Q. Hi Atty. Rogie . Through your column I wish to ask your assistance in matters of inheritance issues.
My deceased father has four (4) siblings. His brother , who is actually my uncle Mike and single and without any child died few years ago, leaves an estate consisting of commercial apartments somewhere in Quezon City, Metro Manila.
The other sibling of our father, or our auntie Jane , also passed away a year ago . She has three(3) children who obviously are our first cousins.
Our Dad who is a widower, is survived by other two remaining siblings , uncles Jun and Gilbert , who are both singles and without any child or family their own family.
My questions are :
a) As children of our deceased father, are we entitled to inherit from the Estate of our Uncle Mike? If so to what extent ?
b) What about our three (3) first cousins, are they also entitled ? If so, to what extent ?
c) What about our three (3) first cousins ? Will they also inherit?
How will the estate be the divided to the rightful heirs ?
We hope that your reply to our queries will clear our minds of what is really due to each heir and avoid possible conflict or misunderstanding in our family and clan, especially those are in the Philippines. Thank you and more power ! Brian
Ans: This is a case where brothers and sister survives with nephews/nieces who are children of the deceased siblings(uncles/aunts) with full blood relationship.
Assuming that no WILL was ever made by the deceased sibling, the answers to your queries are :
a) Under the law, the children of a deceased sibling are entitled to have a portion of the estate of their deceased brother or sister, who died intestate without compulsory heir(s) of their own, as shown below.
b) In other words , you (and if you have a sibling) , as well as your cousins, in default of your respective parents, by right of representation, are entitled to inherit from the estate of our deceased uncle/auntie .
c) The other two(2) surviving uncles (Jun & Gilbert) are entitled to inherit on a per capita basis from the estate of your Uncle Mike.
Following the provisions of the Article 1005 of the Civil Code of the Philippines as amended, the estate(Commercial Apartments) of your uncle Mike, assuming that the ESTATE is worth $ 240,000.00 shall be divided as follows:
1) Uncle Jun : $ 60,000.00 (per capita)
2) Uncle Gilbert: $ 60,000.00 (per capita) . . . . . . . .$120,000.00
3) Deceased Father/Sibling:
a) Brian : $ 30,000.00 (per stirpes)
b) Brian’s other sibling: $ 30,000.00 (per stirpes). . $ 60,000.00
4) Deceased sibling/auntie Jane ( your three first cousins):
a. First cousin A : $20,000.00 ( per stirpes)
b. First cousin B : $20,000.00 ( per stirpes )
c. First cousin C : $20,000.00 ( per stirpes) . . . . .$60,000.00
TOTAL ESTATE : $240,000.00
It is suggested that you and your co-heirs should not delay the settlement of the estate of your uncle Mike. Every day of delay, means penalty and interest charges on the estate tax due .
Get in touch with legal and tax professionals who will be able to assist in the orderly settlement and liquidation of the estate of your uncle Mike. The amount of penalty and interest charges could be shocking , if left unattended in the course of time.
Thank you for writing and best regards.