Karapatan ng ilehitimong anak sa insurance proceed ng yumaong ama

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | Pebrero 5, 2023

Ang isang hindi lehitimong anak, ayon sa batas ay mayroon ding karapatang magmana mula sa kanyang ama. Kaya kung siya ay may karapatang magmana, siya rin ay may karapatang makinabang sa life insurance proceeds ng kanyang ama kung sakaling siya ay inilagay nito sa insurance policy bilang benepisaryo. Ito ay maliwanag sa Section 53 ng Insurance Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 612) na inamyendahan ng Republic Act No. 10607, kung saan nakasaad na ang proceeds ng life insurance ay eksklusibong ibinibigay sa taong nakalagay na benepisyaryo. Kaya maaaring kunin ng hindi lehitimong anak na itinalagang benepisaryo ang life insurance proceeds ng kanyang namayapang ama dahil wala namang batas na nagbabawal nito.

Ipinaliwanag ang prinsipyong ito ng Korte Suprema sa kasong Maramag vs. Maramag (G.R. No. 181132, June 5, 2009; Ponente: Honorable former Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura) kung saan tinalakay ang mga sumusunod:

“Section 53 of the Insurance Code states—

SECTION 53. The insurance proceeds shall be applied exclusively to the proper interest of the person in whose name or for whose benefit it is made unless otherwise specified in the policy.

Pursuant thereto, it is obvious that that the only persons entitled to claim the insurance proceeds are either the insured, if still alive; or the beneficiary if the insured is already deceased, upon the maturation of the policy. The exception to this rule is a situation where the insurance contract was intended to benefit third persons who are not parties to the same in the form of favorable stipulations or indemnity. In such a case, third parties may directly sue and claim from the insurer.

“The revocation of Eva as a beneficiary in one policy and her disqualification as such in another are of no moment considering that the designation of the illegitimate children as beneficiaries in Loreto’s insurance policies remains valid. Because no legal proscription exists in naming as beneficiaries the children of illicit relationships by the insured, the shares of Eva in the insurance proceeds, whether forfeited by the court in view of the prohibition on donations under Article 739 of the Civil Code or by the insurers themselves for reasons based on the insurance contracts, must be awarded to the illegitimate children, the designated beneficiaries, to the exclusion of the petitioners. It is only in cases where the insured has not designated any beneficiary or when the designated beneficiary is disqualified by law to receive the proceeds, that the insurance policy proceeds shall redound to the benefit of the estate of the insured.”

Ibig sabihin nito, ang insurance proceeds ay mapupunta sa kung sinuman ang itinalaga sa insurance policy, maliban lamang kung ito ay labag sa batas. Gaya ng nabanggit, ang pagiging hindi lehitimong anak ay hindi dahilan upang ang isang tao ay pagkaitan ng karapatan sa insurance proceeds kung saan siya ang nakapangalan na benepisaryo.