Text of the provision
Art. 1012. In order that the State may take possession of the property mentioned in the preceding article, the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court must be observed.
(958a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
For the State to take possession of the property, the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court must be observed.
The property referred to is that of a person who dies without heirs entitled to succeed, which under the preceding article ultimately passes to the State — a process commonly called escheat. Rather than laying out its own procedure for the State to claim that property, this article defers entirely to the Rules of Court, meaning the mechanics of notice, proof that no heir exists, and the actual transfer of possession are matters of procedural law rather than substantive civil law, handled through court proceedings rather than by automatic operation of the Civil Code alone.
Questions about this provision
- If someone dies with no known heirs, does the government automatically take over the property, or does it have to go to court first?
- What procedure must the government follow before it can take possession of property that escheats to the State?
Related provisions
- Article 1011 — The State Inherits Last.
- Article 1013 — Where the Property Goes.
Cases citing this article
- Dr. Nixon L. Treyes vs. Antonio Larlar, et al, G.R. No. 232579, September 8, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.