extrajudicial settlement of a deceased parent who died intestate

Is it necessary to hire a lawyers services to do extrajudicial settlement in case of heirs do not agree? What is the usual fee, flat fee?

If the heirs do not agree, you cannot do an extrajudicial settlement. An extrajudicial settlement can be resorted to if the heirs agree and no debts are owed by the estate.

The remedy is judicial settlement of the estate. But if the value of the estate of the deceased is not that much, it may not be practical to resort to judicial settlement. If the value is high, then it is alright.

Also, there is no usual, flat fee for lawyers. The professional fee depends on the complexity of the issues involved, the volume of work, etc.

If you need legal assistance for settlement, you may email me on km@kgmlegal.ph

Regards,
Atty. Katrina

Thank you for your response. How do you value the estate, by tax declaration or market value? The information from my brother is that the estate value was based on the tax declaration which is low. There are no debts. Then what kind of settlement can we go through, if extrajudicial settlement is not possible and judicial settlement is not practical either. All of the heirs are now on their advanced age, the youngest being 70 years and the oldest is 84 years old and have some health condition. I and the rest of the heirs except the oldest, want to settle the estate in the most fair way. I do not understand why one person who disagrees can cause so much trouble in the family. Can we execute an extrajudicial settlement by partition instead, to satisfy the opposing heir?

Hi, yung valuation ng property will also be determined by the form of transfer of ownership like sale, donation, etc. I suggest that you should set a meeting with a lawyer so that the relevant documents can be reviewed. Mahirap po kasi magbigay ng payo na hindi nababasa ng abogado yung mga documents at mga titulo, etc.

You can only execute an extrajudicial settlement if all heirs are agreeable to its terms.

Some starting points on estate valuation.  If inherited from deceased, what was the zonal value of the property as recognized by BIR which was the basis for the tax?  (If purchased, what was the purchase price which was the basis for the capital gains tax paid to the BIR?)  If none of the BIR-related activities happened, you will eventually be required to settle with the BIR when the title is annotated at the Register of Deeds on the forthcoming changes on the property. ROD will require a BIR certificate.

Sec. 1. 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. 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 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.

Extrajudicial settlement of estate cannot be resorted to every time. There are conditions which must be satisfied such as:
1. The decedent left no will
2. The decedent has no debts or his debts have been fully paid.
3. The heirs are all of legal age or the minors are duly represented by their judicial or legal representatives.
4. A public instrument is duly executed by the heirs and filed with the Register of Deeds.

Now, should there be disagreement among the heirs on the division of the estate, they may do so in an ordinary action for partition. If despite the institution of such action they subsequently arrived at an agreement, they may enter into the corresponding stipulation and register the same with the Registry of Deeds.