What is Self Adjudication?
Self adjudication is the process by which an individual asserts ownership or rights over a property without the necessity of engaging in formal court proceedings. Specifically in cases of inheritance, it empowers a lone heir to directly claim property from deceased parents.

Affidavit of Self Adjudication vs. Deed of Sole Adjudication
These terms are frequently mistaken for one another. An Affidavit of Self Adjudication is an informal sworn statement that an individual can utilize to declare oneself the sole heir. Conversely, a Deed of Sole Adjudication is a legally recognized document that facilitates the official transfer of property rights.

Deed of Sole Adjudication vs. Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate
A Deed of Sole Adjudication is used when there is only one heir. An Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate is used when there are multiple heirs.

Here are a few Practical Examples of when to use one versus the other.

Scenario 1: Sole Heir Inheriting Property
An only child who inherits their parent’s residence can execute a Deed of Sole Adjudication to transfer ownership seamlessly.

Scenario 2: Misunderstanding Terminology such as an Affidavit of Self Adjudication vs a Deed of Self Adjudication
An individual might incorrectly believe that an Affidavit of Self Adjudication is adequate for transferring property.
However, only a Deed of Sole Adjudication is acceptable to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for the purpose of transferring property to one heir.

Scenario 3: Deed of Sole Adjudication vs Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement
When there are multiple heirs, the BIR will only accept a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement.
A Deed of Sole Adjudication is not applicable in this case.

It is important to do your own research first before dealing with a lawyer

A Deed of Adjudication in the Philippines is a document that lists the properties that will be transferred to one heir.

It is used in the case of an only child and deceased parents, in the transfer of title from parent to child.

It is also used when other siblings have passed without children and only one child remains to inherit.

That is the main difference of a Deed of Self Adjudication vs Extrajudicial Settlement – an Extrajudicial Settlement may have many heirs while a Deed of Sole Adjudication only has one.

(This makes the processing easier because doing an EJS requires agreement between the heirs. Since there is only one heir in a Deed of Adjudication, that is not an issue here.)

I have sometimes heard people call this an Affidavit of Self Adjudication but that is a misnomer. The document for transfer is not an Affidavit but a Deed, and this is what is accepted at the BIR.

The right lawyer can help you plan an estate settlement that is most economical

The Deed of Sole Adjudication costs the same as an EJS as the same taxes are levied.

Cost of Title Transfer in the Philippines:

• Cost of gathering the documents
• Create the Deed of Self Adjudication
• Submit at the BIR
• 6% Estate tax paid to the BIR
• Transfer taxes and Fees at the Registry of Deeds after the BIR is paid to transfer the title and tax declarations

The tax due will depend on the date of death of the decedent and several other factors

In many of our articles on how to change ownership of a property after death, we always focus on the difficulty of gathering the documents.

In many cases, the heirs may not have the documents or enough information to settle the estate.

When this happens, it may be impossible to settle the estate or it may become costly.

A lot of investigation has to be done when documents are missing.

Cost increase when there is a lot of investigation.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to ensure that all the documents are available.

In our example of an only child inheriting, having the documents available makes it very easy to accomplish the land title transfer from parent to child in the Philippines with out extraneous cost.

The requirements for Sole adjudication are pretty much the same as a regular extrajudicial settlement of estate

The requirements for a Deed of Adjudication are ownership and family documents.

These requirements are:

• Original Owner’s Land title
• Certified True Copy of Original Owner’s Land title from the Registry of Deeds
• Tax Declarations
• Certified True Copy of Tax Declarations
• Realty taxes paid and up to date
• Birth Certificate, TIN, ID of heir
• Death and Marriage certificate of the estate owners

Settling an estate is a lot of work.

It becomes even more work when the documents are missing or have erroneous information.

For instance –

A certificate of no record is now accepted if there is no death certificate

If an Original Owner’s Land title or a Certified True Copy of Original Owner’s Land title from the Registry of Deeds is missing, then the heir has to go to court to ask the court for a new copy.

This new copy is needed at the land registry for transfer of ownership after death as the RD won’t put the property in your name without the title.

Problems also arise when family documents are missing.

If the PSA birth, marriage or death certificate cannot be easily retrieved from the PSA service, then an investigation to the Local Civil Registry may be needed. Visits to the National or Spanish archives might be needed as well.

When documents cannot be retrieved at all, it becomes a big problem.

When I discuss how to transfer estate property after death, I always stress that lack of documents may actually make it impossible to transfer.

If you are missing documents, please discuss with an Inheritance lawyer so that he can advise you.

The process is pretty simple but it is the legwork that makes it very hard as government offices are often overcrowded and busy

In general, how to transfer property from deceased parent to child/only one heir is the same as an EJS.

I’ll list the steps here:

• Gather the documents
• Sign and notarize the Deed of Self Adjudication
• Submit at the BIR
• Pay the estate taxes
• Get the eCAR
• Complete the registration at the land registry and city hall

The process is straightforward although a lot of work so long as you have gathered the requirements.

The process is mostly manual, so gathering the documents and submitting to the BIR means standing in line, submitting and then coming back.

The BIR process is a one of the biggest hurdles.

When that is completed, the rest of the case should be relatively smooth.

Always remember that after you get your eCAR, you will need to go to the Registry of Deeds to transfer the Land Title.

You will also need to go to the City Hall Tax Assessor’s office to transfer the Tax Declaration.

Please don’t forget those last 2 steps – we’ve come across clients who have done the difficult work of estate settlement at the BIR only to stop there. This can cause a lot of headaches down the road when another transfer or sale is considered.

1. What is required to execute a Deed of Sole Adjudication?
The essential documents include the original land title, tax declarations, and identification proof.

2. Can I use an Affidavit instead?
No, an Affidavit is not legally recognized for property transfers; a formal Deed must be utilized. –

3. What happens if I lack necessary documents?
The absence of required documents can complicate or delay the transfer process; it is advisable to consult with an expert.

4. How long does it take to execute a Deed of Sole Adjudication?
It will take at least 6 months to complete the entire process, if the documents from the individual and the government are complete.

5. How much does a Deed of Sole Adjudication cost?
A major cost would be the 6% estate taxes to settle the estate, which is most of the cost. The amount of estate taxes is thus higher when the estate is larger. There are also transfer taxes at the Registry of Deeds as well as processing fees and legal fees.