653 Phil. 519; 107 OG No. 44, 5552 (October 31, 2011)
CARPIO MORALES, J.:
Every compulsory heir, who succeeds with other compulsory heirs, must bring into the mass of the estate any property or right which he may have received from the decedent, during the lifetime of the latter, by way of donation, or any other gratuitous title in order that it may be computed in the determination of the legitime of each heir, and in the account of the partition.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered declaring that:
- The property covered by TCT No. 181889 of the Register of Deeds of Makati as part of the estate of Angel N. Pascual;
- The property covered by TCT No. 181889 to be subject to collation;
- 1/3 of the rental receivables due on the property at the mezzanine and the 3rd floor of Unit 1110 Tanay St., Makati City form part of the estate of Angel N. Pascual;
- The following properties form part of the estate of Angel N. Pascual:
- 1/3 share in the House and Lot at 1110 Tanay St., Rizal Village Makati TCT No. 348341 and 1/3 share in the rental income thereon;
- 1/3 share in the Vacant Lot with an area of 271 square meters located at Tanay St., Rizal Village, Makati City, TCT No. 119063;
- Agricultural land with an area of 3.8 hectares located at Puerta Galera Mindoro covered by OCT No. P-2159;
- Shares of stocks in San Miguel Corporation covered by the following Certificate Numbers: A0011036, A006144, A082906, A006087, A065796, A11979, A049521, C86950, C63096, C55316, C54824, C120328, A011026, C12865, A10439, A021401, A007218, A0371, S29239, S40128, S58308, S69309;
- Shares of stocks in Paper Industries Corp. covered by the following Certificate Numbers: S29239, S40128, S58308, S69309, A006708, 07680, A020786, S18539, S14649;
- ΒΌ share in Eduardo Pascual's shares in Baguio Gold Mining Co.;
- Cash in Banco De Oro Savings Account No. 2 014 12292 4 in the name of Nona Arellano;
- Property previously covered by TCT No. 119053 now covered by TCT No. 181889, Register of Deeds of Makati City;
- Rental receivables from Raul Arellano per Order issued by Branch 64 of the Court on November 17, 1995.
- AND the properties are partitioned as follows:
- To heir Amelia P. Arellano-the property covered by TCT No. 181889;
- To heirs Francisco N. Pascual and Miguel N. Pascual-the real properties covered by TCT Nos. 348341 and 119063 of the Register of Deeds of Makati City and the property covered by OCT No. 2159, to be divided equally between them up to the extent that each of their share have been equalized with the actual value of the property in 5(a) at the time of donation, the value of which shall be determined by an independent appraiser to be designated by Amelia P. Arellano, Miguel N. Pascual and Francisco N. Pascual. If the real properties are not sufficient to equalize the shares, then Francisco's and Miguel's shares may be satisfied from either in cash property or shares of stocks, at the rate of quotation. The remaining properties shall be divided equally among Francisco, Miguel and Amelia. (emphasis and underscoring supplied)
andI
. . . THE PROPERTY DONATED TO APPELLANT AMELIA PASCUAL ARELLANO IS PART OF THE ESTATE OF ANGEL PASCUAL, JR.II
. . . THE PROPERTY DONATED TO APPELLANT IS SUBJECT TO COLLATION UNDER ARTICLE 1061 OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE.III
. . . APPELLEES WHO ARE MERELY COLLATERAL RELATIVES OF DECEASED ANGEL N. PASCUAL JR. AS HIS COMPULSORY HEIRS ENTITLED TO LEGITIMES.
x x x x
V
. . . IN NOT PARTITIONING THE ESTATE OF ANGEL N. PASCUAL JR. EQUALLY AMONG HIS LEGAL OR INTESTATE HEIRS.[6] (underscoring supplied)
Bearing in mind that in intestate succession, what governs is the rule on equality of division, We hold that the property subject of donation inter vivos in favor of Amelia is subject to collation. Amelia cannot be considered a creditor of the decedent and we believe that under the circumstances, the value of such immovable though not strictly in the concept of advance legitime, should be deducted from her share in the net hereditary estate. The trial court therefore committed no reversible error when it included the said property as forming part of the estate of Angel N. Pascual.[8] (citation omitted; emphasis and underscoring supplied)
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the present appeal is hereby PARTLY GRANTED. The Decision dated January 29, 2008 of the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, Branch 135 in Special Proceeding Case No. M-5034 is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE insofar as the order of inclusion of properties of the Intestate Estate of Angel N. Pascual, Jr. as well as the partition and distribution of the same to the co-heirs are concerned.
The case is hereby REMANDED to the said court for further proceedings in accordance with the disquisitions herein.[9] (underscoring supplied)
I
. . . THAT THE PROPERTY DONATED BY ANGEL N. PASCUAL, JR. TO PETITIONER AMELIA PASCUAL ARELLANO IS PART OF HIS ESTATE AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH.II
. . . THAT THE PROPERTY DONATED TO PETITIONER IS SUBJECT TO COLLATION UNDER ARTICLE 1061 OF THE NEW CIVIL CODE.III
. . . THAT RESPONDENTS ARE COMPULSORY HEIRS OF THEIR DECEASED BROTHER ANGEL N. PASCUAL JR. AND ARE ENTITLED TO LEGITIMES.IV
. . . IN NOT PARTITIONING THE ESTATE OF ANGEL N. PASCUAL, JR. EQUALLY AMONG PETITIONER AND RESPONDENTS, AS HIS LEGAL OR INTESTATE HEIRS.[12] (underscoring supplied)
The compulsory heirs may be classified into (1) primary, (2) secondary, and (3) concurring. The primary compulsory heirs are those who have precedence over and exclude other compulsory heirs; legitimate children and descendants are primary compulsory heirs. The secondary compulsory heirs are those who succeed only in the absence of the primary heirs; the legitimate parents and ascendants are secondary compulsory heirs. The concurring compulsory heirs are those who succeed together with the primary or the secondary compulsory heirs; the illegitimate children, and the surviving spouse are concurring compulsory heirs.[17]
Art. 1003. If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, or a surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall succeed to the entire estate of the deceased in accordance with the following articles. (underscoring supplied)
Art. 1004. Should the only survivors be brothers and sisters of the full blood, they shall inherit in equal shares. (emphasis and underscoring supplied)