Death Duties and Taxes

Very sorry to hear that, the first thing is do you and your wife own property (land) here in Philippines, if so unless you have children who can inherit the land it will go to her next close relative because you will not be able to inherit it from her.

It is emotionally and physically draining enough to deal with a death in the family, let alone sorting out other post mortem issues that could have been easily averted with the help of qualified professionals and proper estate planning.  As an expat, aside from having a plan for your final send off (i.e. funeral arrangements, etc.), it is also important to have a good understanding of cross border issues in probate and estate or inheritance taxes depending on regulations in your home country, your country of domicile and nationality of your heirs.  Mistakes in asset ownership titles, wills vs. trusts, beneficiary designations, gifting strategies, etc. can be quite costly and aggravating to the survivors if not done properly, depending on the size and situs of your assets in the estate.  I hope this helps with your planning, for what it's worth.

I've heard that if we both leave a Will and make us each beneficiaries in case of the partners demise, then that will take precedence over ordinary Philippine law, ie the land and property can be left for me if my wife  directs that in her will. So foreingers can own land but only if it is 'willed" to us and the other thing is that the land cannot be sold to another expat, only a Filipino.
Apparently our property will be valued and a tax made ......but who does the valuing, anyone been thought this, and what about our joint bank accounts that are frozen until a tax is paid ...anyone similarly been thought this experience?

FindlayMacD wrote:

the first thing is do you and your wife own property (land) here in Philippines, if so unless you have children who can inherit the land it will go to her next close relative because you will not be able to inherit it from her.

That's not correct if I got correct information a few years agoi and it isn't changed since then. 
Foreigners CAN inherit land.
BUT foreigners CAN'T KEEP the ownership of it. 
=The foreigner inherit as for spouces in general, but then he has to sell/give away within the max time limit. I have forgot how short time, but it was rather short.  (3 months?)
So the foreigner get some time to solve the legalities e g he sell and lease if he want to stay.

If there are children hiers too, and no will or any other overruling a normal inheritance then the spouce get a bit over half of the COUPLE'S accets.  (=Half by marriage right, plus equal share as the children.) So if there are Filipino citizen chilren and other assets, then can the inheritance be splited so the foreigner get his share from the OTHER assets if they are big enough, so the real estate problem, can be solved easiest.

No other hiers than spouse and children as long as there are any such, even if other relatives can want to falsely try to get some anyway   

(It can be some less problem if this can be solved before the death, because then no delay by the inheritance process, but I suppouse bad timing to bring up that subject except if the dieing person bring it up himsef.  (As e g a Filipino with a agricultural real estate did.)  OR perhaps it's possible to delay the finnishing of the inheritance process long time so the foreigner don't legaly own it yet?   Some other processes are very slow, so perhaps worth checking if it's possible.)

Peter Clark wrote:

what about our joint bank accounts that are frozen until a tax is paid

Oh then better not try to delay the process.
Have some at an own acount so you don't get stucked during the process.

I know of one inheritance handler Filipinos use at Palawan, but better you get one close to you who know the local valuing and such.  I don¨t know which of many authorities handle such, but just ask around localy e g at baranggay or municipaly office or among common Filipinos.

Yup still loads of confusion....For me its just that : I find this land title/ownership/other headaches will keep cropping up every now & then (& I don't give a shxx) as I don't trust no one here.... all I can say is I live my life to the fullest but I will never break my overseas bank account investing too much in anything here...too much red tape/complications/corruption for my liking....For me I tend to write off anything/everything that I own here (car/land/house/equipment)...the longer they all last the better cost averaging & works just fine for me  (7yrs & counting).
I'll leave cash/gold for my loved ones when my time comes.
You can take away my land / house / multicab / *generator (*oops sold that off...too noisy for my liking) but you can't take away my freeeeedddooom!

Peter Clark wrote:

A morbid subject I know, but these things come along and it looks like I will NOT be the one to go next in our family. My Filipina wife is in a bad way. What do I do to prepare us for the worst? 
My old scout motto "BE PREPARED".  Very grateful for advice and tips.

A consultation with a reputable and qualified estate attorney may be a good idea. 

For what it's worth.

Real Property Rights of a Foreign Spouse
A number of foreigners have told me that if you name is on the deed with their Filipina wife, should their wife predecease them, the property passes to them. This not entirely correct. To understand why, one needs to work their though of Philippine law, beginning with the Philippine Constitution
What does the Constitutional provision on foreign ownership of land in the Philippines say? Section 7, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution states: “Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain”. Thus the rule is clear that aliens, whether individuals or corporations, are disqualified from acquiring lands of the public domain. Hence, they are also disqualified from acquiring private lands.
What are the exceptions to the restriction on foreigners' acquisition of land in the Philippines? Purchase by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject to the limitations prescribed by Batas Pambansa 185 and R.A. 8179, acquisition before the 1935 Constitution,
Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a condominium project, and acquisition through hereditary succession if the foreigner is a legal or natural heir.
What is meant by ownership on the basis of hereditary succession? Hereditary succession refers to intestate succession wherein the person dies without leaving a last will and testament. Therefore the transfer of ownership of land to the non-citizen spouse cannot be totally done through a last will and testament of the decedent. It is subject to the condition that his or her compulsory heir's interest in the estate are satisfied. The compulsory heirs of the deceased spouse are guaranteed a portion of the decedent's estate. There are different classes of compulsory heirs, a surviving spouse is in a class called Concurring Compulsory Heirs. Property not subject to the rules, is the free portion of the estate and can be deposed by the decedent's Will.
So, what are the property rights of a foreigner married to a Filipino citizen? The foreigner can legally own a house or building on the land as long as he or she does not own the land on which the structure is built - an interesting rule. For this purpose, the documents like Deed of Sale can contain the name of the foreigner spouse, except for the title.
Where a foreigner is married to a Filipino citizen, and the Filipino spouse dies, the non-Filipino as the natural heir will acquire a legal interest in the property along with possible other heirs of the deceased spouse. Thus, in most cases, the surviving foreign spouse will be the co-owner of the property with other heirs of the deceased spouse. Not a good situation for the foreign spouse.
This brings us to the phrase in the Certificate of Title, which states, for example, “April Ann Cruz, married to John J. Smith, a United States citizen”. This phase is merely descriptive of the civil status of the owner of the property. In this case, the owner is April and she is married to John. The phase does not give John a right of survivorship interest in the whole property upon April's death. This is often the cause for the mistaken interpretation made by many foreigners that by right of survivorship they will inherit the property, if their name is on the certificate of title.
So, when a non-citizen married to a Filipino spouse and that spouse dies, the surviving spouse most likely will not inherit all of their martial home. Unless the deceased spouses has no surviving family, members of her family will inherit part of the property compulsory heir's rules. The situation is even worst were the property is in the name of a girlfriend and the girl friend dies. The non-citizen has no rights in the decease girlfriend estate, therefore no rights in the property.
The situation for a foreign spouse interest in the martial real estate is not good, but it is not hopeless if the non-citizen takes the time to understand the Philippine estate distribution rules. For example, creating and funding a trust that acquires the real property is a possibility. Unfortunately, for many foreigners that own property with their Filipina spouse, and the spouse dies first, the foreign spouse may find themselves in a bad situation

Double post   

As TeeJay4103 pointed out
"This is often the cause for the mistaken interpretation (*more confusion) made by many foreigners"
& Sorry Peter for my rant of frustration on my earlier post..I sincerely hope someone on this forum can be of some help.

Yes, a foreigner can inherit Philippine land if there is no will. ... In legal speak, this means that a foreigner can acquire land through intestate inheritance, i.e. the default laws on inheritance which are not transfers of ownership by way of a last will and testament. A foreigner cannot inherit land through a will

Quote from Here is the whole

An attorney who also teaches law in the Philippines supplied this reference that may be of some assistance to you:

"If a person died without a will, and he or she left legitimate and illegitimate children, and a legal spouse, how is his or her estate divided?
OFFHAND, I have to say that the matter of division of estates is quite complicated.  It has to take into account many factors, among them whether or not the deceased left a will.  If only to satisfy the curiosity of non-lawyers, I will give a very simple answer to this question.
There are basic rules to the division of a deceased's estate if he left the heirs mentioned above and he died without a will.  This is what we call "intestate succession".  These rules are as follows:
1. The legitimate child or children always get at least 1/2 of the decedent's estate. This is what is called the "legitime".  In lay terms, a legitime means mandatory share which, as a rule, cannot be reduced.     
2.  If there are at least two legitimate children, the spouse gets the same share as each legitimate child.  If there is only one legitimate child, the child gets half of the entire state, while the spouse gets 1/4 of the estate.  This, too, is his or her legitime and cannot be reduced.
3. The share of an illegitimate child, as a rule, is 1/2 of the share of a legitimate child.  While this is his legitime, it can be reduced.  This is an exception to the rule on legitimes.
4.  The legitime of illegitimate children can be subject to reduction because it cannot prejudice the legitime of the legitimate children and the spouse.  Meaning, if the illegitimate children far outnumber the legitimate children, the legitime of the legitimate children and that of the spouse shall be computed first. Whatever remains will be divided among the illegitimate children.  (See Scenarios 6 and 7 for illustration.) 
LET US ILLUSTRATE.  Do your own computation as we go along.  Try to understand why the sharing is such by going back to the rules I gave above.
Scenario 1
Souse + 1 Legitimate + 1 Illegitimate
1/2 of estate to legitimate child
1/4 of the estate to the spouse
1/4 of estate to illegitimate child
Scenario 2
Spouse + 1 Legitimate + 2 Illegitimate
1/2 of estate to legitimate child
1/4 of the estate to the spouse
1/8 of the estate to each illegitimate child
Scenario 3
Spouse + 2 Legitimate + 2 Illegitimate
1/4 of the estate to each legitimate child
1/4 of the estate to the spouse
1/8 of the estate to each illegitimate child
Scenario 4
Spouse + 2 Legitimate + 3 Illegitimate
1/4 of the estate to each legitimate child
1/4 of the estate to the spouse
1/4 of the estate to all illegitimate children who should divide it equally among themselves
Scenario 5
Spouse + 3 Legitimate + 3 Illegitimate
Divide the estate into 11 shares and give
2 shares to each Legitimate Child
2 shares to the spouse
1 share to each illegitimate child
Scenario 6
Spouse + 3 Legitimate + 20 Illegitimate
1/2 of the estate to the legitimate children who should divide it equally among themselves
1/6 of the estate to the spouse
2/6 of the estate to the illegitimate children who should divide it equally among themselves
Scenario 7
Spouse + 2 Legitimate + 20 Illegitimate
1/4 of the estate to each legitimate child
1/4 of the estate to the spouse
1/4 of the estate to the illegitimate children who should divide it equally among themselves
Now you see how complicated it can get. 🙂  This is just one situation. The rules change with each change of heirs.  For example, the division is different if the spouse is left with only the illegitimate children.
If you want guidance on the division of an estate, go to a lawyer. There is no fixed formula that I can give you at this point.  It is easier for the lawyer to compute based on specific facts"

TeeJay4103 wrote:

A]
1. The legitimate child or children always get at least 1/2 of the decedent's estate. This is what is called the "legitime".  In lay terms, a legitime means mandatory share which, as a rule, cannot be reduced.

That's wrong. But it's corrrect     IF that p1 is the second to counted.
Before the list you wrote is counted the conjugal part to the spouse, which is 50% of the couple's total assets normaly. 
If counting the conjugal part before the list you wrote, then it's time to start counting the rest of which the spouse get a bit too.   E g if there are spouse,  one legitimite child and no will, then the spouse get 75% of the couple's total assets normaly.

To clearify :
Of the part the spouse don't get by conjugal can max half be changed by will  =Normaly 25% of the coupl'e's total assets. 
If no child and no will, then the spouse get WHOLE.
(But if a foreigner get land, then a foreigner havs to sell or give away the land fast.)

Thanks chaps, so it depends on the family that are living with us or nearby how they treat me, whether they move me on or continue to live with me.  I am the bread winner of the direct family here including my 5 dogs and Milas single bro and sis are dependent on me for support. Whether I want to continue giving that support or just "walk away" and start another relationship  some distance away. the latter I think is my best way forward, move on to other things and leave memories/ possessions behind. Another option is to sell up after the funeral and give the bro and sis a million each for support, then take some cash with me. My extended family here have not been that good to us despite our efforts to help them and it bothers me that they would benefit from my loss.

Peter Clark wrote:

Calabarzon
My extended family here have not been that good to us despite our efforts to help them and it bothers me that they would benefit from my loss.

I don't know anyone from  Calabarzon any close, so I don't know if that's the normal for  Calabarzon, but a foreigner with wife from there, they moved away from there to Palawan, because where they lived at  Calabarzon it was bad too. 
E g IIlongos  (=around IloIlo) are nice people - and not loud    - recomended by several foreigners who live around there, and I know some nice people from there.
I like some tribe people and some others at Palawan. And no earthquakes there, which I find being an important factor when chosing where to settle.
An othet factor for me is settling elsewhere than the spouse has family    to avoid the risks extended family add and I want privacy not geting a lot of suprice visits. Although there are foreigners e g at Bohol and south Leyte, who live with or close to their wife's family and are very well treated by them.

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

A]
1. The legitimate child or children always get at least 1/2 of the decedent's estate. This is what is called the "legitime".  In lay terms, a legitime means mandatory share which, as a rule, cannot be reduced.

That's wrong. But it's corrrect     IF that p1 is the second to counted.
Before the list you wrote is counted the conjugal part to the spouse, which is 50% of the couple's total assets normaly. 
If counting the conjugal part before the list you wrote, then it's time to start counting the rest of which the spouse get a bit too.   E g if there are spouse,  one legitimite child and no will, then the spouse get 75% of the couple's total assets normaly.

To clearify :
Of the part the spouse don't get by conjugal can max half be changed by will  =Normaly 25% of the coupl'e's total assets. 
If no child and no will, then the spouse get WHOLE.
(But if a foreigner get land, then a foreigner havs to sell or give away the land fast.)

Thanks coach, your bloviations are greatly appreciated.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

Thanks coach, your bloviations are greatly appreciated.

That's sure much better than tell it wrong/uncleat as you did in YOUR LONG text,  where you DIDN'T tell the important conjugal part need to be counted first... 

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

A]
1. The legitimate child or children always get at least 1/2 of the decedent's estate. This is what is called the "legitime".  In lay terms, a legitime means mandatory share which, as a rule, cannot be reduced.

That's wrong. But it's corrrect     IF that p1 is the second to counted.
Before the list you wrote is counted the conjugal part to the spouse, which is 50% of the couple's total assets normaly. 
If counting the conjugal part before the list you wrote, then it's time to start counting the rest of which the spouse get a bit too.   E g if there are spouse,  one legitimite child and no will, then the spouse get 75% of the couple's total assets normaly.

To clearify :
Of the part the spouse don't get by conjugal can max half be changed by will  =Normaly 25% of the coupl'e's total assets. 
If no child and no will, then the spouse get WHOLE.
(But if a foreigner get land, then a foreigner havs to sell or give away the land fast.)

Thanks coach, your bloviations are greatly appreciated.

- @TeeJay4103

I don't think I'll ever be able to top that

/The detailed info I wrote about inheritance  /  @coach53

I don't think I'll ever be able to top that

- @Lotus Eater

Not suprising because your speciality is writing BS and lie posts   

Whats the purpouse with these post of yours?  Its common knowledge allready you are a iar and prick...

I'm curious to know what the Swedish equivalent is for the word 'Bloviations' ?

"Bloviation is a style of empty, pompous, political speech that originated in Ohio and was used by US President Warren G. Harding, who described it as 'the art of speaking for as long as the occasion warrants, and saying nothing'. "

- @Lotus Eater

So you insinuate I say nothing?

I answer pompous to crap people as you to show how STUPID your BS and lie posts about me are...