FLORENTINO vs. FLORENTINO G.R. No. L-14856 November 15, 1919 Doctrine Reservable property left, through a will or otherwise, by the death of ascendants (reservista) together with his own property in favor of another of his descendants as forced heir, forms no part of the latter’s lawful inheritance nor of the legitime, for the reason that, as said property continued to be reservable, the heir receiving same as an inheritance from his ascendant has the strict obligation of its delivery to the relatives, within the third degree, of the predecessor in interest, without prejudicing the right of the heir to an aliquot part of property, if he has at the same time the right of reservatorio
Note: ollowing the order prescribed by law in legitimate succession, when there are relatives of the descendant within the third degree, the right of the nearest relative, called reservatario, over the property which the reservista (person holding it subject to reservation) should return to him, e!cludes that of the one more remote" F!cts F!cts #polonio lorentino $$ married #ntonia a% de &eon, they have '' children" ne of the children is ncarnacion, plaintiff in this case" #polonio became a widower and married again, he married *everina a% de &eon, they had + children, ercede% lorentino and #polinio $$$" ercede% was the defendant in this case"
#polinio lorentino died" -hat on .anuary '/ and ebruary '0, '123, #polonio $sabelo lorentino e!ecuted a will before the notary public of $locos *ur, instituting as his universal heirs his aforementioned '' children, the posthumos #polonio $$$ and his widow *everina a% de &eon4 that he declared, in one of the paragraphs of said will, all his property should be divided among all of his children of both marriages" -hat, in the partition of the said testator5s estate, there was given to #polonio lorentino $$$, his posthumos son, the property mar6ed with the letters #, 7, 8, 9, , and in the complaint, a gold rosary, pieces of gold, of silver and of table service, livestoc6, palay, some personal property and other objects mentioned in the complaint" -hat #polonio lorentino $$$, the posthumos son of the second marriage, died in '12'4 that his mother, *everina a% de &eon, succeeded to all his property described in the complaint4 that the widow, *everina a% de &eon died on November '1, '231, leaving a will instituting as her universal heiress her only living daughter, daughter, ercedes lorentino" Iss"e whether the property left at the death of #polonio $$$, the posthumos son of #polonio $sabelo $$, was or was not invested with the character of reservable property when it was received by his mother, *everina a% de &eon #e$% ;as invested with the character of reservable property"
-he property enumerated by the plaintiffs in paragraph < of their complaint came, without any doubt whatsoever, from the common ancestor #polonio $sabelo $$, and when, on the death of #polonio $$$ without issue the same passed by operation of law into the hands of his legitimate mother, *everina a% de &eon, it became reservable property, in accordance with the provision of article 1'' of the 8ode, with the object that the same should not fall into the possession of persons other than those comprehended within the order of person other than those comprehended within the order of succession traced by the law from #polonio $sabelo $$, the source of said property" Reservable property neither comes, nor falls under, the absolute dominion of the ascendant who inherits and receives same from his descendant, therefore it does not form part of his own property nor become the legitimate of his forced heirs" $t becomes his own property only in case that all the relatives of his descendant shall have died (reservista) in which case said reservable property losses such character" ;ith full right *everina a% de &eon could have disposed in her will of all her own property in favor of her only living daughter, ercedes lorentino, as forced heiress" 7ut whatever provision there is in her will concerning the reservable property received from her son #polonio $$$, or rather, rather, whatever whatever provision will reduce the rights of the other reservatarios, the half brothers and nephews of her daughter ercedes, is unlawful, null and void, inasmuch as said property is not her own and she has only the right of usufruct or of fiduciary, with the obligation to preserve and to deliver same to the reservatarios, one of whom is her own daughter, ercedes lorentino" or the foregoing reasons it follows that with the reversal of the o rder of decision appealed from we should declare, as we hereby do, that the aforementioned property, inherited by the deceased *everina a% de &eon from her son #polonio lorentino $$$, is reservable property4 that the plaintiffs, being relatives of the deceased #polonio $$$ within the third degree, are entitled to si!=sevenths of said reservable property4 that the defendant ercedes is entitled to the remaining seventh part thereof"
