NANCY H.

ZAYCO and REMO HINLO in their capacity as judicial co-administrators of the

Estate of Enrique Hinlo vs. ATTY. JESUS V. HINLO, JR.
G.R. No. 170243 April 16, 2008
CORONA, J.
Facts: The estate of Enrique Hinlo was administered by the petitioners as co-administrators. Atty. Jesus
Hinlo is the grandson of Enrique in which he filed for the revocation of the letters of administration held
by the petitioners. The RTC granted the petition of Atty. Hinlo. The petitioners received a copy of the July
23, 2002 order on August 2, 2002 and moved for its reconsideration on August 9, 2002. The RTC denied
the motion for reconsideration in an order dated July 23, 2003. Petitioners received a copy of the July 23,
2003 order on July 31, 2003 and filed a notice of appeal the same day. They submitted a record on appeal
on August 29, 2003. In an order dated January 5, 2004,7 the RTC denied the notice of appeal and record
on appeal. It ruled that petitioners resorted to a wrong remedy as the July 23, 2002 and July 23, 2003 orders
were interlocutory and not subject to appeal.
The CA affirmed the decision of the lower court explaining that there was no grave abuse of discretion
committed by the latter.
Issues: a. Is an order appointing an administrator of the estate of the decedent appealable; and b. Did the
petitioners file the appeal on time?
Held: A. Yes. An order appointing an administrator of a deceased person's estate is a final determination
of the rights of the parties in connection with the administration, management and settlement of the
decedent's estate. It is a final order and, hence, appealable.
B. Yes. In appeals in special proceedings, a record on appeal is required. The notice of appeal and the record
on appeal should both be filed within 30 days from receipt of the notice of judgment or final order. Pursuant
to Neypes v. CA, the 30-day period to file the notice of appeal and record on appeal should be reckoned
from the receipt of the order denying the motion for new trial or motion for reconsideration.
From the time petitioners received the July 23, 2003 order (denying their motion for reconsideration of the
July 23, 2002 order) on July 31, 2003, they had 30 days or until August 30, 2003 to file their notice of
appeal and record on appeal. They did so on August 29, 2003. Thus, the appeal was made on time.