Spouses Buenaventura v. Court of Appeals
G.R. No. 126376. November 20, 2003
FACTS:
Defendant spouses Leonardo Joaquin and Feliciana Landrito are the parents of plaintiffs Consolacion, Nora, Emma and Natividad as well as of defendants Fidel, Tomas, Artemio, Clarita, Felicitas, Fe, and Gavino, all surnamed JOAQUIN. The married Joaquin children are joined in this action by their respective spouses. Sought to be declared null and void ab initio are certain deeds of sale covering 6 parcels of land executed by defendant parents Leonardo Joaquin and Feliciana Landrito in favor of their co-defendant children and the corresponding certificates of title issued in their names. In seeking the declaration of nullity of the aforesaid deeds of sale and certificates of title, plaintiffs, in their complaint, aver that the purported sale of the properties in litis was the result of a deliberate conspiracy designed to unjustly deprive the rest of the compulsory heirs (plaintiffs herein) of their legitime.
ISSUE:
Whether Petitioners have a legal interest over the properties subject of the Deeds of Sale
RULING:
Petitioners do not have any legal interest over the properties subject of the Deeds of Sale. As the appellate court stated, petitioners’ right to their parents’ properties is merely inchoate and vests only upon their parents’ death. While still living, the parents of petitioners are free to dispose of their properties. In their overzealousness to safeguard their future legitime, petitioners forget that theoretically, the sale of the lots to their siblings does not affect the value of their parents’ estate. While the sale of the lots reduced the estate, cash of equivalent value replaced the lots taken from the estate.
