2. Section 1, Rule 74 of the Rules of Court
Extrajudicial settlement by agreement between
heirs. - If the decedent left no will and no
debts and the heirs are all of age, or the
minors are represented by their judicial or
legal representatives duly authorized for
the purpose, the parties may, without
securing letters of administration, divide, the
estate among themselves as they see fit by
means of a public instrument filed in the
office of the register of deeds, and should
they disagree, they may do so in an ordinary
action of partition.
3. If there is only one heir, he may adjudicate to
himself the entire estate by means of an
affidavit filed in the office of the register of
deeds. The parties to an extrajudicial settlement,
whether by public instrument or by stipulation in
a pending action for partition, or the sole heir
who adjudicates the entire estate to himself by
means of an affidavit shall file, simultaneously
with and as a condition precedent to the filing
of the public instrument, or stipulation in the
action for partition, or of the affidavit in the
office of the register of deeds, a bond with the
said register of deeds, in an amount
equivalent to the value of the
4. personal property involved as certified to under
oath by the parties concerned and conditioned
upon the payment of any just claim that may be
filed under section 4 of this rule. It shall be
presumed that the decedent left no debts if no
creditor files a petition for letters of administration
within two (2) years after the death of the
decedent.
The fact of the extrajudicial settlement or
administration shall be published in a newspaper
of general circulation in the manner provided in
the next succeeding section; but no extrajudicial
settlement shall be binding upon any person who
has not participated therein or had no notice
thereof.
5. Extrajudicial settlement of estate
- the liquidation and distribution of
properties, real or personal of a deceased
person without the intervention of the court
or judicial proceedings
6. Who may execute an extrajudicial
settlement?
1. The Sole Heir
2. The Heirs agreeing among
themselves
7. Requisites of a valid extrajudicial
settlement
A. The decedent died intestate;
B. There are no outstanding debts of
the estate at the time of the
settlement;
C. The heirs are all of age, or the
minors are represented by their
judicial guardians or legal
representatives;
8. D. The settlement is made in a public
instrument, stipulation or affidavit duly
filed with the register of deeds; and
E. The fact of such extrajudicial
settlement must be published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the
province once a week for three (3)
consecutive weeks.
9. The steps to follow are:
1. Prepare a “Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate
and Adjudication of Estate” to be signed by all of the
heirs, which must contain the following information:
• That the decedent left no will;
• The decedent left no debt;
• Each heir’s relationship to the decedent;
• That they are the decedent’s only surviving heirs;
• An enumeration and a brief description of the
decedent‘s properties, both real and personal,
which the heirs are now dividing among
themselves; and
• How the properties are to be divided among the
heirs.
10. 2. Have the “Deed of Extrajudicial
Settlement and Adjudication of Estate”
notarized before a Notary Public after
all the heirs have signed it.
3. Secure a bond from a reputable
bonding company acceptable to the
Register of Deeds.
11. 4. Register the notarized “Deed of
Extrajudicial Settlement and Adjudication of
Estate” with the Register of Deeds. The
bond is simultaneously filed with the “Deed
of Extrajudicial Settlement and Adjudication
of Estate”.
5. Publish the “Deed of Extrajudicial
Settlement and Adjudication of Estate” in a
newspaper of general circulation once a
week for three (3) consecutive weeks.
12. Jurisdiction
Special proceedings fall under the original and
exclusive jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court,
except all matters of probate, both testate and
intestate, where jurisdiction is determined by the
gross value of the estate of the decedent.
Pursuant to R.A. 7691, beginning April 16, 2004,
MTC, other than in Metro Manila, has jurisdiction
if the value of the estate does not exceed
P300,000; in Metro Manila, the MTC has
jurisdiction if the value does not exceed
P400,000. If the value exceeds such respective
amounts, the RTC has jurisdiction.
