What are the sibling inheritance laws in the Philippines?
It is important to settle those misunderstandings before settling the estate
Siblings can inherit from each other in inheritance of property law in the Philippines.
Sibling inheritance can be either through a will or without a will.
Inheriting through a will would go through a Testate process, where the Will is proven in court.
Inheriting without a will goes through Intestate proceedings in the Philippines, where who the property goes to and how much is determined by the rules on intestate succession.
In general, it is more desirable to go though an Extrajudicial Settlement as it is cheaper and less work.
In this article, I discuss:
- who the heirs are (legal heirs in Tagalog are called “tagapagmana” and specified in the law) and when siblings inherit
- dividing land between siblings if they disagree
- whether all the siblings have to agree to sell property
- an overview of the process of how to settle an estate extrajudicially
Let’s start.
Contents
- Who inherits a deceased sibling’s inheritance?
- Who inherits if a deceased sibling had no children?
- Can nieces or nephew inherit from an uncle or aunt?
- What is the process how to divide inherited land in the Philippines?
- How much does it cost to settle an estate?
- How do you divide land between siblings if they do not agree?
- Do all heirs have to agree to sell the property?
Who inherits a deceased sibling’s inheritance?
Philippine law on succession allows the substitution of children on their deceased parent’s share of the estate through the right of representation
A deceased sibling’s inheritance goes to his relatives and family but who receives the inheritance property depends on when the inheritance occurred.
The rules of succession in the new civil code define these heirs in the law. The below example will help explain these rules.
If the deceased sibling passed away before his parents, then his inheritance from his parents goes to his legitimate and illegitimate children through the Right of Representation.
If the deceased sibling passed away after his parents, then his inheritance from his parents goes to his legitimate and illegitimate children as well as his legal spouse.
As you can see, the dates of when these events occurred are very important.
And what is actually on the property documents is important since actually transferring the property to the heirs is very heavily dependent on the available documents.
Who inherits if a deceased sibling had no children?
The Philippine law on inheritance has a specific order of who inherits depending on the remaining family members.
If a deceased sibling passes away without any children and without a will, then his property goes to his legal spouse and his parents. If his parents are not living, then his legal spouse and his siblings inherit.
Note that the amount that heirs is also determined by the laws of inheritance in the Philippines.
For example –
If the deceased had no children, no will and no living parents, his wife inherits one half of the estate while his siblings inherit the other half of the estate.
If the deceased had no children, no will but had living parents, his wife and parents will inherit equally.
So, who inherits depends on a large part on who the surviving heirs are.
Can nieces or nephew inherit from an uncle or aunt?
A niece or nephew can also inherit but it depends on the situation
Yes, a niece or nephew can inherit from an aunt or uncle.
For instance –
The children may inherit instead of their father, if one of the father’s siblings have passed away without children, a legal spouse, or living parents.
The children can inherit because of something called the Right of Representation as defined in article 970 of the civil code of the Philippines.
The specific article for inheritance by a nieces and nephews is below:
Art. 975. When children of one or more brothers or sisters of the deceased survive, they shall inherit from the latter by representation, if they survive with their uncles or aunts. But if they alone survive, they shall inherit in equal portions.
An important note here is that the nieces and nephews only inherit from their uncle or aunt under certain circumstances.
The heirs are in the law in the Philippines but who these heirs are are very dependent on the actual family situation.
What is the process how to divide inherited land in the Philippines?
Consult a lawyer when trying to do estate planning to reduce tax dues
The process to give each heir his inheritance is called the settlement of estate and is also governed by laws on inheritance.
Settling an estate in the Philippines can be either through court or without court.
The court process is called Judicial Settlement of Estate.
The non-court process is called extrajudicial settlement of estate or EJS.
The EJS process has the below basic steps:
- Determine who the heirs are
- Gather the property documents
- Create and EJS
- Sign and notarize the EJS
- Submit the EJS at the BIR and pay the BIR estate taxes
- Transfer the property at the Registry of Deeds and the City Hall
This can be very, very difficult especially if the heirs do not agree and if the property documents are missing.
For a more detailed explanation of what this takes, please read How to transfer land title to heirs in the Philippines which provides a step by step guide to settling an estate.
How much does it cost to settle an estate?
The Philippines has extended the Estate Tax Amnesty to June 14 2025
An Extrajudicial Settlement costs 6% of the net estate as well as lawyers, accountants, and document gathering fees while a judicial settlement can cost much more.
An Extrajudicial Settlement is much cheaper since inheritance laws in without will situations mean you just submit at the BIR – you avoid court altogether.
Court can be very expensive.
Court costs include lawyer’s fees and also include about 2% in filing fees in addition to what you will pay the BIR.
Unfortunately, court is not always avoidable in situations where the heirs do not agree.
How do you divide land between siblings if they do not agree?
It is common when siblings fight over an inheritance
The process for dividing land between siblings can be done through a Deed of Partition.
A Deed of Partition splits the land into separate titled pieces.
- Owners do not agree on what to do with the property
- Each owner wants complete control over the property and is willing to divide it
A Deed of Partition is very helpful when siblings do not agree on what to do with a property inheritance.
However, please note that it does not take the place of settling an estate.
Settling the estate follows laws on land inheritance in the Philippines and is the process where the BIR estate taxes are paid and the heirs are identified.
Settling the estate allows the property to be transferred to the names of the new owners and is necessary to accomplish.
It can be very complicated to do especially when the siblings don’t agree, when there are no property documents or when there is no money to settle the estate.
Settling the estate must be done even if a Deed of Partition is being considered.
Do all heirs have to agree to sell the property?
One of the best way to divide the property is by liquidating the estates.
Yes, all the heirs have to agree to sell the property.
It is very common that siblings do not agree with regard to what to do with a property.
Some siblings may want to keep the property.
Some siblings may want to sell it.
However, selling a property requires that all the heirs sign the Deed of Sale so if one refuses to sign, then the sale cannot go through.
Siblings in this situation can decide to do one of the following:
- They can go to court (This is not advisable since this takes so much time and money).
- They can sell part of the property by using a Deed of Partition to divide it so that those who want to keep the property can take a portion and keep it.
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