GR 3216; (January, 1907) (Digest)
FACTS
– Pascula Prado, widow of the deceased Juan Sangalang, filed an action against the judicial administrator of Sangalang’s estate to recover possession of certain real and personal property, claiming ownership as executor.
– The defendant, Juan Lagera (administrator), demurred. The court sustained the demurrer, holding that the property was still under administration and liquidation pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure.
– The complaint did not clarify whether the property was conjugal or “bienes para‑fernales,” but the court ruled that the classification was immaterial.
ISSUE
Whether an action to recover possession of property belonging to a decedent’s estate may proceed while the estate is still being administered and liquidated.
RULING
– The action is barred. Under Civil Code articles 1418, 1421‑1423, the inventory of a decedent’s estateincluding both conjugal assets and the wife’s “bienes para‑fernales”must be filed and settled in the same proceeding before the Court of First Instance.
– Because the conjugal partnership’s affairs were already in the liquidation process, the plaintiff’s suit could not be entertained.
– The trial court’s judgment sustaining the demurrer is affirmed; costs are awarded against the appellant.
Concurring: Arellano C.J., Torres, Mapa, Carson, and Tracey, JJ.