LAW ON SUCCESSION | BAUTISTA VS. GRIÑO-AQUINO, G.R. NO. L-79958, OCTOBER 28, 1988
BAUTISTA
VS. GRIÑO-AQUINO,
G.R.
NO. L-79958, OCTOBER 28, 1988
TOPIC/DOCTRINE
To
include in an extrajudicial partition property which does not pertain to the
estate of the deceased would be to deprive the lawful owner thereof of his
property without due process of law.
FACTS
Parties admit
that petitioner Manuel Bautista married his second wife Emiliana Tamayo;
Parties admit that Manuel Bautista and his second wife, Emiliana Tamayo, had
only a child, Evangeline Bautista, born on April 29, 1949; That the
property in question was the subject matter of extrajudicial partition of
property on December 22, 1966, among the heirs of the late Juliana Nojadera,
the first wife of Manuel Bautista; Manuel Bautista denied participation
in the Extrajudicial Partition of Property.
The findings of
facts of both the trial court and the respondent Appellate Court that the
signature of Manuel Bautista in the questioned Deed of Extrajudicial Partition
is authentic, as examined by the NBI, can no longer be questioned in this
proceeding. Nevertheless, even granting that the signature of Manuel Bautista
in the questioned Extrajudicial Deed of Partition is genuine, an examination of
the document based on admitted and proven facts renders the document fatally
defective. The extrajudicial partition was supposed to be a partition without
court intervention of the estate of the late Juliana Nojadera, first wife of
Manuel Bautista, constituting the subject property. In the same document Manuel
Bautista appears to have waived his right or share in the property in favor of
private respondents.chanrobles virtualawlibrary chanrobles.com:chanrobles.com.ph
However, the property subject matter of said extrajudicial
partition does not belong to the estate of Juliana Nojadera. It is the
exclusive property of Manuel Bautista who inherited the same from his father
Mariano Bautista, which was registered in his name under T.C.T. No. 2210.
ISSUE
Can the property
of the surviving husband be the subject of an extrajudicial partition of the
estate of the deceased wife?
RULING
No.
The
court ruled to include in an extrajudicial partition property which does not
pertain to the estate of the deceased would be to deprive the lawful owner
thereof of his property without due process of law. Only property of the estate
of the decedent which is transmitted by succession can be the lawful subject
matter of an extrajudicial partition.
Here,
the court ruled that the subject property does not belong to the estate of
Juliana Nojadera, the Deed of Extrajudicial Partition, is void ab initio being
contrary to law. The said partition obviously prejudices the right of Manuel
Bautista as exclusive owner of the property. The said partition also
effectively resulted in the preterition of the right of Evangeline Bautista as
a compulsory heir of Manuel Bautista, daughter of the latter by his second
marriage. It is difficult to believe that Manuel Bautista would wittingly
overlook and ignore the right of her daughter Evangeline to share in the said
property. It is not surprising that he denied signing the said document.
Moreover, private respondents knew Evangeline Bautista who is their half-sister
to be a compulsory heir. The court finds that her preterition was attended with
bad faith hence the said partition must be rescinded. Moreover, such
extrajudicial partition cannot constitute a partition of the property during
the lifetime of its owner, Manuel Bautista. Partition of future inheritance is
prohibited by law.