G.R. No. 48541; January 30, 1943
VALERIANA QUION, ETC., plaintiffs-appellees, vs. VICENTE CLARIDAD, ET AL., defendants. VICENTE CLARIDAD, GODOFREDO FAMY and EULALIA CLARIDAD, appellants.

FACTS

In the intestate proceedings of a deceased, prosecuted by the appellants, the appellants knowingly concealed the fact that the deceased left a second wife with whom he had two children, the herein appellees.

ISSUE

1. Whether the appellees, as heirs from the decedent’s second marriage who were fraudulently concealed in the intestate proceedings, have the right to recover their legal share in the estate.
2. Whether the action to recover such share is barred by the provisions on reopening intestate proceedings under the Code of Civil Procedure.

RULING

1. Yes. The trial court correctly declared the appellees as co-owners of the deceased’s estate to the extent of one-half thereof, with the right to its possession. Their dominion over their share in the inheritance was automatically vested in them by operation of law upon the death of the decedent, subject only to the lien of the latter’s creditors.
2. The action is not barred. The appellants’ claim that the intestate proceedings could no longer be reopened after the expiration of the two-year period under Sections 597 and 598 of the Code of Civil Procedure is without merit. The present case is an action for relief on the ground of fraud, which may be brought within four years after the discovery of the fraud, in accordance with Section 43 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It is distinct from a mere reopening of the intestate proceedings.