marital status at the birth of the child’s parent.
Article 992 of the Civil Code provides that:
An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of his father or mother; nor shall such children or relatives inherit in the same manner from the illegitimate child.
The prohibition in the above-mentioned article is so restrictive that the Supreme Court has characterized it as an “iron curtain” separating marital and nonmarital relatives.
Intestate succession is based on the decedent’s presumed will. Article 992 then assumes that the decedent’s disposition of their property would not have included any nonmarital children, due to a supposed hostility between the marital family and the nonmarital child because the latter was the outcome of an extramarital affair.
However, a nonmarital child is not defined that way. Nonmarital children or illegitimate children under Article 165 of the Family Code, are children conceived and born outside a valid marriage. The phrase “outside a valid marriage” does not necessarily mean an extramarital affair.
If there is a legal impediment, it does not necessarily follow that the impediment is that either or both parents are married to another person. It is entirely possible that one or both of them are below marriageable age. Another reason why a child could have been born outside a valid marriage is because their mother was a victim of sexual assault who did not marry the perpetrator. There are also times when the father of an unborn child may have died before being able to marry the child’s mother.
The Court abandoned the presumption that nonmarital children are products of illicit relationships or that they are automatically placed in a hostile environment perpetrated by the marital family.
The Court adopts a construction of Article 992 that makes children, regardless of the circumstances of their births, qualified to inherit from their direct ascendants such as their grandparents by their right of representation. Both marital and nonmarital children, whether born from a marital or nonmarital child, are blood relatives of their parents and other ascendants. Nonmarital children are removed from their parents and ascendants in the same degree as marital children. Nonmarital children of marital children are also removed from their parents and ascendants in the same degree as nonmarital children of nonmarital children.
When a nonmarital child seeks to represent their deceased parent to succeed in their grandparent’s estate, Article 982 of the Civil Code shall apply. Article 982 provides:
The grandchildren and other descendants shall inherit by right of representation, and if any one of them should have died, leaving several heirs, the portion pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in equal portions.
The language of Article 982 does not make any distinctions or qualifications as to the birth status of the grandchildren and other descendants granted the right of representation.
This ruling will only apply when the nonmarital child has a right of representation to their parent’s share in her grandparent’s legitime. It is silent on collateral relatives where the nonmarital child may inherit by themself.
Related Articles:
- When may illegitimate children use the surname of their father?
- HEREDITARY RIGHTS OF AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 0917-5772207/ 09778050020.
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