CIVIL LAW QUESTION 1999
Mr. and Mrs. Cruz, who are childless, met with a serious motor vehicle accident with Mr. Cruz at the wheel and Mrs. Cruz seated beside him, resulting in the instant death of Mr. Cruz. Mrs. Cruz was still alive when help came but she also died on the way to the hospital. The couple acquired properties worth One Million (P1 ,000,000.00) Pesos during their marriage, which are being claimed by the parents of both spouses in equal shares. Is the claim of both sets of parents valid and why?
(b) Suppose in the preceding question, both Mr. and Mrs. Cruz were already dead when help came, so that no-body could say who died ahead of the other, would your answer be the same to the question as to who are entitled to the properties of the deceased couple?
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
(a) No, the claim of both parents is not valid. When Mr. Cruz died, he was succeeded by his wife and his parents as his intestate heirs who will share his estate equally. His estate was 0.5 Million pesos which is his half share in the wife, will, therefore, inherit 0.25 Million Pesos and his parents will inherit 0.25 Million Pesos. When Mrs. Cruz died, she was succeeded by her parents as her intestate heirs. They will inherit all of her estate consisting of her 0.5 Million half share in the absolute community and her 0.25 Million inheritance from her husband, or a total of 0.750 Million Pesos.
In sum, the parents of Mr. Cruz will inherit 250,000 Pesos while the parents of Mrs. Cruz will inherit 750,000 Pesos.
(b) This being a case of succession, in the absence of proof as to the time of death of each of the spouses, it is presumed they died at the same time and no transmission of rights from one to the other is deemed to have taken place. Therefore, each of them is deemed to have an estate valued at P500,000,00, or one-half of their conjugal property of P1 million. Their respective parents will thus inherit the entire P1 Million in equal shares, of P500,000.00 per set of parents
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