Short answer. Often yes, which surprises people. Article 1032 makes an heir unworthy only in the cases it lists, and for an attempt against the decedent's life it requires a conviction. Violence that never produced one leaves the heir capable of succeeding, unless the parent disinherited him in a will.
What the law says
The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness: (1) Parents who have abandoned their children or induced their daughters to lead a corrupt or immoral life, or attempted against their virtue; (2) Any person who has been convicted of an attempt against the life of the testator, his or her spouse, descendants, or ascendants;
Civil Code, Article 1032 — Unworthiness to Succeed. Read the full provision →
Unworthiness is a list, not a judgment about character
Article 1032 begins: The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness: (1) Parents who have abandoned their children or induced their daughters to lead a corrupt or immoral life, or attempted against their virtue; (2) Any person who has been convicted of an attempt against the life of the testator, his or her spouse, descendants, or ascendants; Read the second paragraph closely. What disqualifies is a conviction, and the offence described is an attempt against life. An assault that stopped short of that, or one that was never prosecuted, does not fit — however ugly the conduct was.
A pending case is not enough either
Article 1034 supplies the timing rule. Capacity is judged by the heir's qualification at the moment of the decedent's death, and in the cases falling under numbers 2, 3 and 5 of Article 1032 it is necessary to wait until final judgment is rendered. So an heir facing charges when the parent dies is not excluded on that account; the exclusion depends on how the criminal case ends. Families who expect the estate to be settled quickly on the strength of a filed complaint are usually disappointed, and the settlement waits on the criminal court rather than the other way round.
The route that does not need a conviction
Disinheritance is the answer the Code actually provides for this situation. Among the grounds in Article 919 is maltreatment of the testator by word or deed by a child or descendant, which requires no criminal case at all. But it is only available to a parent who uses it, because Article 916 permits disinheritance only through a will in which the legal cause is specified. A parent who was assaulted and who wants that child out of the estate must write it down while he can; nothing happens automatically because the family knows what occurred.
Forgiveness, and the heir's own children
Two qualifications complete the picture. Article 1033 provides that the cause of unworthiness has no effect if the testator knew of it when he made the will, or, having learned of it afterwards, condoned it in writing — so a parent who forgave in a signed document has settled the matter. And exclusion is personal: under Article 1035, where the person excluded is a child or descendant of the decedent and has children of his own, they acquire his right to the legitime, though he enjoys neither its usufruct nor its administration. The grandchildren are not disqualified by their parent's conduct.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Pedro Generosa, et al. vs. Pacita Prangan-Valera, G.R. No. 166521, August 31, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1032 — Unworthiness to Succeed
- Civil Code, Article 1033 — Condoning Unworthiness
- Civil Code, Article 1034 — When Capacity Is Judged
- Civil Code, Article 1035 — The Excluded Heir's Children Represent Him
- Civil Code, Article 919 — Grounds to Disinherit Children and Descendants