Text of the provision
Art. 903. The legitime of the parents who have an illegitimate child, when such child leaves neither legitimate descendants, nor a surviving spouse, nor illegitimate children, is one-half of the hereditary estate of such illegitimate child. If only legitimate or illegitimate children are left, the parents are not entitled to any legitime whatsoever. If only the widow or widower survives with parents of the illegitimate child, the legitime of the parents is one-fourth of the hereditary estate of the child, and that of the surviving spouse also one-fourth of the estate.
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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
Where an illegitimate child dies leaving no descendants, spouse or illegitimate children, the legitime of his parents is one-half of his estate. If he leaves children, the parents take no legitime at all. If only a spouse survives with the parents, each takes one-fourth.
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
- My illegitimate son died leaving no spouse and no children — how much of his estate is reserved for me as his parent?
- My illegitimate son died leaving only a widow — do his parents still get a legitime?
Related provisions
- Article 902 — Rights Pass to Descendants.
- Article 910 — Donations Charged to the Legitime.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.