Our parent died without a will and left land still titled in their name. How do we transfer it to the heirs?

Why

When there is no will, the Civil Code decides who inherits. Children inherit first, in equal shares (Articles 978–980), and grandchildren take the place of a child who died earlier (Article 982). A surviving spouse gets the same share as each legitimate child (Article 996). Illegitimate children also inherit; under Article 176 of the Family Code, each one's legitime is half that of a legitimate child. If there are no children, the parents and the surviving spouse each take half (Article 997), and if the spouse survives with only the deceased's brothers and sisters, the spouse takes half and the siblings share the other half (Article 1001).

Before dividing anything, separate what belonged to the surviving spouse. Under the Family Code, the net community or conjugal property is split equally between the spouses (Articles 102 and 129), so only the deceased spouse's half goes into the estate. If no court settlement is filed, the surviving spouse must liquidate that property, in or out of court, within one year from the death for an absolute community (Article 103) or within six months for a conjugal partnership (Article 130); if this is not done, any later disposition or encumbrance of that property is void. Until the estate is partitioned, all the heirs co-own it (Civil Code, Article 1078), and any heir may demand partition (Article 1083). If one heir sells his hereditary share to an outsider before partition, the other heirs may buy it back within one month from written notice of the sale (Article 1088).

Rule 74, Section 1 of the Rules of Court allows an out-of-court settlement if the deceased left no will and no debts, and the heirs are all of age or any minors are represented by their judicial or legal representatives. The heirs divide the estate among themselves in a public instrument filed with the Register of Deeds; a sole heir uses an affidavit of self-adjudication instead. A bond equal to the value of any personal property must be filed at the same time, and the settlement must be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. A settlement does not bind any heir who did not take part in it or had no notice of it, and under Section 4, for two years after the distribution, an heir or other person unduly deprived of a share may compel the settlement of the estate in court, and unpaid debts of the estate may be charged against what the heirs received. Any waiver or renunciation of hereditary rights must also be in a public document (Civil Code, Article 1358).

Taxes come before the new title. Under the National Internal Revenue Code as amended by the TRAIN Law (RA 10963), the estate tax is 6% of the net estate (Section 84), and the estate tax return is due within one year from the death (Section 90(B)). Section 95 bars the Register of Deeds from registering any transfer of real property by inheritance unless the BIR certifies that the estate tax due has been paid. The local transfer tax must also be paid, within 60 days from the death under Section 135 of the Local Government Code, and the Register of Deeds and the assessor require proof of payment before transferring the title and tax declaration. For deaths before the TRAIN Law took effect, or if payment is long overdue, ask the BIR which rules and penalties apply and whether any estate tax amnesty is open.

If any heir refuses to sign, cannot be found, is a minor without a proper representative, or there are unpaid debts or a will, the extrajudicial route is closed. The heirs then need a court action for partition or a judicial settlement of the estate, where the court determines the heirs and their shares.