Free Philippines guide: whose law decides who inherits your estate

Free guide for British expats in the Philippines

Your nationality usually decides who inherits, and Philippine courts still control the process.

A 17 page guide written for British expats in the Philippines. It covers why Article 16 of the Civil Code sends who inherits to the law of your nationality, the two Philippine will forms and the two routes for a UK will, what a British national can and cannot own, and the flat 6% estate tax with its one year deadline. It also explains the eCAR, the certificate every transfer has to pass through.

  • 17 pages
  • Updated August 2026
  • No payment details
  • Forced heirship, renvoi and Article 16 explained
  • What you can own: land, condominiums, leases
  • The six per cent estate tax and the eCAR
  • How a usufruct protects your spouse's home

Twenty minutes of reading that could save your family months in the Philippine courts.

What happens to your estate

With a valid will

Article 16 sends the order of succession, the amount of successional rights and the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions to the national law of the deceased, and in Bellis v Bellis the Supreme Court held that Philippine legitimes simply did not apply to a foreigner's estate. Form is judged separately, and Articles 816 and 817 accept a will made with the formalities of the place of execution or of the testator's own country. Article 838 is still flat: no will passes any property until a Philippine court has allowed it.

Without a will

Philippine courts treat foreign law as a fact that has to be proved, and where English law is not established they tend to fall back on Philippine intestacy, under which a spouse takes the same share as each child (Article 996). Where there is no will, no debts and no unrepresented minor, Rule 74 lets the heirs settle by public instrument, with a bond, publication once a week for three consecutive weeks, and a two year window in which an omitted heir or unpaid creditor can reopen the distribution.

Outside your will entirely

The Constitution bars the transfer of private land to anyone not qualified to hold it, save in cases of hereditary succession, and Ramirez v Vda de Ramirez read that as intestate succession only, so a gift of land to a foreigner in a will fails. A usufruct over land in favour of a foreigner is valid, because it gives use and enjoyment without vesting title. Banks must also allow withdrawals from a deceased customer's accounts for one year from death, subject to a 6% final withholding tax.

With a valid will

Without a valid will

Assets outside the will

Key facts

  • 6% Since the TRAIN law, Philippine estate tax is a flat 6% of the net estate, with a standard deduction of ₱5,000,000 for residents and citizens and a family home deduction of up to ₱10,000,000. The return is due within one year of death, and Philippine probate routinely takes longer, so families file and pay on time and complete transfers when the court allows.
  • 25 plus 25 The ordinary position for a foreign individual is Presidential Decree 471: private land may be leased for up to 25 years, renewable for another 25 by agreement, and that rule has not changed. Republic Act 12252 raised qualifying leases to an aggregate 99 years, but only for a registered foreign investor on an approved purpose, and section 5 keeps everyone else under PD 471.
  • 40% A condominium unit bought within the familiar 40% foreign ceiling per project is genuinely yours and can pass under your will, provided the project stays inside the quota. Land is the opposite case: a British national cannot own it, and a devise of land to a foreigner fails.
  • 6% Why it matters. Your family has one year from the death to file and pay the flat six per cent estate tax, and probate routinely runs longer.
  • 25 plus 25 Why it matters. A retiree leasing land is limited to twenty five years, renewable for another twenty five, so a longer lease cannot be assumed.
  • 40% Why it matters. A condominium bought inside the forty per cent foreign ceiling is genuinely yours and passes under your will, unlike the land under it.

What is inside the guide

Wills and estate planning for British expats in the Philippines Why the law of your nationality generally decides who inherits, why Philippine courts still control the process, and what the 6% estate tax means. Free download · 2026 edition · 17 pages

Common questions

Is the 99 year lease now available to British retirees?

No, and the guide names that as a myth. Republic Act 12252, approved on 3 September 2025, raised qualifying leases to an aggregate period not exceeding 99 years, but only for a foreign investor holding an approved and registered investment for a listed purpose, with the lease registered and annotated on the title. Section 5 says in terms that foreigners not otherwise investing in the Philippines continue to be covered by Presidential Decree 471, so an ordinary retiree leasing a house is still under the 25 plus 25 rule.

Is the 99 year lease now available to British retirees?

No, and the guide names that as a myth. Republic Act 12252 raised qualifying leases to an aggregate 99 years, but only for a foreign investor holding an approved and registered investment, and section 5 keeps everyone else under Presidential Decree 471, so an ordinary retiree leasing a house is still under the 25 plus 25 rule.

Is it really free?

Yes. No payment details, no trial, no catch. The guide shows you how we think before you decide whether to use us for anything.

Will you fill my inbox?

We send the guide, and nothing else unless you tick the box for the email series. Every email in it has an unsubscribe link that works first time.

Is this legal advice?

No. The guide is general information for British expats, written in plain English. Expat Legacy is a will writing service rather than a law firm.

About the author

Jamie Lee, founder of Expat Legacy, has drafted more than 2,000 wills for British expats. He has lived the expat life himself since 2004.

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