is an only child. She was disowned by her father for marrying a non-Chinese man. In her father's will, it says that she was being disinherited and would only be entitled to her inheritance if her marriage with said man was annulled.
Years later, for some reason, she filed for declaration of nullity of marriage due to psychological incapacity of the man. As the annulment takes years to be granted, her father died while the annulment was still in process. Is she entitled to an inheritance? If not, who inherits her father's estate assuming that her mother had already died years ago? What can she do if she knows that her father would have given her the inheritance now that she is separated from the man?
My answer is Yes, she is entitled to her inheritance
Section 5. Art. 886 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that:
“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 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that:
“The following are 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. 872 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that:
“The testator cannot impose any charge, condition, or substitution whatsoever upon the legitimes prescribed in this Code. Should he do so, the same shall be considered as not imposed.”
Art. 918 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that:
“Disinheritance without a specification of the cause, or for a cause the truth of which, if contradicted, is not proved, or which is not one of those set forth in this Code, shall annul the institution of heirs insofar as it may prejudice the person disinherited; but the devises and legacies and other testamentary dispositions shall be valid to such extent as will not impair the legitime.”
In this case, the child is entitled to inheritance which will follow the rules of Intestate Succession. The inheritance will follow Intestate Succession since, even though in the case there was a will which meant Testamentary Succession would be applied, the will is invalid. There are two defects to the will that make it invalid. Firstly, the will says that the father is disinheriting the child. The problem with the will is that there is no cause whatsoever that was stated for the disinheritance and given Art. 918 of the Civil Code, the institution of heirs will be annulled, meaning the inheritance will go straight to the legal heirs, which is first his compulsory heirs.
Secondly, assuming the will contains a cause, that cause must still be one of those set forth in the law and proven to be true. Marrying another person of different race does not qualify under one of the grounds for disinheritance. Surely it cannot be leading a dishonorable or disgraceful life.
Since the will is invalid, according to Art. 960 of the Civil Code, the inheritance will follow the rules of Intestate Succession. The child would be entitled the inheritance immediately after the father dies and would not have to wait until the annulment is completed because the conditions mentioned in the will consequently made the will void and leave the rules on inheritance to Intestate Succession.
/LG
Augustus raypon
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