CONCEPT OF

SUCCESSION
Jaleen Bagon 2
Gladys Antonio
WHAT IS
SUCCESSION?
� is a mode of acquisition by
virtue of which the property, rights,
and obligations to the extent of the
value of inheritance, of a person
are transmitted through his death
to another or others either by his
will or by operation of law.
 KINDS OF SUCCESSION
• Testamentary or testate - which results from the
designation of an heir, made in a will executed in the
form prescribed by law.
• Legal or intestate - is that effected by operation of
law since the decedent did not execute a will.
• Mixed - is that effected partly by will and partly by
operation of law
ELEMENTS OF
SUCCESSION
1. Death of Decedent - the person
whose property is transmitted
through succession, whether or not
he left a will. If he left a will, he is
called the testator.
2. Inheritance - includes all the
property, rights and obligations of
a person which are not
extinguished by his death.
Devise is a testamentary
disposition of real estate while legacy
is a will or bequest by will of personal
ELEMENTS OF
SUCCSSION
3. Successors - who takes
over the obligations and/or
rights of another; heirs, devise
and legatees are all successors;
heirs is a person called to the
succession either by the
provision of a will or by
operation of law; devisees and
legatees are person to whom
gifts of real property and
personal property, respectively,
ELEMENTS OF
SUCCESSION
4. Acceptance - acceptance
of inheritance may be express
or tacit; an express
acceptance may be made in a
public/private document; a
tacit acceptance is on
resulting from acts by which
the intention to accept is
necessarily implied, or which
one would have no right to do
 EXECUTORS AND
ADMINISTRATORS
� EXECUTORS - person
appointed by a testator to carry
out the directions and request in
his will, and to dispose of the
property according to his
testamentary provisions after
his
� death.
ADMINISTRATORS - person
appointed by the court to
administer the assets and
liabilities of a decedent
 TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION
Wills
An act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities
prescribed by law, to control a certain degree the disposition
of his estate to take effect after his death.
Codicil
An instrument that amends (i.e. changes, modifies or
supplements) the provision of a will. It must be executed with
the same formalities as a will, but is only required to have a
provision or provisions amending a will.
Probate of a will
The court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or
invalid.
 WHO MAY
MAKE A WILL?
� All persons who are not expressly
prohibited by law may make a will. Persons
of either sex under 18 years of age, which is
the age of majority, cannot make a will.
REQUISITE:
 Must be in sound of mind at the time
of execution (knows the nature of the estate
to be disposed of, the proper objects and
the character of the testamentary act)
 WHO MAY SUCCEED
THE WILL?
� All persons who are not incapacitated by
law may succeed a will (ab intestato).
REQUISITES:
 Must be living at the moment the
succession opens, except in case of
representation, when it is proper.
 A child already conceived at the time of the
death of the decedent is capable of
succeeding provided it be born later.
FORMS OF WILLS
General rule: Every will must be in
writing and executed in a
language or dialect known to the
testator.
It also must be SUBSCRIBED at the end thereof by the
testator himself or by the testator’s name written by some
other person in his presence, and by his express direction,
and attested and subscribed by three or more credible
witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another.
Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by
the testator and the witness.
REVOCATION OF WILLS AND
TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS
� A will may be revoked by the testator at
any time before his death. Any waiver or
restriction of this right is void.
� A revocation of a will based on a false
cause or an illegal cause is null and void.
INSTITUTION OF AN HEIR
An act by virtue of which a testator designate in his
will the person/s who are to succeed him in his
property and transmissible rights and obligations.

LEGITIME
The part of the testator’s property which he cannot dispose of
because the has reserved it for certain heirs who are, therefore,
called compulsory heirs.
COMPULSORY HEIRS (TESTATE
SUCCESSION)
Legitimate Illegitimate
Legitimate
parents/ Surviving children/ Free Portion
children/
Ascendants Spouse Descendants
Descendants

1/2 Excluded Same as the ½ of the Varies

legitime of a legitime of a
legitimate child legitimate child
None surviving ½ None surviving None surviving ½

None surviving ½ ¼ None surviving ¼

None surviving None surviving ½ None surviving ½

None surviving None surviving 1/3 1/3 1/3

*Refer to page 10-11 of Succession.pdf attached

LEGAL OR INTESTATE
SUCCESSION
 If a person dies without leaving a will, the person is

said to have died intestate, a status known as

intestacy.
 A person who succeeds in the ownership of an
intestate decedent’s property is said to take the
property by intestate succession.
*Refer to page 2-6 of Table-Succession.pdf
attached
WHEN LEGAL OR INESTATE SUCCESSION
TAKES PLACE?
1. If a person dies without a will, or with a void will,
one which has subsequently lost its validity.
2. When the will does not institute an heir to, or
dispose of all the property belonging to the
testator.
3. If the suspensive condition attached to the
institution of heirs does not happen or is not
fulfilled, or if the heir dies before the testator, or
repudiates the inheritance, there being no
substitution, and no right of accretion takes place.
4. When the heir instituted is incapable of
 WHAT IS
DISINHERITANCE?
� When a person expect or is expected
to inherit, but does not, the person is said
to be disinherited.
� A compulsory heir may, in
consequence of disinheritance, be
deprived of his legitime, for causes
expressly stated by law.
� Disinheritance can be effected only
through a will wherein the legal cause
therefore shall be specified.
CONSANGUINITY
 The relation of persons descending
from the same stock or common
ancestor. Known as blood relatives,
it may be lineal or collateral.
LINEAL CONSANGUINITY
 May be descending or ascending, is that
which subsists between persons of whom
one is descended in a direct line from the
other, as between son, father, grandfather,
great-grandfather, and so upwards in the
direct ascending line; or between son,
grandson, great-grandson, and so
downwards in the direct descending line.
COLLATERAL CONSANGUINITY
 Subsists between persons who have the
same ancestors, but who not descend (or
ascend) one from the other.
RIGHT OF REPRESENTATION
 REPRESENTATION - is a right created by fiction of law,
by virtue of which representative is raised to the
place and the degree of the person represented and
acquires the rights which the latter would have if he
were living or if he could inherited.
*** The right of representation takes place in the direct
descending line, but never in the ascending.
 FULL BLOOD RELATIONSHIP - is that existing between
persons who have the same parents.
 HALF BLOOD RELATIONSHIP - have the same
father/mother, but not the same mother/father.
ORDER OF INESTATE SUCCESSION
1. Descending Direct Line

Legitimate children or their descendants succeed the

parents and other ascendants, without distinction as to sex or
age, and even if they should come from different marriages.
2. Ascending Direct Line

In default of legitimate children and descendants of the

deceased, his parents and ascendants shall inherit from him, to
the exclusion of collateral relatives.
3. Illegitimate Children
If a widow or widower survives with illegitimate children,
such widow or widower shall be entitled to one-half of the
inheritance and the illegitimate children or their descendants,
whether legitimate or illegitimate, to the other half.
4. Surviving Pose

In the absence of legitimate descendants and ascendants,

and illegitimate children and their descendants, whether
legitimate or illegitimate, the surviving spouse shall inherit the
entire estate.
5. Collateral Relatives

If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate

children, or a surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall
succeed to the entire estate of the deceased.
6. The State

In default of persons entitled to succeed in accordance with

law, the state shall inherit the whole estate.
 WHEN DOES DISTRIBUTION OF
HEREDITARY ESTATE TAX TAKES
PLACE?
� The executor or judicial administrator has
the task of making sure that the estate tax
has been paid before he delivers a distributive
share to any party interested in the estate.
� In estate taxation, the gross estate of
citizens and residents include all their
property wherever situated. This gross estate
is allowed deductions under the tax law; the
difference called the net taxable estate is the
basis of the estate tax to be imposed.