Hi! I am Cris and I am new here at pinoylawyer.org. I am glad there is a forum such as this. Anyway, I have a query regarding an extrajudicial partition case that my family filed. The land consists of fruit-producing trees which the respondents to the case (my first cousins), having been the caretakers thereof for around 20 years, claimed that they were the ones who planted them and are entitled to payments for the trees. Does their claim for payment for the trees have legal basis and can it be entertained in the court in an extrajudicial partition case that we filed wherein in our petition, said issues where not even discussed and only emerged when they filed their answer to the petition? It should be noted that they planted the trees without permission to the other heirs and that they have not remitted the shares of the incomes to the other heirs that is why we are demanding accounting thereof. Having said this, do you think they still have a right to claim payment for the trees existing in the portion of the land that we are claiming as our share? What if we will just say to the court that we are not interested in the trees and suggest that they should instead be cut off, can this be done? I hope I can get some answers. Thanks!