Civil Code, Article 896 — Illegitimate Children With Ascendants

What this article means

Illegitimate children surviving with the legitimate parents or ascendants of the deceased are entitled to one-fourth of the estate, taken from the portion the testator could freely dispose of.

How this article reads today. The share stated above was worked out on the classification of children used when this Code took effect in 1950. Article 176 of the Family Code now provides that the legitime of each illegitimate child is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child, and that “except for this modification, all other provisions in the Civil Code governing successional rights shall remain in force.” Read this article subject to that rule. The Family Code also recognises a single class of illegitimate child, so the Civil Code’s older sub-classifications no longer apply.

Questions about this provision

• If someone dies leaving an illegitimate child and their own parents are still alive, what share does the illegitimate child get?

Related provisions

• Article 895 — Legitime by the Old Sub-Classes.
• Article 897 — Spouse With Acknowledged Natural Children.

Cases interpreting this article

• Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.