- Petitioner
- Esperanza Dimaliwat
- Respondent
- Dominga Asuncion
- Citation
- G.R. No. 38069
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Second Division
- Ponente
- Vickers, J.
- Decided
- January 20, 1934
Summary
This land registration case involved a complex inheritance dispute over lot No. 3-C among children from Eustacio Dimaliwat's three marriages. The trial court awarded the lot to Eustacio's estate, but the Supreme Court reversed, applying the reserva viudal doctrine under Civil Code Articles 968-969. Since Eustacio had inherited lot 3-C from his deceased son Teofilo (from his first marriage) and then remarried, he was legally obligated to reserve this property for the surviving child of the first marriage, Esperanza Dimaliwat. The Court rejected various arguments that would exempt the property from this reservation requirement, including claims about donations, sales, and waivers. The decision demonstrates the Civil Code's protection of children's inheritance rights from prior marriages when a surviving spouse remarries.