Inheritance rights

Dear Atty. Peachy,

I lived with my partner for eight years before he passed away last month. We have three kids. He was married before we got together, and he was not able to pursue an annulment of his marriage before he passed away because he mentioned he was still saving up for it. He did not sign an acknowledgment of paternity for our kids on their birth certificates, fearing it might affect his annulment case. My partner was the sole breadwinner of our family. I also do not have access to his bank accounts. The house we live in is under his name, and my friends are telling me that his legal wife can claim it anytime. Is this true? Don’t my kids have a right to inherit from their father, too? I am worried about my children’s future. If they receive some inheritance from their father, it could help pay for their education and support their other needs, including shelter.

Pia

Dear Pia,

Under Philippine law on succession, children have inheritance rights from their parents, regardless of the parents’ marital status. In cases where there is no will, the Civil Code of the Philippines governs the rules of intestate succession, which determines how the estate of a deceased person is distributed among their heirs.

In this scenario, since your deceased partner did not acknowledge paternity on the birth certificates, establishing the filiation of the children as his heirs will require legal processes. Filiation may be established after the death of a putative parent through an admission of filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument, signed by the parent concerned.

Regarding the house owned by your deceased partner, it is part of his estate and is subject to the rules of succession. The legal wife, if still legally married to him at the time of his death, may have a claim to a portion of his estate, including the house.

Atty. Peachy Selda-Gregorio