G.R. No. 5674 , September 22, 1911
EMILIANO SORIANO, petitioner-appellee, vs. BASILISA TALENS, administratix of the estate of Silvina Amuraw, ET AL., opponents-appellants.

FACTS

Emiliano Soriano originally filed an application for land registration in his personal name. After the required notices were issued and published, he sought and was granted leave to amend his application to instead name him as the “administrator of the goods, chattels and credits of Maria Soriano, deceased.” The trial proceeded under this amended capacity, and the Court of Land Registration rendered a decision ordering the registration of the land in favor of “Emiliano Soriano, as administrator of the property of Maria Soriano, deceased.” The opponents appealed.

ISSUE

Whether an administrator of a deceased person’s estate has the legal authority to apply for and obtain registration of land in his name as administrator, under the land registration laws then in force.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court held that there was no statutory authority under the land registration laws permitting an administrator to apply for registration of land belonging to the estate of a deceased person. Therefore, registration in the name of the applicant “as administrator” was without legal warrant. However, since the original notices were published when the application was still in Soriano’s personal name, and there were indications he might be the sole heir of Maria Soriano, the Court did not outright dismiss the application. Instead, it set aside the judgment and remanded the case to the trial court. The lower court was instructed to receive evidence on whether Emiliano Soriano was indeed the sole heir and owner of the land, and whether any other interested parties had appeared in the proceedings. If proven that he was the sole owner, and if he consented, the court could amend all proceedings to register the land in his personal name. If he refused, the application was to be dismissed.