GENERAL RENUNCIATION... please help!

My father died 10 years ago, today we are processing the transfer of the house and lot here in Bulacan, which is also our current residence.  While processing the said property, the law office we hired discovered that there is another property in Malabon (ancestral home of my father) that was named after my father. Eversince it is our uncle's (my father's eldest brother) family who is living there in Malabon. Although my uncle is already dead and his wife and her family is the one living there.

We do not want to pay for the estate tax of the property in Malabon since we do not have enough money to pay for it and we are not the one who benefits from it ever since. We also ask the family of my uncle but they are not very cooperative.

My question is, can my family renounce our right for inheritance to the said property? We did our initial research in the internet and we are looking at GENERAL RENUNCIATION, where we will waive our right in favor of no one. It says that it is not subject to donors tax because the waiver is done gratuitously and indiscrimanately.

Is this allowed or valid? However, our lawyer said that "we cannot do repudiation of the property with no particular reason because my father's brother is not the immediate heir of my father. This can only be done daw if it will be transferred to one of us (immediate family)"? I don't get it, why is the statement of my lawyer contradicts the one i read in the internet. Please enlighten us..

First and foremost, estate tax and donors tax are not the same although classified as kinds of transfers taxes under NIRC. Basically, "transfer taxes" are taxes imposed on the "privilage" to transfer the property.

The general renunciation of inheritance is applicable only in case of donation wherein, should the donee generally renounce the thing to be donated without qualification, then there is no complete donation that is subject to donor's tax.

As to the question of renunciation of the rights to inherit. Yes. you can renounce the property BUT you cannot go away and avoid payment of estate tax. You must pay first the estate tax before the renunciation will take effect. Bakit ganun? because estate tax are imposed upon the properties left by the decedent and the privilage to transfer to his heirs, and it doesn't matter whether the heirs reject it or accept it or enjoyed benefits therefrom.

Can I use the "general renunciation" to avoid payment of estate tax? No. This tax avoidance method is legally applicable only to payment of donor's tax.