Text of the provision
Art. 173. The action to claim legitimacy may be brought by the child during his or her lifetime and shall be transmitted to the heirs should the child die during minority or in a state of insanity. In these cases, the heirs shall have a period of five years within which to institute the action.
(268a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
The right to claim one's legitimacy belongs first to the child, and the child may bring the action at any time during their lifetime — it does not prescribe against the child.
It passes to the heirs only in two situations: if the child dies during minority, or while insane — that is, before the child could realistically have sued. In those cases the heirs get a fixed five-year window to file. Otherwise, the action dies with the child.
Related provisions
- Article 172 — the evidence used to prove the claim.
- Article 170 — by contrast, the deadlines to impugn legitimacy.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 173 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.