What specific reasons does the law actually allow for a parent to disinherit a child?

A closed list, and it covers every child

Article 919 opens: The following shall be sufficient causes for the disinheritance of children and descendants, legitimate as well as illegitimate: (1) When a child or descendant has been found guilty of an attempt against the life of the testator, his or her spouse, descendants, or ascendants; Two things are settled by that sentence alone. The grounds are the ones the Code supplies and nothing else — estrangement, marrying against a parent's wishes, changing religion, migrating and losing touch are not on the list. And the article applies to legitimate and illegitimate children alike, so an illegitimate child has the same protection and the same exposure.

The grounds that need a court, not a parent's belief

Four of the eight turn on an adjudicated fact rather than on family opinion. A finding of guilt for an attempt against the life of the testator, his spouse, descendants or ascendants is the first. Accusing the testator of a crime punishable by imprisonment of six years or more counts only if the accusation was found groundless. Adultery or concubinage with the testator's spouse requires a conviction, and so does the eighth ground, a crime carrying the penalty of civil interdiction. Where the ground rests on a case, a case that was never resolved will not carry the disinheritance.

The grounds that turn on conduct

The remaining grounds describe behaviour, and they are the ones families actually invoke. A child who by fraud, violence, intimidation or undue influence causes the testator to make a will or change one already made may be disinherited. So may one who refuses without justifiable cause to support the parent or ascendant, one guilty of maltreatment of the testator by word or deed, and one who leads a dishonourable or disgraceful life. These are broader in wording and correspondingly harder to prove, and Article 917 places the burden of proving the cause on the other heirs if the disinherited child denies it.

Having a ground is only half of it

The cause must be used correctly or it does nothing. Article 916 permits disinheritance only through a will in which the legal cause is specified, so a ground that exists but is never written down is wasted. Article 918 supplies the penalty for a defective attempt. Article 922 wipes out a disinheritance if the parties later reconcile. And under Article 923, the children of a disinherited person take his place and preserve the rights of compulsory heirs as to the legitime, though the disinherited parent gets no usufruct or administration over it — disinheriting a child does not cut off that child's own line.

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.

• Rosario Mata Castro and Joanne Benedicta Charissima M. Castro, a.k.a. "Maria Scorro M. Castro" and "Jayrose M. Castro" vs. Jose Maria Jed Lemuel Gregorio and Ana Maria Regina Gregorio, G.R. No. 188801, October 15, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Isabelita S. Lahom vs. Jose Melvin Sibulo, G.R. No. 143989, July 14, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →

Related provisions

• Civil Code, Article 919 — Grounds to Disinherit Children and Descendants
• Civil Code, Article 916 — Disinheritance Must Be in a Will
• Civil Code, Article 917 — Who Must Prove the Cause
• Civil Code, Article 918 — Defective Disinheritance
• Civil Code, Article 923 — The Disinherited Heir's Children Take His Place