1.

Is the adopted child an intestate heir of:

a. his parents by nature and blood relatives?
b. his adoptive parents and adoptive parents blood relatives?

Art. 189 of the Family Code enumerate in no uncertain terms the legal effects of adoption:
(1) For civil purposes, the adopted shall be deemed to be a legitimate child of the adopters and both shall acquire the
reciprocal rights and obligations arising from the relationship of parent and child, including the right of the adopted to use
the surname of the adopters;
(2) The parental authority of the parents by nature over the adopted shall terminate and be vested in the adopters, except
that if the adopter is the spouse of the parent by nature of the adopted, parental authority over the adopted shall be
exercised jointly by both spouses; and
(3) The adopted shall remain an intestate heir of his parents and other blood relatives.
Under RA 8552 otherwise known as Domestic Adoption Act of 1998
Sec. 18. Succession. In legal and intestate succession, the adopter(s) and the adoptee shall have reciprocal rights of
succession without distinction from legitimate filiation. However, if the adoptee and his/her biological parent(s) had left a
will, the law on testamentary succession shall govern.
It must be noted that the Family Code provisions on adoption have been superseded by RA 8552. While Article 189 of the
Family Code specifically provides that the adoptee has the right to inherit from both the biological and adoptive parents,
this provision does not appear in RA 8552.
It seems therefore that the right of an adopted child to inherit from both biological and adoptive parents under the Family
Code has been repealed by RA 8552. However, in law, implied repeals are frowned upon. Thus, it may be argued that
Article 189 of the Family Code is still good law. An adopted child has two sets of parents: their biological (birth) parents
and the parents who adopt them - adoptive parents.
-as to A.
It is by this severance that an adopted child is not an intestate of either his biological parents or his blood
relatives. Adoption relieves the birth parents of the adopted person of all parental rights and responsibilities and
terminates all legal relationships between the adopted person and the birth parents and other relatives of the adopted
person. Thereafter, the adopted person is a stranger to the former relatives for all purposes, including inheritance.
-as to B.
After adoption, the adopted person shall be treated as if he or she was born to the adopting parents and shall
have all rights and be subject to all of the duties arising from that relation, including the right of inheritance. Thus, an
adopted child is an intestate heir of the adopters.

2. Can the adopted child represent the adopter in the inheritance adopters blood relatives?
Pertinent provisions of the Civil Code to the right of representation, we stress first the following:
Art. 970. Representation is a right created by fiction of law, by virtue of which the representative is raised
to the place and the degree of the person represented, and acquires the rights which the latter would
have if he were living or if he could have inherited.
Art. 971. The representative is called to the succession by the law and not by the person represented.
The representative does not succeed the person represented but the one who the person represented
would have succeeded.

Art. 981. Should children of the deceased and descendants of other children who are dead, survive, the
former shall inherit in their own right, and the latter by right of representation.
There is no question that a legitimate child has a right of representation in the estate of his/her ascendants. But a different
conclusion must be reached in a case to which the grandparents were total strangers. While it is true that the adopted
child shall be deemed to be a legitimate child and have the same right as the latter, these rights do not include the right of
representation. The relationship created by the adoption is between only the Adopting parents and the adopted child and
does not extend to the blood relatives of either party (Sayson vs CA)

3. Are the parents by nature and blood relatives an interstate heir of the adopted child?
Article 39 (2) of The Child and Youth Welfare Code provides that adoption dissolves the authority vested in the natural
parent or parents, except where the adopter is the spouse of the surviving natural parent.
Article 342 of the New Civil Code provides that parents by nature shall inherit from the adopted child and the adopter shall
not be a legal heir of the adopted person.
However, the above provisos were repealed by RA 8552 which states that in legal and intestate succession, the
adopter(s) and the adoptee shall have reciprocal rights of succession without distinction from legitimate filiations.
Thus, an adopted child shall not inherit real or personal property from his or her birth parents or their relatives
when the relationship between them has been terminated by final order of adoption, nor shall the birth parents or their
relatives inherit from the adopted child. This means that the adopter and adopted shall become intestate heirs as to each
other.
4. Are the adoptive parents blood relative intestate heirs of the adoptive child?
Art. 190 of the Family Code - Legal or intestate succession to the estate of the adopted shall be governed by the
following rules:
(2) When the parents, legitimate or illegitimate, or the legitimate ascendants of the adopted concur with the adopter, they
shall divide the entire estate, one-half to be inherited by the parents or ascendants and the other half, by the adopters;
The adopter shall not be a legal heir of the adopted person, whose parents by nature shall inherit from him.
However, the prior statute is repealed by Executive Order No. 209 which provides that when the parents, legitimate or
illegitimate, or the legitimate ascendants of the adopted concur with the adopter, they shall divide the entire estate, onehalf to be inherited by the parents or ascendants and the other half, by the adopters.
But by the enactment of RA 8552, the birth parents of an adopted person are relieved of all parental duties and
responsibilities toward the adopted person, including the right of inheritance unless specifically provided by will. Thus,
adoptive parent is an intestate heir of the estate of the adopted child.

5. If the adopted child is survived by his parents by nature and adoptive parents, who shall inherit the estate of the child.
Gleaning from the immediately preceding provision of Article 190 (2) of the Family Code both the parents and
the adoptive parents shall inherit from the estate of the child. Thus, pursuant to the rules on legal and intestate succession
to the estate of the adopted, when the parents of the adopted concur with the adopters, they shall divide the entire estate,
one-half to be inherited by his parents and the other half by the adopters.

ADOPTION

Rhobie S. Corbo
Succession

Atty. Brenda L. Tangarorang