Affidavit of Self-Adjudication (Sole Heir) — Sample and Free Generator

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
CITY OF [MARIKINA CITY] ) S.S.
x----------------------------------------x

AFFIDAVIT OF SELF-ADJUDICATION

I, [ANA R. DELA CRUZ], of legal age, single, Filipino, and a resident of [12 Rizal Street, Barangay Malanday, Marikina City], after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. I am the only surviving child and sole heir of [PEDRO S. DELA CRUZ], who died intestate on [12 March 2026] in [Marikina City], as evidenced by the Certificate of Death issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority;

2. At the time of his death, the said decedent was a [widower], his spouse [ELENA R. DELA CRUZ] having predeceased him on [08 January 2019], and he left no other descendant, ascendant, or compulsory heir apart from myself;

3. The said decedent died without leaving any last will and testament, and no proceedings for the settlement of his estate have been instituted in any court;

4. The said decedent left no debts or outstanding obligations of any kind;

5. The said decedent left the following properties:

     (a) A parcel of land situated in [Barangay Malanday, Marikina City], containing an area
         of [ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) SQUARE METERS], covered by [Transfer Certificate of
         Title No. 22334] of the Registry of Deeds for [Marikina City];

     (b) A savings account with [Banco de Oro, Marikina branch] under Account No.
         [001234567890];

6. Being the sole heir of the said decedent, and pursuant to Section 1, Rule 74 of the Rules of Court, I hereby ADJUDICATE unto myself the entirety of the above-described estate, to the exclusion of all others;

7. I hereby undertake to cause the publication of this Affidavit once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in [Marikina City], as required by Section 1 of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court;

7-A. The personal property comprised in the said estate, consisting of the bank deposit described in paragraph 5(b) above, has a value of [P____________], which I certify under oath to be true and correct; and I shall file with the Register of Deeds, simultaneously with and as a condition precedent to the filing of this Affidavit, a bond in that amount, conditioned upon the payment of any just claim that may be filed under Section 4 of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court;

8. I further bind myself to answer for any lawful claim that may be filed against the estate, and for the share of any heir who may have been unduly deprived, within two (2) years from the date hereof, in accordance with Section 4 of Rule 74 of the Rules of Court;

9. I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing and for the purpose of transferring the above-described properties into my name with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Registry of Deeds, and the bank concerned.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Marikina City], Philippines.

                                        ______________________________
                                        [ANA R. DELA CRUZ]
                                        Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Marikina City], affiant exhibiting to me [her PhilSys ID No. 1234-5678-9012] as competent evidence of identity.

                                        ______________________________
                                        Notary Public

Doc. No. ______;
Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of 20____.

Are you actually the sole heir?

This is the question the whole document turns on, and people get it wrong more often than you would expect. Philippine intestate succession has an order, and 'sole heir' means nobody ahead of you or beside you in that order survives.

The publication requirement applies to you too

Section 1 of Rule 74 does not treat a sole heir more leniently. The affidavit must be filed with the Register of Deeds and published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. Skipping publication is the second most common defect: the BIR and the registry both ask for the affidavit of publication, and without it the transfer stalls.

And so does the bond, if there is any personal property

Section 1 names the sole heir expressly. It requires that “the parties to an extrajudicial settlement … or the sole heir who adjudicates the entire estate to himself by means of an affidavit shall file, simultaneously with and as a condition precedent to the filing of … the affidavit in the office of the register of deeds, a bond with the said register of deeds, in an amount equivalent to the value of the personal property involved as certified to under oath by the parties concerned and conditioned upon the payment of any just claim that may be filed under Section 4 of this rule.” A sole heir is in exactly the same position as several heirs.

How to fill it in

1. 1

   Establish your sole heirship

   State your relationship, and account for everyone else — the predeceased spouse with the date of death, the absence of other children, the absence of surviving parents where relevant. Vagueness here is what gets the affidavit questioned.

2. 2

   State that there is no will and no court proceeding

   Both are express Rule 74 conditions. If a will exists anywhere, this route is closed and the will must be probated.

3. 3

   State that there are no debts

   If there are debts, pay them first or go judicial. Swearing falsely that there are none is perjury and does not bind the creditor anyway.

4. 4

   List every property with its identifying number

   Title numbers, account numbers, plate numbers. The BIR needs a complete inventory to compute the estate tax, and each property needs its own eCAR.

5. 5

   Value the personal property and include the bond clause

   If the estate includes a bank account, a vehicle, shares or any other personal property, state its aggregate value and certify it under oath in the affidavit, and arrange a surety bond in that amount. Section 1 makes the bond a condition precedent to filing the affidavit with the Register of Deeds, so it is not something to sort out later. If the estate is purely real property, say so — then no bond is required and nobody should be asking you for one.

6. 6

   Include the publication undertaking and the Rule 74 section 4 clause

   Both are expected by the registry and by the BIR, and they show the affidavit was drafted with the rule in mind.

Legal basis: Rules of Court, Rule 74 sec. 1 (the sole heir's affidavit, publication, and the bond equal to the value of the personal property as a condition precedent to filing the affidavit with the Register of Deeds) and sec. 4 (two-year liability); Civil Code arts. 960–1014 (intestate succession) and arts. 887 and 895 (compulsory heirs and the legitime of illegitimate children); NIRC secs. 84–97 as amended by RA 10963, and sec. 90(D) as amended by RA 11976 on where the estate tax return is filed and paid.

Proving that you are the only heir

You are swearing to a negative — that nobody else exists — and the BIR, the registry and any bank you approach will want more than your word. Assemble the proof before you execute the affidavit, not after somebody questions it.

What comes after the affidavit

1. 1

   Publish for three consecutive weeks

   Keep the clippings and obtain the publisher's affidavit of publication.

2. 2

   File the bond, if the estate includes personal property

   A surety bond equal to the sworn value of the personal property, filed with the Register of Deeds simultaneously with the affidavit — Rule 74 sec. 1 makes it a condition precedent, not an afterthought.

3. 3

   File the estate tax return

   BIR Form 1801 within one year of death, filed and paid either electronically or manually with any authorised agent bank, an RDO through a Revenue Collection Officer, or an authorised tax software provider (NIRC sec. 90(D) as amended by RA 11976).

4. 4

   Obtain the eCAR

   One per property.

5. 5

   Pay the transfer tax and register

   LGU treasurer, then the Register of Deeds. The new title carries the two-year Rule 74 annotation.

6. 6

   Claim the rest

   Present the eCAR and the affidavit to the bank for deposits and to the LTO for vehicles.

What if…

1. 1

   …another heir appears

   The self-adjudication does not bind them. Within two years they can compel you to give up their share, and the property remains liable. The practical fix is usually to execute a corrected extrajudicial settlement including them.

2. 2

   …there is a will you did not know about

   The will must be probated. A self-adjudication executed in ignorance of a will does not defeat it.

3. 3

   …you are the sole heir but a minor

   A minor cannot execute the affidavit. A judicial or legal representative duly authorised for the purpose acts, which in practice means going to court for authority.

4. 4

   …the estate has debts you only discover later

   Creditors can proceed against you as distributee for two years under section 4 of Rule 74, up to the value of what you received.