Escheat Proceedings Under Rule 91: An Easy Law Guide

When a person passes away leaving behind property, the traditional expectation is that their estate will naturally pass to their children, spouse, or other surviving relatives. But what happens if someone dies without leaving a will (intestate) and without a single living heir, relative, or legally entitled person to claim the estate?

Under Philippine remedial law, this rare scenario is governed by Rule 91 of the Rules of Court, which establishes the legal mechanism known as escheat.

CHAPTER 1: FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS

Let's explore the foundational concepts of escheat, how it differs from other legal processes, and the strict requirements for initiating the action.

The Power of the Pause

The world is obsessed with speed. Instant messaging, real-time updates, fast fashion, faster answers. Somewhere along the line, we bought into the myth that a fast response is a strong response.

Why We Need to Celebrate Small Victories (And How to Do It!) 🌟

We often save our celebrations for the big moments—a promotion, a graduation, or a major milestone. But real life happens in the daily steps along the way!

Who Would Have Thought? Finding God in Life’s Unexpected Turns

 

Life rarely follows the exact blueprint we design for it. We spend so much energy planning our steps, mapping out timelines, and trying to orchestrate the outcome of every season. Yet, when we look back at the moments that truly defined us, the quiet realizations, the sudden open doors, the unexpected shifts in direction, we often find ourselves saying with a gentle smile: "Who would have thought?"

Last minute tips on Remedial Law

Part 1: Setting the Mindset & Exam Strategy

1. The Bar Examination Reality Check

Remedial Law is Not Just Memory. It is Flow and Structure: The bar examiner is not looking for you to recite whole codal provisions word-for-word. They want to see if you understand where a case belongs, how it gets there, and what procedural weapon kills or cures it.

Law students, master the power of small beginnings

When you open  your codals, face a massive list of cases, or stare down the syllabus for a grueling semester, it is easy to feel entirely overwhelmed. The sheer volume of reading material in law school can make every mountain look insurmountable.

We often think success belongs only to those who launch into massive, marathon study sessions overnight. But the secret to surviving and thriving in law school lies in a much gentler, more disciplined approach: Be happy with small beginnings.

Politics without throwing things

When we open our social media feeds or turn on the news, politics looks like one big shouting match. Heated debates, polarized opinions, and constant bickering make it feel like politics is just a permanent state of conflict.

So, does politics mean conflict?

Let's look at it the easy way: Conflict is part of it, but politics is actually how we fix the mess.

Protecting your land back home

An Easy Law Web Guide by Atty. Chato Olivas

Introduction: The Distance and the Dilemma

If you live, work, or have settled down thousands of miles away from the Philippines, your connection to home is often anchored to something deeply personal: a family home left by parents, a vacant lot where you hope to retire someday, or an inherited piece of ancestral land.

Yet, when a relative passes away or a property transaction needs attention back home, distance immediately turns into a source of anxiety. You find yourself staring at conflicting advice from well-meaning relatives, worrying about long-distance fraud, or feeling intimidated by thick walls of legal jargon. Questions start piling up all at once: Can I legally own this land if I am now a citizen of another country? Do we really need to go through a court trial just to divide an estate? Why is a document I signed abroad getting rejected by offices in Manila?

Finding Peace in a Prayer That Listens

As we grow older and accumulate life's experiences, our perspective on many things naturally evolves. Often, our approach to prayer changes right along with it. We move away from viewing prayer as a transactional checklist or a way to steer outcomes, and toward something much deeper: a quiet space to receive, to listen, and to align our hearts with God's will.

[Easy Law Web Guide] 50 Essential Points on Execution of Judgment (Rule 39)

I. General Principles & Fundamental Nature

Definition: Execution is the remedy provided by law for the enforcement of a judgment or final order. It is the fruit and end of the lawsuit.

Personal credibility: your reputation in action

We spend a lot of time thinking about money — how to make it, save it, and invest it. But there is another kind of value running your life behind the scenes, and it matters just as much as what's in your bank account: your personal credibility.

To put it simply: Personal credibility is your reputation in action.

It isn't about legal documents, financial accounts, or grand promises. It is the real-time proof of who you are, built every single day through your choices, your consistency, and your word. Here is how personal credibility actually works in real life—and what scripture has to say about it.

When God Gives You More Than You Need, Become the Miracle

We often pray for enough. Enough strength to get through a difficult week, enough patience to handle unexpected trials, enough resources to meet our daily obligations. We ask for provision, for safety, and for comfort.

Yet, there are quiet moments when grace overflows, when life hands us an abundance that stretches far beyond our personal requirements. It might be an unexpected surplus of time, a sudden financial blessing, a storehouse of hard-earned wisdom, or an emotional resilience we didn't know we possessed.

Grace and Wisdom for the Legal Journey - A 30-day devotional for law students and lawyers

 

Day 1: The Ultimate Lawgiver

"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us." — Isaiah 33:22

Every day, lawyers open statutes, scour jurisprudence, and examine administrative circulars looking for the rules that govern human conduct. Law students spend countless hours memorizing provisions, tracing legislative intent, and trying to master the intricate frameworks built by men and women. We live in a world obsessed with codes, regulations, and procedural rules.

Yours, Mine and Ours: A Simple Guide to Marital Property

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction: What is "Yours is Mine"?
Chapter 2: The Rule: Who Owns What After Marriage?

Your discipline today is your security tomorrow

We live in a world that loves instant results. One-click checkouts, same-day deliveries, and fast answers have trained our brains to expect a reward the exact second we put in effort.

The problem? Life doesn't work that way.

Doing Your Best in Law School

Law school is tough. With hundreds of pages of reading, scary cold calls from professors, and the stress of upcoming bar exams, just getting through the day can feel like a win.

So why even try to do your best? And how do you actually do it without losing your mind? Let's break it down.

The Sacred in the Secular: Finding God in Our Daily Work

 

We often hear talk about "sacred" work – ministry, perhaps, or missions. We think of those roles as especially blessed, set apart for God's purpose. And we might contrast that with "secular" work – the everyday jobs that seem more about paying the bills than building the kingdom. But what if I told you there's no real divide? What if I told you all our work matters to God?

Think about it: who created the world we live in? Who gave us the talents and abilities we use every day? It's God. And if He gifted us with these tools, doesn't it stand to reason He cares how we use them? Whether you're a teacher shaping young minds, a programmer building the digital world, a doctor healing the sick, or a parent nurturing a family – your work, whatever it may be, has inherent value in God's eyes.

Why Every Winner Needs a "Debrief" (And How to Do It Right)

Have you ever finished a big project, survived a major crisis, or walked out of a high-stakes meeting, sighed with relief, and just moved immediately to the next task on your desk?

Most of us do that. It is human nature to finish a heavy task and want to close the book immediately. But when we do that, we miss out on the most valuable asset we just earned: experience.

Living as worship

 

There are moments when clarity hits you all at once. A single, quiet truth settles into your heart and cuts through all the noise of a busy life: Our highest purpose is to worship God with our lives.

Facing the storm: Three vital lessons from the Book of Job

 

For anyone trying to make sense of a world that often feels deeply unfair, the Book of Job stands as a monumental piece of literature. It doesn't offer neat, wrapped-up answers or easy comfort. Instead, it sits right down in the ashes with us, refusing to look away from the raw reality of human pain.

What captures your attention captures your heart

 "You become what you keep looking at."

This is a fact of life. Whether you ask a scientist, a psychologist, or read the Bible, they all say the exact same thing: Your focus dictates your future.

How we treat people is how we treat God

We like our "faith" clean. We like it in quiet sanctuaries, during Sunday morning worship, or in the peaceful silence of our early morning devotionals. In those moments, loving God feels natural. It’s a vertical relationship, us looking up to a perfect, holy Creator.

But scripture refuses to let us keep our faith in the clouds.

The 1-Touch Rule: Organize Your Life in 2 Minutes

EASY LAW ADVICE NO. 3
(Productivity)

The 1-Touch Rule:
Organize Your Life in 2 Minutes

If you are a law student or a bar candidate, you need to maximize your time, especially if you are a working student. You cannot afford to waste your time because every minute counts.

How to find the "lost" hours in your daily schedule

You hit 8:00 PM, collapse onto the sofa, and think: "I was busy all day, but what did I actually get done?"

If you don't schedule it, it won't happen

 

Let's talk about getting things done. We all have big goals—whether it's surviving your first year of law school, preparing for a major case, or finally tackling that massive writing project you've been dreaming about. But here is the hard truth about productivity: if a task just lives in your head as a floating "to-do," it will always lose out to the urgent fires and daily distractions.

25 essential points about the Clerical Error Law (RA 9048)

The Story of Maria

Imagine waiting in line for hours at the DFA office, passport application documents in hand, only to be turned away at the window because of a single letter. This is exactly what happened to Maria. For thirty-five years, she lived her life, finished school, paid her taxes, and built a career using the name "Maria Santos." But when she pulled her official security-paper birth certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for her passport application, she was shocked to see she was legally registered as "Marja Santos." A tired clerk on a manual typewriter back in 1991 had hit the "J" key instead of the "I," and just like that, Maria became a legal stranger to her own identity.

Child discipline methods that work

 

Red Tagging and the Writ of Amparo

If a person is a victim of red-tagging, a petition for a writ of Amparo is the proper remedy. I'll discuss this important Supreme Court decision in this blog post.

This is about the case of Siegfred D. Deduro v. Maj. Gen. Eric C. Vinoya (G.R. No. 254753, July 04, 2023).

The Facts:

Siegfred Deduro was an activist, founding member of the Bayan Muna Party-list, and former representative. He filed a petition for a writ of amparo against Maj. Gen. Eric Vinoya (Commanding Officer of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army). Deduro alleged that military officers under Vinoya’s command explicitly red-tagged him during an Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting, labeling him as part of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) hierarchy.

Contempt under Rule 71 (ROC): 100 essential lessons

100 Essential Lessons on Contempt of Court

By: Atty. Chato Olivas

Part I: The Nature of the Power (1–10)

1. Inherent Power: The power to punish for contempt is inherent in all courts; it is a "law of self-preservation."

Depositions: 25 things to remember

1. Concept and purpose

This is the taking of a person's statement, under oath, about facts and circumstances that he witnessed. Note that the statement is not taken during the court proceedings. It is taken outside of the court where the case is pending. It may even be taken even there is no court case yet, as I will explain below. 

The person whose statement is taken is called the DEPONENT (not witness). His statement is known as DEPOSITION (strictly, not testimony).

The purposes are to discover information and preserve the deponent's statement. The deposition can also be used to impeach a person's credibility if and when he takes the witness stand later on during the trial of a case, and his testimony contradicts something he said in his deposition.

A prospective witness is examined to preserve his or her testimony for future use. When the deposition is taken, it does not mean that the deponent has already become the witness of the party taking the deposition. He becomes a witness only when he or his deposition is presented in court.

2. Part of Discovery

They are one of the primary modes of discovery under the Philippine Rules of Court (Rules 23 & 24). Discovery refers to proceedings used by parties to learn or find out facts that are important to their case.

3. Two Main Types:

Depositions Pending Action (Rule 23): Taken during the pendency of a case to gather information.

Depositions Before Action or Pending Appeal (Rule 24): Used to perpetuate testimony when there's a risk of the witness becoming unavailable (e.g., old age, illness).

4. Scope of Examination (Broad)

You can inquire into any matter that is not privileged as long as it is relevant to the subject matter of the pending action, whether or not it will be admissible at trial.

5. Relevance, Not Admissibility

The test for a deposition question is relevance to the subject matter, not immediate admissibility as evidence. A  matter is relevant when it has a relation to the fact in issue as to induce a belief as to its existence or non-existence.

6. Who Can Be Deposed 

Any person (party or non-party) whose testimony is relevant to the case.

7. Notice is Crucial

Proper written notice must be served on all parties, specifying the deponent's name, the time, and the place of the deposition.

8. Officer Authorized

Depositions are taken before a judge, a notary public, or any other officer authorized to administer oaths. In civil cases, depositions can be taken before a judge who is not the one hearing the case. For example, the case is in Manila and the deponent, a sickly elderly man, resides in Camalaniugan, Cagayan. The deposition can be taken before a judge in Camalaniugan, Cagayan.

9. Oral or Written

Depositions can be taken upon oral examination or upon written interrogatories (though the latter is less common for live depositions). Oral examination means that the questions are asked directly by counsel, and the deponent immediately answers. The questions and answers are recorded through transcripts of stenographic notes. Written interrogatories means that the questions are written and given to the deponent before the actual deposition-taking. Answers are also given in writing.

10. Subpoena for Non-Parties

If the deponent is not a party to the case, subpoenas are necessary. There are two kinds of subpoenas: subpoena ad testificandum (to compel the deponent to appear and give a statement); subpoena duces tecum (to compel appearance and bring documents).

11. Party Deponents

If the person to be deposed in a party to the case, meaning either a plaintiff or defendant, a notice is sufficient to compel attendance. Generally, a subpoena is not needed. 

12. Presence of Counsel

All parties have the right to be present in person or by counsel, and cross-examine the deponent.

13. Objections During Deposition

Objections to questions (e.g., leading, privileged, irrelevant) should be stated concisely for the record, but the examination proceeds unless the objection clearly goes to the form of the question that can be cured.

14. Motion to Terminate or Limit

A party can move the court to terminate or limit the deposition if it is being conducted in bad faith or to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party.

15. Recording Methods

Depositions can be recorded stenographically (most common), by video, or by other means, as long as it is accurate.

16. Transcription

The testimony is transcribed into a written record.

17. Reading and Signing

The deponent has the right to read, correct (for errors in form or substance), and sign the transcript. This right can be waived.

18. Waiver of Errors

Errors and irregularities in the notice, officer, manner of taking, or transcription are generally waived if not promptly objected to.

19. Filing with the Court

Once completed and signed, the deposition is sealed and filed with the court.

20. Deposition can be used to impeach

The deposition can be presented to contradict or impeach the testimony of the deponent as a witness. Let's say that in an action for damages, the deponent was presented as a witness and he stated that he saw the defendant punch the victim. However, in his deposition which was taken earlier, he stated that he did not see who punched the victim. The deposition can be used to contradict his testimony in court. This is done by presenting the deposition to the witness and having him confirm the statement in his deposition.

21. Deposition can be used as substantive evidence

If the deponent is the adverse party, it can be used as substantive evidence for any purpose.

22. Unavailability

If the deponent is dead, outside the 100km radius from the place of trial (unless due to the party's procurement), infirm, or cannot be compelled to attend, his deposition can be presented in court.

23. Exceptional Circumstances

His deposition can be presented for any reason the court deems just and exceptional. For example, he is very sick and lives in a distant place, and is too weak to travel, his deposition can be presented.

24. Deposition-taking is Not Part of the Trial

It's a discovery tool; the deponent is not on trial, and the goal is to gather and preserve information. It is possible that the deposition will not be presented in court. That is the choice of the person who took the deposition.

25. Truthfulness Under Oath

Like trial testimony, deposition testimony is given under oath, and false statements can lead to perjury charges.

Video: Child Discipline (Part 1) - The Legal Aspects

 

Wise Living: Making the Most of Every Moment

There is an old story about a traveler who was given a single golden coin each morning. The catch was simple: the coin could not be saved. If it wasn’t spent by sunset, it would vanish into thin air, and a new one would appear the next day.

Forcible entry and unlawful detainer: 100 essential points to remember

Story 1: The Midnight Fence (Forcible Entry)

The Scenario:

Mang Nestor has owned a small vacant lot in the province for twenty years. He visits it every weekend to garden and check on his fruit trees. One Saturday morning, he arrives to find a shocking sight: a brand-new barbed-wire fence surrounds his property, and a small shanty has been built in the middle of his vegetable patch.

A man named Cardo is sitting there. Cardo claims, "I have an old Spanish title that says this is mine now!" When Mang Nestor tries to open his own gate, Cardo threatens him with a bolo.

Beyond the Bottom Line: Discovering Your Kingdom Purpose in Work

We spend a significant portion of our lives working – whether it's building a business, serving in a profession, or dedicating ourselves to a vocation. For many, the primary drivers are income, security, or even personal achievement. But for the Christian, there's a deeper call, a higher purpose that transcends the immediate returns: a Kingdom purpose.

Healing and Hope: A Guide to Protecting and Supporting Child Abuse Victims

The gift of years: Aging with grace and purpose

 

By Atty. Rosario “Chato” Olivas

Refined with the assistance of Generative AI

4.17.26

The Working Law Student's Guide to Success

A project of Atty. Rosario Olivas
easylawonline@gmail.com
2025. All rights reserved.

Summons: 25 important things to remember

 

The court acquires jurisdiction over the defendant's person by service of summons. Here are 25 important things to remember about service of summons in the Philippines under the 2019 Amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Search and seizure in government-controlled facilities

 In the Philippines, the rules on the search of a government-controlled facility—such as a government office, a public school, or a correctional institution—differ from the strict warrant requirements applied to private residences. Because these are public spaces, the "expectation of privacy" is often considered lower, though not entirely non-existent.

Here is a breakdown of the prevailing legal principles based on jurisprudence and the Rules of Court:

50 essential points about guardianship

 Understanding guardianship in the Philippines requires navigating both the Rules of Court (Rules 92-97) and the A.M. No. 03-02-05-SC (Rule on Guardianship of Minors).

Here are 50 essential points categorized for clarity:

Nature and Jurisdiction

1. Definition: Guardianship is a trust relation in which one person (the guardian) acts for another (the ward) who is regarded as incapable of managing their own affairs.

3 Reasons to choose joy

3 REASONS TO CHOOSE JOY

(RRO/4.16.26/#13)

1. It is Your Strength

Joy isn’t just a feeling; it is a spiritual battery. When your joy is high, your capacity to handle stress and difficult situations increases. It’s the energy that keeps you standing when others quit. "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) When you feel drained, don't just look for more caffeine. Look for more joy. It’s the fuel that powers your endurance.

2. It is Not Dependent on Circumstances

Happiness depends on happenings but joy is more stable. Because it comes from the Holy Spirit, it doesn't fluctuate with the situation. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (James 1:2) You can be joyful even in a serious situation. Joy is a choice you make, not a result of your environment.

3. It is Good Medicine

Science and Scripture agree: a joyful heart has a healing effect on your physical body. Choosing joy is a form of spiritual self-care that keeps your mind sharp and your body resilient for the work ahead. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22) Think of joy as a prescription for your health. A daily dose of God's goodness keeps discouragement away.

Choose to be joyful today!