Legal Insights
Plain-language guides and case briefs on Philippine law — researched from the firm's law library of 184,000+ statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and agency issuances, and written so non-lawyers can understand and act on them.
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Heirship Disputes: Why Summary Judgments Fail When Inheritance Rights Are Unclear
Supreme Court explains why summary judgment cannot resolve contested heirship and inheritance rights in estate administration cases.
Heirship in Property Disputes: Can Ordinary Civil Actions Decide Inheritance?
The Supreme Court clarifies when heirship can be resolved in an ordinary civil action, not just special proceedings, for property disputes.
Heirs Can Assert Succession Rights Without Prior Judicial Declaration: Treyes v. Larlar
The Supreme Court clarifies that legal heirs may enforce their successional rights in an ordinary civil action without first securing a judicial declaration of heirship.
Expropriation and Heirship: Who Pays Commissioners' Fees in Just Compensation Claims
Supreme Court clarifies that landowners, not Land Bank, pay commissioners' fees in agrarian expropriation cases when they initiate just compensation claims.
Filiation and Estate Administration: Clarifying the Scope of DNA Evidence in Determining Heirship
The Supreme Court clarifies when DNA test results may—and may not—be used to remove a special administrator in estate proceedings.
Heirship Disputes Must Be Resolved in Special Proceedings, Not Ordinary Civil Actions
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies that determining legal heirs requires a special proceeding, not an ordinary action for reconveyance.
Heirship Rights and Legal Standing in Stockholder Claims: Puno v. Puno Enterprises
Heirs of a deceased stockholder do not automatically gain stockholder rights. Learn the rules on inspection, dividends, and estate settlement.
Proof Beyond Doubt Establishing Heirship IN Property Disputes
Heirship Rights vs. Execution Sales: Protecting Inherited Property in the Philippines
Learn how the Supreme Court protects heirs' rights when inherited property faces competing claims, and what the Dela Cruz ruling means for Filipino families.
Heirship and Filiation: Proving Inheritance Rights in Property Disputes
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on proving filiation through baptismal certificates and the rights of heirs in property disputes.
Determining Heirship A Prerequisite TO Civil Actions Involving Inheritance Rights
Co-Ownership Lost by Sale: Acquired Title Prevails Over Unasserted Heirship
When siblings sell inherited land without one heir, the buyer's 30-year possession can defeat the omitted heir's claim. Here's why.
Challenging Filiation: When Can Heirship Be Contested in Property Disputes
Philippine law sets strict rules on when filiation can be challenged in inheritance cases. Learn the key principles and deadlines.
Alien Land Ownership: Constitutional Ban Survives Even After Heirs Become Filipino Citizens
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on land reconstitution, alien ownership bans, and how Filipino heirship cures constitutional defects.
Philippine Estate Law: Why Probate Courts Decide Heirship and Property Disputes
The Supreme Court explains why probate courts have exclusive jurisdiction over heirship and estate property disputes in Ong v. Court of Appeals.
Heirship First, Claim Later: Proving You're an Heir Before Filing Property Disputes in the Philippines
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on why heirs must first be declared in special proceedings before filing property reconveyance cases.