Case Summary (G.R. No. L-19382)
Key Dates and Applicable Law
- Petition for summary settlement filed on December 22, 1960
- Resolution excluding petitioner as heir dated September 20, 1961
- Motion to reconsider denied on October 16, 1961
- Decision rendered on August 31, 1965
The applicable law is the Civil Code of the Philippines in force at that time, including articles 966, 975, 1001, 1004, 1005, and 1009, and relevant provisions of the 1889 Spanish Civil Code as precedent.
Factual Background
Melodia Ferraris left several properties in Cebu City, including a one-third share in the estate of her aunt valued at approximately P6,000. She died intestate with no spouse, descendants, or ascendants surviving her. The only surviving relatives were collateral relatives: the petitioner, an aunt (half-sister of Melodia’s father), and the appellees, children of Melodia’s predeceased full-blood brother.
Issue Presented
The central issue is who is entitled to inherit Melodia Ferraris’ estate under intestate succession laws when only collateral relatives survive—specifically, whether an aunt (petitioner) can inherit alongside or should be excluded by nieces and nephews (respondents) who are children of the decedent’s predeceased brother.
Trial Court Ruling
The lower court excluded the aunt petitioner from succession on the ground that the nephews and nieces, as children of a brother, are nearer in degree of relationship (two degrees) and succeed by right of representation, whereas the aunt is three degrees removed. The court relied on Article 1009 of the Civil Code which excludes more distant collaterals when closer relatives such as brothers, sisters, or their children survive.
Petitioner’s Argument
The petitioner argued that she and the nephews and nieces are equally related at three degrees of consanguinity because degrees in collateral succession are measured by ascending to the common ancestor and then descending to the heir (Article 966). Furthermore, she maintained that under Article 975, nieces and nephews inherit by representation only if they survive alongside uncles or aunts; otherwise, they inherit in equal portions and cannot exclude other collaterals such as an aunt.
Supreme Court’s Analysis on Degrees of Relationship
The Court agreed that both the aunt and the nephews and nieces are three degrees removed from the decedent, confirming the proper method of degree calculation per Article 966. The Court also acknowledged that nephews and nieces derive their rights by representation only when uncles or aunts coexist with them as heirs, citing Article 975.
Interpretation of Relevant Civil Code Provisions on Succession Preference
The Court emphasized that the nephews and nieces, as children of the decedent’s brother, exclude other collateral relatives like uncles, aunts, and cousins in inheriting intestate under Articles 1001, 1004, 1005, and 1009 of the Civil Code. Article 1009 specifically requires the absence of brothers, sisters, or their children before more distant relatives can inherit.
Historical Precedent from Spanish Civil Code
The Court referenced analogous provisions in the 1889 Spanish Civil Code which also placed brothers, sisters, and their children ahead of other collateral relatives and the surviving spouse in intestate succession, confir
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. L-19382)
Case Background and Procedural Posture
- This case arises from a summary settlement proceeding of the estate of Melodia Ferraris, heretofore conducted in the Court of First Instance of Cebu, Third Branch, Special Proceeding No. 2177-R.
- Petitioner-appellant, Filomena Abellana de Bacayo, appeals a resolution dated September 20, 1961, excluding her as an heir in the estate settlement, and an order dated October 16, 1961, denying her motion to reconsider.
- The appeal is brought directly to the Supreme Court as a pauper’s appeal, challenging the exclusion of the appellant from inheritance by the lower court’s ruling.
- Facts indicate Melodia Ferraris resided in Cebu City until 1937, thereafter moving to Intramuros, Manila, where she lived continuously until 1944; her whereabouts have since been unknown.
- More than ten years having elapsed without any news or evidence of life, Melodia Ferraris was declared presumptively dead to open succession and distribute her estate.
Facts Regarding the Decedent’s Estate and Heirs
- Melodia Ferraris left properties in Cebu, notably a one-third share in the estate of her aunt, Rosa Ferraris, worth about P6,000.00, subject of a prior adjudication.
- She left no surviving direct descendants, ascendants, or spouse.
- The only surviving relatives are collateral: Filomena Abellana de Bacayo, the decedent’s aunt and half-sister of the decedent’s father Anacleto Ferraris, and the appellees/oppositors Gaudencia, Catalina, Conchita, and Juanito Ferraris—nieces and nephew who are children of Arturo Ferraris, Melodia’s full-blood brother who predeceased her.
- The parties contest who should inherit the estate: the aunt or the children of the predeceased brother.
Legal Issue Presented
- The primary legal issue: Who inherits intestate when a deceased person is survived only by collateral relatives comprising an aunt and children of a predeceased full-blood brother?
- In particular, whether the aunt is entitled to inherit alongside the nieces and nephew or is excluded by them.
Lower Court's Ruling
- The trial court ruled in favor of the nieces and nephew, holding that they, as children of Melodia's only predeceased brother, were nearer heirs and thus exclude the aunt.
- Reasoning: nieces and nephew are within two degrees of relationship by right of representation whereas the aunt is three degrees removed.
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