ADOPTION

ADOPTER

person of age and in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights may adopt, provided he is in a position to support and care for his children, legitimate or illegitimate, in keeping with the means of the family.

adopter must be at least sixteen years older than the person to be adopted

ADOPTED

Only minors may be adopted, except in the cases when the adoption of a person of majority age is allowed

The following persons may not adopt

The guardian with respect to the ward prior to the approval of the final accounts rendered upon the termination of their guardianship relation

Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude

An alien, except

A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative by consanguinity

One who seeks to adopt the legitimate child of his or her Filipino spouse

One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his or her spouse a relative by consanguinity of the latter

Husband and wife must jointly adopt, except in the following cases

When one spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child

When one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other

The following may not be adopted

A person of legal age

An alien with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has no diplomatic relations

A person who has already been adopted unless such adoption has been previously revoked or rescinded

EFFECTS

the adopted shall be deemed to be a legitimate child of the adopters and both shall acquire the reciprocal rights and obligations arising from the relationship of parent and child, including the right of the adopted to use the surname of the adopters

The parental authority of the parents by nature over the adopted shall terminate and be vested in the adopters

The adopted shall remain an intestate heir of his parents and other blood relatives

INTESTATE SUCCESSION

Legitimate and illegitimate children and descendants and the surviving spouse of the adopted shall inherit from the adopted

When the parents, legitimate or illegitimate, or the legitimate ascendants of the adopted concur with the adopter, they shall divide the entire estate, one-half to be inherited by the parents or ascendants and the other half, by the adopters

When the surviving spouse or the illegitimate children of the adopted concur with the adopters, they shall divide the entire estate in equal shares, one-half to be inherited by the spouse or the illegitimate children of the adopted and the other half, by the adopters

When the adopters concur with the illegitimate children and the surviving spouse of the adopted, they shall divide the entire estate in equal shares, one-third to be inherited by the illegitimate children, one-third by the surviving spouse, and one-third by the adopters

When only the adopters survive, they shall inherit the entire estate

When only collateral blood relatives of the adopted survive

may petition the court for the judicial rescission IF:

adopted has committed any act constituting ground for disinheriting a descendant

adopted has abandoned the home of the adopters during minority for at least one year, or, by some other acts, has definitely repudiated the adoption