Maaari bang magmana ang manugang sa kanyang biyenan?

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | March 12, 2022

Dear Chief Acosta,

Wala na po ang asawa ko, at siya ay nauna pa sa aking biyenang babae. Wala kaming naging anak ng aking mister. Noong isang taon, namatay na ang kanyang ina. Walang iniwang huling habilin ukol sa kanyang pamana. Nag-iisang anak niya ang aking asawa. Mayroon po ba akong karapatan sa kanyang mana?

Chloe

Dear Chloe,

Para sa inyong kaalaman, sa kasong Petra Rosales vs. Fortunato Rosales (G.R. No. L-40789, 27 February 1987), sinabi ng ating Kataas-taasang Hukuman (First Division) na:

“ Art. 980. The children of the deceased shall always inherit from him in their own right, dividing the inheritance in equal shares."

Art. 981. Should children of the deceased and descendants of other children who are dead, survive, the former shall inherit in their own right, and the latter by right of representation."cralaw virtua1aw library

Art. 982. The grandchildren and other descendants shall inherit by right of representation, and if any one of them should have died, leaving several heirs, the portion pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in equal portions."cralaw virtua1aw library

Art. 999. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate children or their descendants and illegitimate children or their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate, such widow or widower shall be entitled to the same share as that of a legitimate child.’

There is no provision in the Civil Code. which states that a widow (surviving spouse) is an intestate heir of her mother-in-law. The entire Code is devoid of any provision, which entitles her to inherit from her mother-in-law either by her own right or by the right of representation. The provisions of the Code which relate to the order of intestate succession (Articles 978 to 1014) enumerate with meticulous exactitude the intestate heirs of a decedent, with the State as the final intestate heir. The conspicuous absence of a provision which makes a daughter-in-law an intestate heir of the deceased all the more confirms Our observation. If the legislature intended to make the surviving spouse an intestate heir of the parent-in-law, it would have so provided in the Code.” (Binigyang-diin.)

Maliwanag sa nabanggit na batas na walang karapatan ang biyuda ng anak ng isang nagpapamana o ang manugang (daughter-in-law) na magmana sa ina ng kanyang asawa o sa kanyang biyenan sapagkat hindi siya kabilang sa isinaad ng batas na magtataglay ng ganoong karapatan sa mga sitwasyong walang iniwang huling habilin ang yumaong nagpapamana (intestate succession).

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.