Estate And Inheritance Lawyers Philippines

An estate, inheritance, or probate lawyer in the Philippines is a licensed member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines who has gained years of experience in advising the representative (known as an Executor if there is a will or an Administrator if there is no will) designated by a deceased person (known as the decedent) or by the court in proceedings known as a probate (if there is a will) or Settlement of an Intestate Estate (if there is no will). Other jurisdictions, such as the United States, use the term “probate” whether or not there is a will.

If the decedent had no known creditors and the heirs are all identified and have agreed among themselves on the distribution of the properties of the decedent, an extrajudicial partition can be drawn up, published in accordance with the law, and registered with the Register of Deeds after the payment of the appropriate taxes, indicating the names of the heirs with their respective shares on the title.

However, if there are creditors and the heirs could not come to an agreement, the estate is settled by going to court.

Succession cases in the Philippines normally fall into two basic categories: Testate (with a will) or Intestate (without a will). If a deceased relative died with a will, whether executed in a foreign country or not, it can be probated in the Philippines. However, when the will is executed abroad, the formalities and the law of the foreign state must usually be proved. The process for this is called the probate of a will, where the due execution and authenticity of the will must be established, the heirs identified, and creditors, including the government regarding pending taxes, notified if applicable. After the distribution of the estate of the deceased, either through an agreed plan of settlement between the heirs or a court mandate based on the law, titles to real properties are transferred in the names of the heirs so designated, and personal properties, including cash in bank accounts, are distributed. A similar procedure is followed in intestate cases, except that there are no probate proceedings.

The process is typically adversarial and involves court proceedings requiring the submission of evidence, accounting, and inventory of assets, as well as the satisfaction of liabilities. The proceedings only conclude when the estate is closed and all issues affecting the estate are resolved, mediated, or agreed upon by the heirs.

Attorney’s fees and costs for estate cases depend on factors such as the amount or extent of the estate, the location of the properties, the current status of the titles involved, and the creditors of the estate. In most cases, documentation may not be readily available, in which case due diligence should be conducted first to determine the extent of the estate.