Possession of Land Title

My parents both deceased left a land title in their name and is registered at the Registry of Deeds; Its lost was annotated in the title two years ago when my father was still alive. My father died recently, but the said title cannot be found. However, his illegitimate son admitted having the title but won't voluntarily surrender it to us legal heirs. How can we get the title in a simple way without going through the court? The illegitimate son admitted having no public document to justify that the title was given to him by my father. How can we have a duplicate owner's copy or probably have it cancelled without going through a court proceedings?

sneak in house to steal it back? sorry, but if he refuses and you can't or won't make an offer he can't refuse, then court proceedings are the only way to either compel him to return the title.

note that he has a right to own part of the property as his legitime from his father. it is half the share of a legitimate child.

Taong 1999, bago po kami nagmigrate patungo ng US ay tinubos po naming ang titulo ng lupa ng biyenan ko na nakasangla sa bangko . At bilang sukli sa pagtubos ng lupa ay nagpagawa po siya ng mga kasulatan tulad deed of donation( notarized) at kasulatang ipinakakaloob po sa amin ang 2 hectaryang lupa ( notarized) . Nakasaad po sa kasulatan na wala ma sinuman maaring humabol sa mga kamaganak sa naturang lupain .Ito po ang kusa po ipinagawa ng aking biyenan lalaki dahil sa dahilang AMPON lang po ng aking asawa at pinoprotektahan po niya ang interes ng aking misis na baka may maghabol kung sakaling may mangyari sa kanya.
Taon 2007 ng mamatay po ang aking biyenan lalaki… umuwi po sa pilipinas ang aking asawa para ipaayos ang naiwang lupa ito naman ay naipagawa at naisalin naman po sa pangalan ng aking asawa ang titulo ang 2 hectaryang lupa.
Taon 2010 ay ng mamatay naman ang aking biyenan na babae at umuwi kami ng septiembre 2010 dahil may bumili ng kalahating hectarya at nagpagawa po kami ng Deed of Absolute Sale ( notarized) . Nakatakda na po sanang ipa titulo ang nabiling lupa ngayong buwan ng Enero 2011 ay natuklasan po naming nag sampa ang isang kaanak( babaeng asawa po ito ng yumaong ng tunay na anak na lalaki ng yumaong ina ni misis ) ng “LIS PENDENS” or pending suit noong decembre 2010 dahil nalaman po kasi nilang ipinagbili na po naming ang mga lupain at sila ay naghahabol . Gusto po nila kaming molestahin at para umalis ang mga buyer ng lupa at malamang gawa na rin po ng Ingit.
Tanong po…
1. Makakapaekto po ba ito sa pagpapagawa ng titulo sa bumili ng lupa na nagbayad na po sa amin? Paano po naming ito maipapaliwang sa bumili ng lupa dahil binili po niya noong ito ng wala pang “LIS PENDENS” na isinampa? Ano po ba ang kanyang karapatan bilang bumili?
2. Puwede po ba naming ipa cancel ang “LIS PENDENS” at papaano po ang proseso? Matagal po ba ito ? Gaano katagal?
3. Kailangan po bang umuwi kami para humarap sa anumang litigation o pupuwede po ba mag assign po kami ng representative on our behalf? O ano po ang mas mabuti?
4. Ano pong kaso ang puwede naming isampa sa kanila sa ginagawa nilang pag momolestiya sa amin na mabahiran ang titulo ng aming lupa at hinaharass po ang aming mga pinagkakatiwalaan sa aming lupa?
5. Malaki po ba ang pagasa na makuha po nila sa amin ang aming lupa?Gayun ang naghahabol po ay asawa po ng tunay na yumaong anak ng yumaong ina ni misis at ang mga anak nito. ( wala na pong blood relation sa mga magulang ni misis).

Ipinagmamalaki po ng mga nabangit na kaanak na nagsampang “LIS PENDENS” na malaki daw po ang habol nila sa lupa dahil AMPON lang ang aking asawa at marami po silang koneksiyon sa Register of Deeds at sinamantala po nila na kami ay nasa malayong lugar .
Ang aming pong pinanghahawakan sa ngayon ay titulo ng lupa sa pangalan ng aking asawa , kasulatan ng deed of donation na pinirmahan ng yumao kong biyenan lalaki at babae( notarized) , legal na dokumento ng aking asawa tulad ng birth certificate, marriage certificate ay nakasaad ang pangalang ng kaniyang yumaong magulang at mga dokumento ng pagtubos naming sa lupang naisangla sa bangko. Kami pong mag asawa ay kasalukuyang legal ng Permanent Residence dito sa US hindi pa Citizen .

Humuhingi po ng gabay sa mga hakbang na aming gagawin dahil malayo po kami sa Pilipinas .
Umaasa po ng kami ng inyong malugod na kasagutan.

Let's be clear. the title is already in the name of your husband? where is this property?

I recommend you act quickly. When was this case filed? Summons may already have been issued. If you are not in the Philippines, the court can acquire jurisdiction over you by publishing the summoms.

the lis pendens will subsist while the case is pending.

what date was the lis pendens annotated?

what date was the deed of sale notarized? were you in the philippines when this was done?

you can appoint an attorney in fact to represent you. you will have to execute the SPA there and have it notarized before the philippine embassy or consulate.

Thanks for your quick reply...actually it is my wife case ... and yes it is already on her name listed as married to me with my name on it...The Property is in Nueva Ecija.... We are now checking the date of Lis Pendens annotated, as far as we know it is in end of December last year or January this year...
We are also checking if the the summons is issued or in the process of issuing...
The deed of sale notarized on September 02, 2010...and yes we are in the Philippines with my wife ng naki pagusap kami sa bumili with the barangay captain as our witness. Nalaman ng kabilang party na ipinagbilibili na namin ang lupa kaya nag sampa sila ng Lis Pendens after...

Kailangan ba namin umuwi to execute the SPA in the Philippines or dito nalang sa US ipa notarized before the phil embassy or consulate. Just to make it clear po.

Kailangan ba ang attorney ay naka base sa Nueva Ecija to represent us ? Do you know any sa Nueva Ecija ? Or can you recommend an attorney na nakabase sa manila as we have relatives na malapit diyan na puwedeng maki paga coordinate sa kanila sa litigation..

We are now in the process of gathering the information and looking an attorney to represent us...

Please advise... maraming salamat po muli.
Your response is appreciated.

you can execute your SPA there in the US. have it notarized at the phil consulate/embassy.

i have handled out of town cases even as far as nueva vizcaya and quirino (even naga and davao), but the client has to be willing to pay for the time and travel. it will be the same with other manila lawyers.

i'm afraid i don't know any lawyers in nueva ecija. if you need more information, contact me at attylllaw@gmail.com

Thanks for your clarification.
I will contact you for further information and best regards...

who has a legal jurisdiction over an excess lot that was located in reclamation area given by NHA?

what do you mean excess?

excess lot are those lot not located to the original map and declare inhabitable by surveyor , mostly it can be found near the creak, but there some excess lot are too spacious and you'll be confused, why it was declare excess lot.This the problem start, because there are some barangay official using their position to take advantage . They assume being the official they had power over that excess lot.

if it was the nha which issued the titles, then they would be the first one i would inquire with regarding this issue.