Benjamin Dayao v. Cresenciana Robles

Summary

This inheritance dispute involved eight parcels of land in Malolos, Bulacan originally owned by Magdalena Aniag who died in 1905. Her natural son Ignacio Aniag possessed the land and obtained certificates of title in 1926 through cadastral proceedings. After Ignacio's death in 1928 and his legitimate sister Marciana Dionisio's death in 1930, a conflict arose between Marciana's children (seeking exclusive ownership) and Ignacio's daughter Emerenciana (claiming inheritance through her father). The Supreme Court modified the trial court's judgment favoring the plaintiffs, ruling that as an acknowledged natural child, Ignacio was entitled to one-third inheritance while the legitimate child received two-thirds under Civil Code Article 840. The Court ordered partition reflecting these inheritance shares, establishing important precedent on natural children's inheritance rights and land registration under the Torrens system.