Life After Death…

When a person dies, his or her property is transferred to the rightful heirs. The heirs have to settle the estate of the decedent, either judicially or extra-judicially.

Commonly, in Philippine jurisdiction, the heirs settle the entire estate extra-judicially. Meaning, there is no need to go to the Court. The heirs will voluntarily settle the subject property among themselves. Those who wish to waive their shares are free to do so in writing.

If there are two or more heirs, they have to execute a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate of the decedent. (If there is only one heir, he/she has to execute an Affidavit of Self-Adjudication of the Estate of the decedent.)

Take note, however, that the following are the conditions that must be satisfied if the heirs wish to resort to extra-judicial settlement of estate:

(1) That the decedent left no will;

(2) That the decedent has no debts or his debts have been fully paid.;

(3) That the heirs are all of legal age or the minors are duly represented by their judicial or legal representatives;

(4) A public instrument is duly executed by the heirs and filed with the Register of Deeds.

The Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement should likewise state the following information:

(1) The fact that the decedent left no will;

(2) The fact that the decedent left no debt;

(3) The relationship of the heir to the decedent;

(4) The fact that the heirs are the only surviving heirs of the decedent;

(5) The list and brief description of the decedent’s properties (both real and personal) that the heirs intend to divide among themselves; and

(6) How the properties are to be divided among the heirs.

The Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement must be duly notarized and has to be published in a newspaper of general circulation for three (3) consecutive weeks. After the last date of publication, the heirs have to secure from the publisher an Affidavit of Publication. This Affidavit of Publication shall be part of the documents to be submitted later to certain government agencies, such as the Registry of Deeds and Assessor’s Office.

Prior to the transfer of the property of a decedent to the heirs, the Estate Tax has to be paid first before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). After submitting the required documents to the BIR and after payment of the taxes and fees, the BIR shall issue a Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR). This CAR is a mandatory requirement before the title of the property will be transferred to the heir/s.

There are some instances where one or more heirs are not available to process the necessary requirements/documents. In which case, a Special Power of Attorney is necessary to be executed by such absent heir/s.

Aside from the Deed of Extrajudical Settlement (EJS) or Affidavit of Self-Adjudication, there are other documentary requirements that are submitted to certain government agencies before a property is transferred from the decedent to the heir/s are the following: Certificate of Title (Original/Transfer), certified true copy of the latest Tax Declaration issued by the Local Assessor’s Office for land and improvement, government issued IDs, Death Certificate of the decedent, Special Power of Attorney (SPA) when applicable, and others.

Another government agency that the heirs should deal with is the Registry of Deeds (ROD). This agency shall require the submission of the documents pertinent to the transfer of the properties of the deceden. It is the Registry of Deeds that shall cancel the previous Certificate of Title and shall thereafter issue a new Certificate, this time under the names of the new owners.

Once the Certificate of Title is issued by the Registry of Deeds, the heirs then have to go to the Assessor’s Office for the issuance of a new Tax Declaration in the name of the new owners.

Long process? Kinda… but as it is said:

“The only way out is through.”

DISCLAIMER:

The foregoing information is provided as general information. It should not be considered as legal advice. The same does not intend to solicit legal services. Finally, this article is not provided in the course of any attorney-client relationship between the herein author and anobody who views it.