TRANSFER OF NAME : LAND TITLE

By Balita | June 28, 2013

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Q. Hi Atty. Wong I have a question regarding a property of my deceased father in Manila. My father
died in 2000 and still has his name in the land title of the property.

How can I and my older brother transfer the land title from our deceased father to us?
Points to consider:

Both parents are dead. Mom died 8 years before dad.

All property taxes are paid regularly.
Me and my brother moved to Canada 2005 and now both Canadian Citizens. I am now 25 yrs old
and my brother is 26.
Please also provide additional information about other taxes and legal fees. Thank you! Ms. D.

ANS:

Hello Ms D, in order that the title of the property(ies) left by your parents can be transferred from the
name(s) of your deceased parents to the children as their heirs, you and your sibling are required to
execute the so called EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE.

You could ask your lawyer in the Philippines to make the necessary documentations for the purpose.
However, if you dont intend to travel to the Philippines for the said purpose, you can execute the
Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate with a Special Power of Attorney(SPA) in Canada and have the
said document, duly acknowledged and notarized (with red ribbon) before our Philippine Consulate
in order that the said document will be recognized in the Philippines.

However, if you and your sibling intend to travel to the Philippines to personally attend to this matter,
you can have the Extrajudicial Settlement prepared and notarized in the Philippines.

The inclusion of the SPA in the settlement of the estate documents as stressed above, is a
convenient way for your representative(s) to make the necessary legwork for and on your behalf,
and more particularly, in the cancellation of the old land title which still bears the name(s) of your
deceased parents, and for the issuance of a new title(s) under your name and the name of your
sibling as co-owners of the land(s) in question.

Moreover , if you and your brother agree , you could have a physical partition of the property and an
individual titles thereof will be issued separately for segregated lot . Should you opt for this option ,
you have to get the professional services of a Geodetic engineer or surveyor to make the necessary
Lot/Subdivision plan of the subject property and thereafter for the approval of the same by the Land
Management Bureau and the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

As to taxes and fees, you guys need to work fast. You really have to address ASAP this matter as
the interest and penalty charges per annum of failing to pay estate taxes that are already due reckon
from the death of your father in 2000 and your mother in 2008 respectively .

As to the amount of taxes that you have to pay, I am not in position to determine the amount as the
taxes thereof depends on the zonal or market of the property whichever is higher per the schedule
as listed and provided by the Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR) of a given place or locality referred to
as the zonal valuation .

What is certain is the fact that you have to pay the prescribed of taxes/fees (aside from real estate
taxes which you claimed are paid on time) and more particularly, the following:

a) Estate Tax plus interest at 25% on the tax amount due for late filing and payment and annual
interest of 20%
interest per annum.
b) Documentary stamp tax( 1.5% of the zonal or market value whichever is higher)
c) Transfer tax/fees ( ranging from .5 to 1% of the consideration/ zonal or market value whichever is
higher)
For further assistance on tax matters, it is recommended that you engage the services of tax
practitioner in the Philippines, for professional guidance.
Then there is also a need for the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate that you have executed to be
published in the news paper of general circulation for three(3) consecutive weeks in the Philippines
or in the locality where the property is situated and thereafter secure an affidavit of such publication
from the publisher or editor of the newspaper .

Once, the above formalities are done, the above taxes will then have to be paid to the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) for the issuance of Certificate Authorizing Registration(CAR), followed by the
payment of fees/taxes to the Assessors Office/Register of Deeds . Depending on the scope of the
professional services of the lawyer, the above tasks could be included as part and parcel of your
lawyers job.

As regards the legal fees for the lawyer, again it depends on the value/kinds/nature of the property
involved , the complexity of the job and the professional standing of the lawyer in the community. In
short if there are problems and issues over the property or if youll hire a high caliber lawyer or De
campanilla , the higher the professional/attorneys fees will be.

For now, the first order of business is for you is to scout a prospective lawyer of your preference to
provide you with such professional services at the earliest opportunity.

Lastly. The fact that you and your sibling are now Canadian citizens and are therefore considered as
foreigner, does not disqualify either of you from owning real properties in the Philippines, being the
intestate heirs of your deceased.

However, in terms of the land area ownership , there is a limit imposed upon former natural-born
Filipino citizens who are now citizens of other country . A maximum of 1,000 square meters in urban
centers and 10,000 square meters of land in rural areas.

The above-restrictions does not apply to those citizens who availed of the Dual Citizenship and
Retention Act, otherwise known as RA 9225.

Under this law, a natural-born Filipino citizen is deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship
notwithstanding becoming a naturalized citizens of other country. As such, all the rights of being
Filipino citizens, more particularly, in land ownership is fully restored upon them. Hence, the
restrictions on land ownership imposed upon foreigners does not apply to them.