IN THE MATTER OF THE INTESTATE ESTATE OF MIGUELITA C.
PACIOLES AND EMMANUEL C. CHING v. EMILIO B. PACIOLES, JR.
G.R. No. 214415 | October 15, 2018 | First Division | TIJAM, J.:
DOCTRINE:
One of the functions and duties of an administrator of an estate is to administer all goods,
chattels, rights, credits, and estate which shall at any time come to his possession or to the
possession of any other person for him, and from the proceeds to pay and discharge all debts,
legacies, and charges on the same, or such dividends thereon. But if the appointment was
revoked, necessarily, his right over the funds contained in the joint account no longer exists.
FACTS:
The deceased, Miguelita Pacioles, left several real properties, including a bank account in
dispute. She was survived by her husband, respondent Emilio Pacioles, Jr., and her brother,
petitioner Emmanuel Ching, among others. Emilio and Emmanuel were appointed as regular
administrators of Miguelita’s estate, but Emmanuel’s appointment was subsequently revoked.
In its administration, two dollar-accounts with BPI were included in the inventory of
Miguelita’s estate. The said dollar accounts were consolidated into a single account under the
names of Emilio and Emmanuel. Emilio filed a motion to allow him to withdraw money from the
subject BPI account to defray the cost of property taxes due on the real properties of Miguelita's
estate.
The intestate court granted the motion for the sole purpose of paying the subject realty
obligation. Accordingly, the Branch Manager of the said bank was ordered to immediately
release in favor of the administrator, Emilio, the total amount of Php 430,000.00. BPI requested
for a clarification on the Order and gave an opinion that the subject BPI account is covered by
the Foreign Currency Deposit Act of the Philippines. Thus, it is exempt from orders of judicial
and quasi-judicial bodies and that withdrawals therefrom can only be made with the written
consent of the account holders, who are Emilio and Emmanuel.
Emmanuel filed a Petition for Certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA). The CA
found that the court a quo did not err in allowing the withdrawal of funds from the subject BPI
account as such court has jurisdiction over the properties of Miguelita until the same have been
distributed among the heirs entitled thereto.
ISSUE:
Should an administrator whose appointment has been revoked still have rights over the
funds of a deceased person?
RULING:
No.
One of the functions and duties of an administrator of an estate is to administer all goods,
chattels, rights, credits, and estate which shall at any time come to his possession or to the
possession of any other person for him, and from the proceeds to pay and discharge all debts,
legacies, and charges on the same, or such dividends thereon. In this case, there were two
administrators of Miguelita's estate, i.e. Emilio and Emmanuel. However, Emmanuel's
appointment was revoked by the CA. Necessarily, his right over the funds contained in the joint
account no longer exists. It must be emphasized that his right over the same merely emanates
from his being a co-administrator.
Considering the nature of a joint account, the Court cannot but adhere to banking laws
which requires the consent of all the depositors before any withdrawal could be made. However,
since Emmanuel no longer has a right over the subject joint account in view of his removal as a
co-administrator, it is necessary that his name should be removed as an account holder and co-
depositor of Emilio in a proper forum for Emilio to be able to completely perform his functions
and duties as an administrator.
Thus, without such removal as an account holder and co-depositor, the intestate court
erred in ruling that the consent of Emilio is sufficient to allow the withdrawal from the subject
BPI account without further reasons therefor.
On this note, emphasis must be that the jurisdiction of an intestate court continues until
after the payment of all the debts and the remaining estate delivered to the heirs entitled to
receive the same. Thus, proper proceedings must be had before the intestate court so that the
subject joint account should be administered solely by Emilio, who is the lone administrator.
