Succession & Estate Law in the Philippines

[jrlee183]

1 minute ago, sonjack2847 said:

We have 1 daughter.

Ok so in that case, 50% of her estate would go to her, and 25% to you.  25% will be the free portion.  Siblings will have no claim to the estate unless included in her will as part of the free portion.

[sonjack2847]

43 minutes ago, jrlee183 said:

Ok so in that case, 50% of her estate would go to her, and 25% to you.  25% will be the free portion.  Siblings will have no claim to the estate unless included in her will as part of the free portion.

Thanks for the answer it is much appreciated.

[bigpearl]

Hi Jamie, readers.

I was going to send a private msg to you Jamie but thought my questions would be better here for all to see and learn.

As discussed in other threads we purchased a property, the land in my partners name, (same sex couple) the buildings and improvements in my name, though others doubted and questioned the legality, that is what is on paper. At the same we drew up the 25 + 25 lease in my name, sole discretion for improvements/value adding, government body dealings (permits etc), the lease is paid in full, plus lots of other clauses in my favour. One clause in particular is why I ask your advice. Basically the clause states that in the event of my demise the lease is transferable to my heirs there after.

My questions: Who can my heirs be? A foreigner? Is my Australian will relevant? If I make a will in PH giving the lease to, say my sister in Oz is that legal? Will she have the same rights as I hold and can she then sell the lease? Or at her discretion hand the lease/sign over back to my partner?

Though I implicitly trust my better half now, one has to consider the future, 5, 10, 15 years things change. 

Your thoughts?

Cheers, Steve.

 

[bigpearl]

I'm a slacker Jamie, forgot to ask mention as it is also very relevant that my better half is young 26 and at times reckless on bikes and driving cars. If he passes away before me I am well aware that his family would be my landlord and we all know that money becomes the king in this situation and even though part of the family I am sure that money will eventually be the winner and my life will be irrelevant to say the least, I may be wrong but who knows. Thus the questions in my previous post, if legally I can bequeath the lease to an external member of the Filipino family this could ensure my longevity, if so this can and will be passed onto immediate family so they also know where they stand and may refrain from hassling me if my better half passes before me. Thanks for your consideration with regards to all these questions and our position.

Cheers, Steve.

[jrlee183]

14 minutes ago, bigpearl said:

Hi Jamie, readers.

I was going to send a private msg to you Jamie but thought my questions would be better here for all to see and learn.

As discussed in other threads we purchased a property, the land in my partners name, (same sex couple) the buildings and improvements in my name, though others doubted and questioned the legality, that is what is on paper. At the same we drew up the 25 + 25 lease in my name, sole discretion for improvements/value adding, government body dealings (permits etc), the lease is paid in full, plus lots of other clauses in my favour. One clause in particular is why I ask your advice. Basically the clause states that in the event of my demise the lease is transferable to my heirs there after.

My questions: Who can my heirs be? A foreigner? Is my Australian will relevant? If I make a will in PH giving the lease to, say my sister in Oz is that legal? Will she have the same rights as I hold and can she then sell the lease? Or at her discretion hand the lease/sign over back to my partner?

Though I implicitly trust my better half now, one has to consider the future, 5, 10, 15 years things change. 

Your thoughts?

Cheers, Steve.

 

Hi Steve,

sure, no problem.

So you own the building but not the land.   Yes, in theory you could leave the property (not the land) to your sister, assuming you have no other compulsory heirs.  I have not heard that a lease can be transferred to your heirs before, but if it says it in a contract and the contract has been drawn up by a competent lawyer and properly witnessed and notarized then should be no problem.  Again, I would state this clearly in your will.

The bigger issue would be if your partner were to die first; his compulsory heirs would then own the land and while the lease is in tact, if you were to then pass away, they could possible question the succession clause in your contract and possible void it all together (again this depends on how competent the lawyer was).  A good back up to this would be to purchase a straightforward life insurance policy effectively giving her the value of the property without actually owning it (if that makes sense!).  

The land/property one is always difficult and a grey area.

Hope this helps.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

[jrlee183]

1 minute ago, bigpearl said:

I'm a slacker Jamie, forgot to ask mention as it is also very relevant that my better half is young 26 and at times reckless on bikes and driving cars. If he passes away before me I am well aware that his family would be my landlord and we all know that money becomes the king in this situation and even though part of the family I am sure that money will eventually be the winner and my life will be irrelevant to say the least, I may be wrong but who knows. Thus the questions in my previous post, if legally I can bequeath the lease to an external member of the Filipino family this could ensure my longevity, if so this can and will be passed onto immediate family so they also know where they stand and may refrain from hassling me if my better half passes before me. Thanks for your consideration with regards to all these questions and our position.

Cheers, Steve.

It would depend on his legitime, and his will would have to follow that.  If his parents are still alive then they could potentially inherit all of the land. 

[bigpearl]

5 minutes ago, jrlee183 said:

It would depend on his legitime, and his will would have to follow that.  If his parents are still alive then they could potentially inherit all of the land. 

Very legitimate and as said his family will inherit the land, all good, the lease is what is up in the air. I think an earlier question was, is my Australian will relevant and if not should we consider creating a new will in PH? What are the ups and downs with regards to my security and living a long and relaxed life on the beach?

In the event of me dying earlier through skullduggery I am sure my sister will be privy to problems or fears from me prior and will/would act accordingly. As for leases, I have had tenants and I have been a tenant, In Oz tenants have all the rights, landlords limited, in Ph I am sure it goes the other way, but with a registered notarised lease? While happy with what our attorney drew up and yes was notarised clearly I am concerned about its validity in the event of myself or my partners departure.

Cheers, steve.

[scott h]

Now I am not a lawyer, and I do not play one on TV (sorry Yank joke) but:

36 minutes ago, bigpearl said:

is my Australian will relevant

It will be as LONG as there is no one here in the Philippines to contest it. Any family member kould get a TRO (temporary restraining order) at tie probate up in knots for ages. In the mean time, the house will either stand vacant or those contesting will just move in.

41 minutes ago, bigpearl said:

my sister

What I would ask myself is will my sister in OZ want to travel to, or hire a Filipino lawyer to navigate through the morass of the legal system here? If you look around your area, I am sure you will se vacant houses all over the plase. In my area there are a lot of vacant mansions just sitting there. I have asked a lot of questions about them. The majority are tied up in probate battles where the kids are all overseas, the parents passed and the lawyers are making a mint or the kids just gave up.

Just some random thoughts

[RBM]

Quote

 

Very interesting long drawn out thread here, seems to be filled with the WHAT IS. 

Personally always remember some advice given to me many years ago. Do not ever invest more than 30% of your assets here. If the relationship which seems so wonderful suddenly goes down the girgler one can walk away wounded how ever not ruined.

Regardless of how many legal documents have been drawn up, if things really go sour with hatred, the exs family will get one out. Sadly I have witnessed this happening, the guy was eventually able to depart the country, be it with nothing. The worst part was the ex was prepared to negotiate how ever family had other ideas. Even in our own countries relationships end after many years, how much more so here, family family family....

[jrlee183]

2 hours ago, bigpearl said:

Very legitimate and as said his family will inherit the land,

Sorry, just to clarify, when I say 'legitime' i mean his compulsory heirs by way of forced heirship.  I wasnt questioning his legitimacy .

Yes a foreigner can be an heir, but as Scott says, would your sister really want to deal with the issue?

23 minutes ago, RBM said:

 

Personally always remember some advice given to me many years ago. Do not ever invest more than 30% of your assets here. If the relationship which seems so wonderful suddenly goes down the girgler one can walk away wounded how ever not ruined.

 

Good advice .... my logic is to never invest in anything here that you are not prepared to walk away from.  I keep very little in the way of assets here