G.R. No. 117740 - CAROLINA ABAD GONZALES, VS. COURT OF APPEALS, HONORIA EMPAYNADO, CECILIA H. ABAD, MARIAN H. ABAD AND ROSEMARIE S. ABAD.

Ruling

Accordingly, on October 4, 1973, private respondents filed a motion to annul the extra-judicial partition executed by petitioners, as well as TCT Nos. 108482, 108483, and 108484, the Torrens titles issued in substitution of TCT Nos. 13530, 53671, and 64021 and the real estate mortgages constituted by the latter on said properties. After due trial, the lower court, on November 2, 1973, rendered the following judgment: WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered as follows: (1) Declaring Cecilia E. Abad, Marian E. Abad and Rosemarie S. Abad acknowledged natural children of the deceased Ricardo M. Abad; (2) Declaring said acknowledged natural children, namely: Cecilia E. Abad, Marian E. Abad, and Rosemarie S. Abad the only surviving legal heirs of the deceased Ricardo M. Abad and as such entitled to succeed to the entire estate of said deceased, subject to the rights of Honoria Empaynado, if any, as co-owner of any of the property of said estate that may have been acquired thru her joint efforts with the deceased during the period they lived together as husband and wife; (3) Denying the petition of decedents collateral relatives, namely: Dolores M. Abad, Cesar M. Tioseco and Carolina M. Abad to be declared as heirs and excluding them from participating in the administration and settlement of the estate of Ricardo Abad; (4) Appointing Honoria Empaynado as the administratrix in this intestacy with a bond of THIRTY THOUSAND (P30,000.00) PESOS; and (5) Ordering Cesar Tioseco to surrender to the new administratrix all property or properties, monies and such papers that came into his possession by virtue of his appointment as administrator, which appointment is hereby revoked. [1] The trial court, likewise, found in favor of private respondents with respect to the latters motion for annulment of certain documents. On November 19, 1974, it rendered the following judgment: WHEREFORE, this Court finds oppositors Motion for Annulment, dated October 4, 1973 to be meritorious and accordingly - 1. Declares that the six (6) parcels of land described in TCT Nos. 13530, 53671 and 64021, all registered in the name of Ricardo Abad, as replaced by TCT No. 108482 in the name of Dolores de Mesa Abad, TCT No. 108483 in the name of Cesar de Mesa Tioseco and TCT No. 108484 in the name of Carolina de Mesa Abad-Gonzales, and the residential house situated at 2432 Opalo Street, San Andres Subdivision, Manila, to be the properties of the late Ricardo Abad; 2. Declares the deed of Extra Judicial Settlement of the Estate of the Deceased Lucila de Mesa, executed on May 2, 1972 (Doc. No. 445, Page No. 86, Book No. VII, Series of 1972 of the notarial book of Faustino S. Cruz) by petitioners and Carolina de Mesa Abad-Gonzales, to be inexistent and void from the beginning; 3. Declares as null and void the cancellation of TCT Nos. 13530, 53671 and 64021 and issuance in lieu thereof, of TCT Nos. 108482, 108483 and 108484; 4. Orders the Register of Deeds of Manila to cancel TCT No. 108482