Philippines
Inheritance legal mechanisms
The Civil Code, 1987:
- It is strongly influenced by the Spanish Civil Code
- Article 900: defines what share of the estate should go to the surviving spouse.
- Articles 995 and 996: in the absence of a will, when there are no descendants, the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. If there are descendants, the estate is divided equally among them and the surviving spouse.
- According to Articles 802 and 803, a married woman can make wills without the consent of her husband; she can also dispose of her separate property and of a share of communal property (11).
- Article 1090. When the title comprises two or more pieces of land which have been assigned to two or more co-heirs, or when it covers one piece of land which has been divided between two or more co-heirs, the title shall be delivered to the one having the largest interest, and authentic copies of the title shall be furnished to the other co-heirs at the expense of the estate. If the interest of each co-heir should be the same, the oldest shall have the title
The Code of Muslim Personal Laws, 1977:
- Muslim women inherit half of the share inherited by men in the same succession position (11).
- Article 96: after the expiry of the “idda” a repudiated woman no longer has the right to inherit from her husband
- Article 111: The husband surviving together with a legitimate child or a child of the decedent's son is entitled to one-fourth of the hereditary estate. If there are no such descendants, he inherits one-half of the estate.
- Article 112: The wife surviving together with a legitimate child or a child of the decedent's son is entitled to one-eighth of the hereditary estate. In the absence of such descendants, she inherits one-fourth of the estate
Sources: numbers in brackets (*) refer to sources displayed in the Bibliography