Milagros Cortes vs. CA and Menandro Reselva

Facts : 

Menandro A. Reselva, Milagros R. Cortes, and Florante Reselva are brothers and sister and children - heirs of the late spouses Teodoro T. Reselva and Lucrecia Aguirre Reselva.. During their lifetime, they acquired a property particularly a house and lot consisting of 100 square meters, more or less. Lucrecia Aguirre Reselva died ahead of Teodoro T. Reselva. The latter executed a holographic will which was probated, with Milagros R. Cortes, as the appointed Executrix. After having been appointed and qualified as Executrix, she filed a motion before respondent probate court praying that Menandro A. Reselva, the occupant of the property, be ordered to vacate the and turn over to said Executrix the possession. In the Appellate Court, the Regional Trial Court's order was set aside for having been issued beyond the latter's limited jurisdiction as a probate court.

Issue : WON probate courts can adjudicate title to properties claimed to be part of the estate which are claimed to belong to outside parties.

Held:

          No. Menandro A. Reselva, cannot be considered an outside party for he is one of the three compulsory heirs of the the decedent. As such, he is very much involved in the settlement of Teodoro's estate. By way of exception to the above-mentioned rule, when the parties are all heirs of the decedent, it is optional upon them to submit to the probate court the question of title to property. Here, the probate court is competent to decide the question of ownership. More so, when the opposing parties belong to the poor stratum of society and a separate action would be most expensive and inexpedient. 

Menandro's claim is not at all adverse to, or in conflict with that of, the decedent since the former's theory merely advances co-ownership with the latter. In the same way, when the controversy is whether the property in issue belongs to the conjugal partnership or exclusively to the decedent, the same is properly within the jurisdiction of the probate court, which necessarily has to liquidate the conjugal partnership in order to determine the estate of the decedent which is to be distributed among the heirs.

Rule 73, Section 2 of the Revised Rules of Court states : 

SEC. 2. Where estate upon dissolution of marriage. - When the marriage is dissolved by the death of the husband or wife, the community property shall be inventoried, administered, and liquidated, and the debts thereof paid, in the testate or intestate proceedings of the deceased spouse. If both spouses have died, the conjugal partnership shall be liquidated in the testate or intestate proceedings of either.

The court ordered that the case be returned to the probate court for the liquidation of the conjugal partnership of Teodoro and Lucrecia prior to settlement of the estate of Teodoro.