Dela Merced v. Dela Merced
G.R. No. 126707, February 25, 1999
On 23 March 1987, Evarista Dela Merced died intestate, without issue. She was survived by three sets of heirs: (1) Francisco Dela Merced, her legitimate brother; (2) Teresita Rupisan, her niece who is the only daughter of Rosa Dela Merced, a sister who died in 1943; and the legitimate children of Eugenia Dela Merced, another sister who died in 1965. Almost a year later or on 19 March 1988, Francisco, Evarista’s brother, died. He was survived by his wife, three legitimate children and an illegitimate child, private respondent Joselito. The three sets of heirs of the decedent Evarista executed an extrajudicial settlement adjudicating the properties of Evarista to them, each set with a share of one-third pro-indiviso. Joselito later filed a petition for Annulment of the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate of the Deceased Evarista alleging that he was fraudulently omitted from the said settlement made by petitioners, who were fully aware of his relation to the late Francisco. He thus prayed to be included as one of the beneficiaries, to share in the one-third pro-indiviso share in the estate of the deceased Evarista, corresponding to the heirs of Francisco. Petitioners, on the other hand, alleged the Joselito, being an illegitimate child, is barred from inheriting from Evarista because of Article 992 of the Civil Code, which lays down an impassable barrier between legitimate and illegitimate families.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Article 992 of the Civil Code or the “iron-barrier rule” is applicable
No. What is involved here is not a situation where an illegitimate child would inherit ab intestato from a legitimate sister of his father, which is prohibited, but one where an illegitimate child inherits from his father what the latter already inherited from the deceased sister. Evarista died ahead of Francisco. Thus, Francisco inherited a portion of the estate of Evarista. When Francisco died, his heirs inherited his share in the estate of Evarista. This is consistent with Article 777 of the Civil Code, which provides that “the rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the death of the decedent. Therefore, Joselito, as an illegitimate child of Francisco, is entitled to his share in his father’s estate upon the latter’s death and which included the latter’s share inherited from Evarista.
