Certain things you need to take care of legally, especially if there is no will created before the parents pass away.
How do you go about the process?

Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate

To have the land title transferred, it must first be settled in what is legally called the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate. The estate is the property involved. The process involves drafting a contract clearly indicating how the property will be distributed among the heirs. This process is also known as an out-of-court settlement because, as the term suggests, the heirs will no longer have to go to court to distribute the properties the deceased parent/s left.

Following Rule 74, Section 1 of the Rules of Court, the heirs need to secure and execute a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate and Adjudication of Estate with the help of a lawyer. However, all heirs must get into an agreement, including those not interested in the property. The deed should specify the following information:

• The absence of a will
• Proof that the deceased parent/s has no debts left
• Name and relationship to the deceased; Heirs should be of legal age; otherwise, minors should have a legal representative.
• Affidavit of self-adjudication and deed of extrajudicial settlement of estate and adjudication of the estate (should be signed by all the heirs and afterward notarized before a Notary Public)
• Description of the property to be divided among the heirs
• Bond fixed by the court, should there be personal property involved

After a certain number of weeks, the heirs will have to obtain the certification and publication in the newspaper and have it affirmed and verified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). They will release a certificate to the heirs which should be submitted to the Registry of Deeds or Land Registration Authority.

How to transfer ownership of a property to the heirs.

1.)  Fill out an application for registration from BIR (Form 1904). All heirs (both living and deceased) must have a valid Tax Identification Number (TIN). Some things to remember:

• The name of the deceased parent/s should be written on the taxpayer’s name field.
• The deceased’s address should indicate the same address on the death certificate.
• Fill out the foreign address field if the deceased died abroad and has no official residence in the Philippines.
• Include a photocopy of the Certified True Copy of the death certificate on the form

2.) Make sure all mandatory documents are complete, as this will be submitted to the BIR:

• Photocopy of the death certificate (bring the original copy too for verification)
• Proof of payment (official receipt or deposit slip and duly validated return)
• TIN of Estate
• Affidavit of Self Adjudication
• Sworn declaration of all properties of the estate
• Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate (if the estate has been extrajudicially settled)
  Court Order (if the estate has been settled judicially)

3.) Accomplish BIR’s estate tax return form (Form 1801). Ask assistance from the Officer of the Day at the BIR because they are also the ones who will compute the taxes based on the documents submitted.

4.) Pay the estate tax to the BIR before the notarized deed can be registered. It is important to settle the file transfer immediately so that the estate tax will not get accumulated. You can pay through the following:

• Revenue Collection Officer;
• Authorized agent bank (AAB) by the BIR;
• Duly authorized Treasurer of the city/municipality in the Revenue District Office where the residence of the deceased at the time of death is located;
• If the person is outside the country and cannot be represented locally, you can settle through an AAB under RDO No. 39 South Quezon City.

5.) Submit all the required documents and the proof of payment to the BIR’s Revenue District Office (RDO). A claim stub with a reference number will be given if all requirements have been submitted. As soon as the processing is done, a Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) will be released. For all one-time transactions, the CAR will be released within 5 business days from the date of receipt of tax returns with the complete required documents.

6.) As soon as you have the CAR, you may now proceed with the transfer of registration of the land title. According to the Land Registration Authority (LRA), one must bring the following documents which are required for the registration of an inherited property:

• Deed of Sale (if the property has been sold to a third party)
• Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate
• Owner’s Duplicate Copy of Title
• BIR CAR/tax clearance certificate
• Tax Declaration (Certified Copy)
• Realty Tax Clearance
• Transfer Tax Receipt/Clearance
• Affidavit of Publication of Settlement

Here are a few more things worth noting:

If one of the heirs is deceased and has children, they have the right to inherit the property. Should one of the heirs not cooperate, inform the court. Call the attention of those who do not cooperate and allow the court to decide how the property will be distributed or disposed of, according to the law.

If the estate tax remains unpaid for 10 years, there is a service charge of 25% of the tax amount, plus an additional 20% interest every year. If you don’t pay it immediately, the total charges and interest will accumulate until the amount becomes more than the property’s current market value.

Credit belongs to the original author of this post.