1 SUCCESSION | ATTY.
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SUCCESSION OUTLINE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
A. Definition and Concept
Art. 712. Ownership is acquired by occupation and by intellectual creation.
Ownership and other real rights over property are acquired and transmitted by law, by
donation, by estate and intestate succession, and in consequence of certain
contracts, by tradition.
They may also be acquired by means of prescription.
Art. 774. Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights
and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are
transmitted through his death to another or others either by his will or by operation of
law.
Art. 1311. Contracts take effect only between the parties, their assigns and heirs,
except in case where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not
transmissible by their nature, or by stipulation or by provision of law. The heir is not
liable beyond the value of the property he received from the decedent.
B. Laws governing form
1. As to time of execution
Art. 795. The validity of a will as to its form depends upon the observance of the law
in force at the time it is made.
2. As to place of execution
Art. 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments
shall be governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed.
Art. 810. A person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written,
dated, and signed by the hand of the testator himself. It is subject to no other form,
and may be made inor out of the Philippines, and need not be witnessed
Art. 815. When a Filipino is in a foreign country, he is authorized to make a will in any
of the forms established by the law of the country in which he may be. Such will may
be probated in the Philippines. (n)
Art. 816. The will of an alien who is abroad produces effect in the Philippines if made
with the formalities prescribed by the law of the place in which he resides, or
according to the formalities observed in his country, or in conformity with those which
this Code prescribes. (n)
Art. 817. A will made in the Philippines by a citizen or subject of another country,
which is executed in accordance with the law of the country of which he is a citizen or
subject, and which might be proved and allowed by the law of his own country, shall
have the same effect as if executed according to the laws of the Philippines. (n)
Art. 818. Two or more persons cannot make a will jointly, or in the same instrument,
either for their reciprocal benefit or for the benefit of a third person. (669)
Art. 819. Wills, prohibited by the preceding article, executed by Filipinos in a foreign
country shall not be valid in the Philippines, even though authorized by the laws of the
country where they may have been executed.
IN RE WILL OF REV. ABADIA
 To determine the law applicable to a will, the determining factor shall be at the
time or date it was executed.
 Article 795 of the New Civil Code provides: “The validity of a will as to its form
depends upon the observance of the law in force at the time it is made.” The
validity of a will is to be judged not by the law enforced at the time of the
testator’s death or at the time the supposed will is presented in court for probate
or when the petition is decided by the court but at the time the instrument is
executed.
FLEUMER v. HIX
 The will of an alien who is abroad produces effect in the Philippines if made with
the formalities prescribed by the law of the place in which he resides, or
according to the formalities observed in his country, or in conformity with those
which this code provides.
 The courts of the Philippines are not authorized to take judicial notice of the laws
of the various States of the American Union. Such laws must be proved as facts.
Here the requirements of law were not met. There was no showing that the book
from which an extract was taken was printed or published under the authority of
the state of West Va. as provided in the Code of Civil Procedure; nor was the
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extract from the law attested by the certificate of the officer having charge of the
original.
ESTATE OF GIBERSON
 If an alien executes a will in the Philippines, not in conformity with our law, but in
conformity with the law of his own state or country, the will can be probated in the
Philippines.
 The requirement of law is that it must comply with the laws of the country where it
was executed for validity and not probate on the country for execution.
 An alien who makes a will in a place other than his country is permitted to follow
the laws of his own country as sanctioned by the Civil Code. On the other hand,
the Rules provide that wills proved and allowed in a foreign country, according to
the laws of such country, may be allowed, filed and recorded by the proper Court
of First Instance in the Philippines.
DELA CERNA v. POTOT
 In a joint will of husband and wife, the probate decree of the will of the husband
could only affect the share of the deceased husband. The validity of the will in so
far as the wife is concerned must be on her death and adjudicated de novo, since
a joint will is considered a separate will.
 A will void on its face can be probated.
ESTATE OF RODRIGUEZ
 Neither old age, physical infirmities feebleness of mind, weakness of the
memory, the appointment of a guardian, nor eccentricities are sufficient singly or
jointly to show testamentary incapacity.
 The provision in the rules of court invoked by the oppositors does not disallow an
administration proceeding. It merely gives an option to the heirs not to undertake
such proceeding.
C. Laws governing content
1. As to time
Art. 2263. Rights to the inheritance of a person who died, with or without a will, before
the effectivity of this Code, shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889, by other
previous laws, and by the Rules of Court. The inheritance of those who, with or
without a will, die after the beginning of the effectivity of this Code, shall be
adjudicated and distributed in accordance with this new body of laws and by the
Rules of Court; but the testamentary provisions shall be carried out insofar as they
may be permitted by this Code. Therefore, legitimes, betterments, legacies and
bequests shall be respected; however, their amount shall be reduced if in no other
manner can every compulsory heir be given his full share according to this Code
2. As to successional rights, etc.
Art. 16(2). However, intestate and testamentary successions, both with respect to the
order of succession and to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic
validity of testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by the national law of the
person whose succession is under consideration, whatever may be the nature of the
property and regardless of the country wherein said property may be found.
Art. 1039. Capacity to succeed is governed by the law of the nation of the decedent.
ESTATE OF CHRISTENSEN
 The recognition of the renvoi theory implies that the rules of the conflict of laws
are to be understood as incorporating not only the ordinary or internal law of the
foreign state or country, but its rules of the conflict of laws as well.
 The theory in the Renvoi Doctrine is applicable in this case.
 The theory of the doctrine of renvoi is that the court of the forum, in determining
the question before it, must take into account the whole law of the other
jurisdiction, but also its rules as to conflict of laws, and then apply the law to the
actual question which the rules of the other jurisdiction prescribe.
 The recognition of the renvoi theory implies that the rules of the conflict of laws
are to be understood as incorporating not only the ordinary or internal law of the
foreign state or country, but its rules of the conflict of laws as well. According to
this theory the law of the country means the whole of its laws.
ESTATE OF AMOS BELLIS
 The national law of the decedent in intestate and testate proceedings shall be
followed.
 Texas Law was applied. NCC Article 16 (2) and Art. 1039 render applicable the
national law of the decedent in intestate or testamentary successions, with
regard to four items: (1) the order of succession; (2) the amount of successional
rights; (3) the intrinsic validity of the provisions of the will, and (4) the capacity to
succeed.
 Even assuming that Texas has a conflict of law rule providing that the law of the
domicile should govern, the same would not result in a renvoi to Philippine law,
but would still refer to Texas law. The doctrine of of renvoi (reference back) in the
case at bar is inapplicable because the U.S. does not adopt the situs theory
calling for the application of where the properties are situated, since the
properties are located in the Philippines. In the absence of proof as to the conflict
of law rule of Texas, it should not be presumed to be different from ours. As the
SC ruled in Miciano v. Brimo, a provision in a foreigner’s will to the effect that his
properties shall be distributed in accordance with Philippine law and not his
national law, is illegal and void, for his national law cannot be ignored in regard to
those matter that Article 16 of the Civil Code states said national law should
govern.
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CAYETANO v. LEONIDES Art. 1003. If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, or a
 It is settled rule that as regards the intrinsic validity of the provisions of the will, as surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall succeed to the entire estate of the
provided for by Arts. 16 (2) and 1039 of NCC, the national law of the decedent deceased in accordance with the following articles.
must apply.
 Philippine law was not applied as regards the intrinsic validity of the will. The law 1. Who are the subjects?
which governs Adoracion Campos’ will is the law of Pennsylvania, USA which is
the national law of the decedent by virtue of Art. 16 (2) and Art. 1039 of the Civil 2. Relationship
Code. The settlement of the estate of Adoracion was correctly filed with the CFI
Art. 963. Proximity of relationship is determined by the number of generations. Each
of Manila where she had an estate since it was alleged and proven that
generation forms a degree. (915)
Adoracion at the time of her death was a citizen and a permanent resident of
Pennsylvania, USA and not a “usual resident” of Cavite.
Art. 964. A series of degrees forms a line, which may be either direct or collateral.

A direct line is that constituted by the series of degrees among ascendants and
D. Subject of Succession
descendants.
Art. 775. In this Title, "decedent" is the general term applied to the person whose
A collateral line is that constituted by the series of degrees among persons who are
property is transmitted through succession, whether or not he left a will. If he left a
not ascendants and descendants, but who come from a common ancestor. (916a)
will, he is also called the testator.
Art. 965. The direct line is either descending or ascending.
Art. 782. An heir is a person called to the succession either by the provision of a will
or by operation of law. The former unites the head of the family with those who descend from him.

Devisees and legatees are persons to whom gifts of real and personal property are The latter binds a person with those from whom he descends. (917)
respectively given by virtue of a will.
Art. 966. In the line, as many degrees are counted as there are generations or
Art. 887. The following are compulsory heirs: persons, excluding the progenitor.

(1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents
and ascendants;
(2) In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to
their legitimate children and descendants;
(3) The widow or widower;
(4) Acknowledged natural children, and natural children by legal fiction;
(5) Other illegitimate children referred to in Article 287.
Compulsory heirs mentioned in Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are not excluded by those in Nos. 1
and 2; neither do they exclude one another.
In all cases of illegitimate children, their filiation must be duly proved.
The father or mother of illegitimate children of the three classes mentioned, shall
inherit from them in the manner and to the extent established by this Code.
In the direct line, ascent is made to the common ancestor. Thus, the child is one
degree removed from the parent, two from the grandfather, and three from the great-
grandparent.
In the collateral line, ascent is made to the common ancestor and then descent is
made to the person with whom the computation is to be made. Thus, a person is two
degrees removed from his brother, three from his uncle, who is the brother of his
father, four from his first cousin, and so forth. (918a)
Art. 967. Full blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the same
father and the same mother.
Half blood relationship is that existing between persons who have the same father,
but not the same mother, or the same mother, but not the same father. (920a)
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Art. 968. If there are several relatives of the same degree, and one or some of them
are unwilling or incapacitated to succeed, his portion shall accrue to the others of the
same degree, save the right of representation when it should take place. (922)
Art. 969. If the inheritance should be repudiated by the nearest relative, should there
be one only, or by all the nearest relatives called by law to succeed, should there be
several, those of the following degree shall inherit in their own right and cannot
represent the person or persons repudiating the inheritance.
3. Capacity to Succeed
Art. 1024. Persons not incapacitated by law may succeed by will or abintestato.
The provisions relating to incapacity by will are equally applicable to intestate
succession.
a. Determination
Art. 1034. In order to judge the capacity of the heir, devisee or legatee, his
qualification at the time of the death of the decedent shall be the criterion.
In cases falling under Nos. 2, 3, or 5 of Article 1032, it shall be necessary to wait until
final judgment is rendered, and in the case falling under No. 4, the expiration of the
month allowed for the report.
If the institution, devise or legacy should be conditional, the time of the compliance
with the condition shall also be considered
Art. 1039. Capacity to succeed is governed by the law of the nation of the decedent.
Art. 16(2). However, intestate and testamentary successions, both with respect to the
order of succession and to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic
validity of testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by the national law of the
person whose succession is under consideration, whatever may be the nature of the
property and regardless of the country wherein said property may be found.
b. Who may succeed?
PARISH PRIEST OF VICTORIA v. RIGOR
 In order to be capacitated to inherit, the heir, devisee or legatee must be living at
the moment the succession opens, except in case of representation, when it is
proper.
Art. 1024. Persons not incapacitated by law may succeed by will or ab intestato.
The provisions relating to incapacity by will are equally applicable to intestate
succession. (744, 914)
Art. 1025. In order to be capacitated to inherit, the heir, devisee or legatee must be
living at the moment the succession opens, except in case of representation, when it
is proper.
A child already conceived at the time of the death of the decedent is capable of
succeeding provided it be born later under the conditions prescribed in article 41. (n)
Art. 1026. A testamentary disposition may be made to the State, provinces, municipal
corporations, private corporations, organizations, or associations for religious,
scientific, cultural, educational, or charitable purposes.
All other corporations or entities may succeed under a will, unless there is a provision
to the contrary in their charter or the laws of their creation, and always subject to the
same.
Art. 1029. Should the testator dispose of the whole or part of his property for prayers
and pious works for the benefit of his soul, in general terms and without specifying its
application, the executor, with the court's approval shall deliver one-half thereof or its
proceeds to the church or denomination to which the testator may belong, to be used
for such prayers and pious works, and the other half to the State, for the purposes
mentioned in Article 1013. (747a)
Art. 1030. Testamentary provisions in favor of the poor in general, without designation
of particular persons or of any community, shall be deemed limited to the poor living
in the domicile of the testator at the time of his death, unless it should clearly appear
that his intention was otherwise.
The designation of the persons who are to be considered as poor and the distribution
of the property shall be made by the person appointed by the testator for the purpose;
in default of such person, by the executor, and should there be no executor, by the
justice of the peace, the mayor, and the municipal treasurer, who shall decide by a
majority of votes all questions that may arise. In all these cases, the approval of the
Court of First Instance shall be necessary.
The preceding paragraph shall apply when the testator has disposed of his property
in favor of the poor of a definite locality.
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c. Who are incapable of succeeding?
Art. 1025. In order to be capacitated to inherit, the heir, devisee or legatee must be
living at the moment the succession opens, except in case of representation, when it
is proper.
A child already conceived at the time of the death of the decedent is capable of
succeeding provided it be born later under the conditions prescribed in article 41.
Art. 1027. The following are incapable of succeeding:
(1) The priest who heard the confession of the testator during his last illness, or
the minister of the gospel who extended spiritual aid to him during the same
period;
(2) The relatives of such priest or minister of the gospel within the fourth degree,
the church, order, chapter, community, organization, or institution to which
such priest or minister may belong;
(3) A guardian with respect to testamentary dispositions given by a ward in his
favor before the final accounts of the guardianship have been approved, even
if the testator should die after the approval thereof; nevertheless, any provision
made by the ward in favor of the guardian when the latter is his ascendant,
descendant, brother, sister, or spouse, shall be valid;
(4) Any attesting witness to the execution of a will, the spouse, parents, or
children, or any one claiming under such witness, spouse, parents, or children;
(5) Any physician, surgeon, nurse, health officer or druggist who took care of the
testator during his last illness;
(6) Individuals, associations and corporations not permitted by law to inherit.
Art. 1028. The prohibitions mentioned in article 739, concerning donations inter vivos
shall apply to testamentary provisions.
Art. 1031. A testamentary provision in favor of a disqualified person, even though
made under the guise of an onerous contract, or made through an intermediary, shall
be void. (755)
Art. 1032. The following are incapable of succeeding by reason of unworthiness:
(1) Parents who have abandoned their children or induced their daughters to lead
a corrupt or immoral life, or attempted against their virtue;
(2) Any person who has been convicted of an attempt against the life of the
testator, his or her spouse, descendants, or ascendants;
(3) Any person who has accused the testator of a crime for which the law
prescribes imprisonment for six years or more, if the accusation has been
found groundless;
(4) Any heir of full age who, having knowledge of the violent death of the testator,
should fail to report it to an officer of the law within a month, unless the
authorities have already taken action; this prohibition shall not apply to cases
wherein, according to law, there is no obligation to make an accusation;
(5) Any person convicted of adultery or concubinage with the spouse of the
testator;
(6) Any person who by fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence should
cause the testator to make a will or to change one already made;
(7) Any person who by the same means prevents another from making a will, or
from revoking one already made, or who supplants, conceals, or alters the
latter's will;
(8) Any person who falsifies or forges a supposed will of the decedent. (756, 673,
674a)
Art. 1033. The cause of unworthiness shall be without effect if the testator had
knowledge thereof at the time he made the will, or if, having known of them
subsequently, he should condone them in writing.
Art. 990. The hereditary rights granted by the two preceding articles to illegitimate
children shall be transmitted upon their death to their descendants, who shall inherit
by right of representation from their deceased grandparent. (941a)
Art. 991. If legitimate ascendants are left, the illegitimate children shall divide the
inheritance with them, taking one-half of the estate, whatever be the number of the
ascendants or of the illegitimate children. (942-841a)
Art. 992. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit abintestato from the legitimate
children and relatives of his father or mother; nor shall such children or relatives
inherit in the same manner from the illegitimate child.
d. Effect of alienations by the excluded heir
Art. 1036. Alienations of hereditary property, and acts of administration performed by
the excluded heir, before the judicial order of exclusion, are valid as to the third
persons who acted in good faith; but the co-heirs shall have a right to recover
damages from the disqualified heir.
e. Rights of the excluded heir
Art. 1035. If the person excluded from the inheritance by reason of incapacity should
be a child or descendant of the decedent and should have children or descendants,
the latter shall acquire his right to the legitime.
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The person so excluded shall not enjoy the usufruct and administration of the
property thus inherited by his children.
Article 1037. The unworthy heir who is excluded from the succession has a right to
demand indemnity or any expenses incurred in the preservation of the hereditary
property, and to enforce such credits as he may have against the estate. (n)
Art. 1014. If a person legally entitled to the estate of the deceased appears and files a
claim thereto with the court within five years from the date the property was delivered
to the State, such person shall be entitled to the possession of the same, or if sold the
municipality or city shall be accountable to him for such part of the proceeds as may
not have been lawfully spent.
f. Liabilities of the excluded heir
Art. 1038. Any person incapable of succession, who, disregarding the prohibition
stated in the preceding articles, entered into the possession of the hereditary
property, shall be obliged to return it together it its accessions.
He shall be liable for all the fruits and rents he may have received, or could have
received through the exercise of due diligence.
g. Prescription of Action
Art. 1040. The action for a declaration of incapacity and for the recovery of the
inheritance, devise or legacy shall be brought within five years from the time the
disqualified person took possession thereof. It may be brought by anyone who may
have an interest in the succession.
E. Object of Succession
Art. 776. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person
which are not extinguished by his death.
Art. 781. The inheritance of a person includes not only the property and the
transmissible rights and obligations existing at the time of his death, but also those
which have accrued thereto since the opening of the succession.
Art. 1311. Contracts take effect only between the parties, their assigns and heirs,
except in case where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not
transmissible by their nature, or by stipulation or by provision of law. The heir is not
liable beyond the value of the property he received from the decedent.
If a contract should contain some stipulation in favor of a third person, he may
demand its fulfillment provided he communicated his acceptance to the obligor before
its revocation. A mere incidental benefit or interest of a person is not sufficient. The
contracting parties must have clearly and deliberately conferred a favor upon a third
person.
Art. 1429. When a testate or intestate heir voluntarily pays a debt of the decedent
exceeding the value of the property which he received by will or by the law of
intestacy from the estate of the deceased, the payment is valid and cannot be
rescinded by the payer.
Art. 1178. Subject to the laws, all rights acquired in virtue of an obligation are
transmissible, if there has been no stipulation to the contrary.
Art. 1347. All things which are not outside the commerce of men, including future
things, may be the object of a contract. All rights which are not intransmissible may
also be the object of contracts.
No contract may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly
authorized by law.
All services which are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or
public policy may likewise be the object of a contract.
(Revised Penal Code) Art. 108. Obligation to make restoration, reparation for
damages, or indemnification for consequential damages and actions to demand the
same; Upon whom it devolves. — The obligation to make restoration or reparation for
damages and indemnification for consequential damages devolves upon the heirs of
the person liable.
The action to demand restoration, reparation, and indemnification likewise descends
to the heirs of the person injured.
REYES v. CA
 If the contract is void, the property still forms part of the inheritance in order not to
prejudice the heir.
 The natural children of the deceased in this case are questioning the intrinsic
validity of the will on the ground that his compulsory heir cannot be one, as theirs
was an illicit relationship. SC held that as a general rule, courts in probate
proceedings are limited to pass only upon the extrinsic validity of the will sought
to be probated. There are, however, notable circumstances wherein the intrinsic
validity was first determined as when the defect of the will is apparent on its face
and the probate of the will may become a useless ceremony if it is intrinsically
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invalid. The intrinsic validity of a will may be passed upon because “practical
considerations” demanded it as when there is preterition of heirs or the
testamentary provisions are doubtful legality. In this case however, there was
never an open admission of any illicit relationship. Thus, there was no need to go
beyond the face of the will.
GUINTO v. MEDINA
 SC held that the heirs of a defendant in a civil action is liable for damages for
such action survives despite the defendant’s death.
 As they are merely substituted in place of Santiago Medina upon his death, their
liability is only up to the extent of the value of the property, which they might have
received from the original defendant, Santiago Medina.
F. Opening of Succession
Art. 777. The rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the death of
the decedent.
Art. 2263. Rights to the inheritance of a person who died, with or without a will, before
the effectivity of this Code, shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889, by other
previous laws, and by the Rules of Court. The inheritance of those who, with or
without a will, die after the beginning of the effectivity of this Code, shall be
adjudicated and distributed in accordance with this new body of laws and by the
Rules of Court; but the testamentary provisions shall be carried out insofar as they
may be permitted by this Code. Therefore, legitimes, betterments, legacies and
bequests shall be respected; however, their amount shall be reduced if in no other
manner can every compulsory heir be given his full share according to this Code.
Art. 2253. The Civil Code of 1889 and other previous laws shall govern rights
originating, under said laws, from acts done or events which took place under their
regime, even though this Code may regulate them in a different manner, or may not
recognize them. But if a right should be declared for the first time in this Code, it shall
be effective at once, even though the act or event which gives rise thereto may have
been done or may have occurred under prior legislation, provided said new right does
not prejudice or impair any vested or acquired right, of the same origin.
Art. 533. The possession of hereditary property is deemed transmitted to the heir
without interruption and from the moment of the death of the decedent, in case the
inheritance is accepted.
One who validly renounces an inheritance is deemed never to have possessed the
same.
Art. 1347. All things which are not outside the commerce of men, including future
things, may be the object of a contract. All rights which are not intransmissible may
also be the object of contracts.
No contract may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly
authorized by law.
All services which are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or
public policy may likewise be the object of a contract.
Art. 1461. Things having a potential existence may be the object of the contract of
sale.
The efficacy of the sale of a mere hope or expectancy is deemed subject to the
condition that the thing will come into existence.
The sale of a vain hope or expectancy is void.
Art. 130. The future spouses may give each other in their marriage settlements as
much as one-fifth of their present property, and with respect to their future property,
only in the event of death, to the extent laid down by the provisions of this Code
referring to testamentary succession.
Art. 132. A donation by reason of marriage is not revocable, save in the following
cases:
(1) If it is conditional and the condition is not complied with;
(2) If the marriage is not celebrated;
(3) When the marriage takes place without the consent of the parents or guardian,
as required by law;
(4) When the marriage is annulled, and the donee acted in bad faith;
(5) Upon legal separation, the donee being the guilty spouse;
(6) When the donee has committed an act of ingratitude as specified by the
provisions of this Code on donations in general.
Art. 390. After an absence of seven years, it being unknown whether or not the
absentee still lives, he shall be presumed dead for all purposes, except for those of
succession.
The absentee shall not be presumed dead for the purpose of opening his succession
till after an absence of ten years. If he disappeared after the age of 75 years, an
absence of five years shall be sufficient in order that his succession may be opened.
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Art. 391. The following shall be presumed dead for all purposes, including the division
of the estate among the heirs:
(1) A person on board a vessel lost during a sea voyage, or an aeroplane which is
missing, who has not been heard of for four years since the loss of the vessel
or aeroplane;
(2) A person in the armed forces who has taken part in war, and has been missing
for four years;
(3) A person who has been in danger of death under other circumstances and his
existence has not been known for four years.
(Family Code) Art. 84. If the future spouses agree upon a regime other than the
absolute community of property, they cannot donate to each other in their marriage
settlements more than one-fifth of their present property. Any excess shall be
considered void.
Donations of future property shall be governed by the provisions on testamentary
succession and the formalities of wills.
(Family Code) Art. 86. A donation by reason of marriage may be revoked by the
donor in the following cases:
(1) If the marriage is not celebrated or judicially declared void ab initio except
donations made in the marriage settlements, which shall be governed by
Article 81;
(2) When the marriage takes place without the consent of the parents or guardian,
as required by law;
(3) When the marriage is annulled, and the donee acted in bad faith;
(4) Upon legal separation, the donee being the guilty spouse;
(5) If it is with a resolutory condition and the condition is complied with;
(6) When the donee has committed an act of ingratitude as specified by the
provisions of the Civil Code on donations in general.
Requisites for the transmission of Successional Rights
1. Express will of the testator or provision of law
2. Death of the person whose property is the subject of succession
Art. 43. If there is a doubt, as between two or more persons who are called to
succeed each other, as to which of them died first, whoever alleges the death of
one prior to the other, shall prove the same; in the absence of proof, it is
presumed that they died at the same time and there shall be no transmission of
rights from one to the other.
Survivorship Rule:
Rule 131, Sec.3(ii)That a trustee or other person whose duty it was to convey
real property to a particular person has actually conveyed it to him when such
presumption is necessary to perfect the title of such person or his successor in
interest
3. Acceptance of the inheritance
Art. 1041. The acceptance or repudiation of the inheritance is an act which is purely
voluntary and free. (988)
Art. 1042. The effects of the acceptance or repudiation shall always retroact to the
moment of the death of the decedent. (989)
Art. 1043. No person may accept or repudiate an inheritance unless he is certain of
the death of the person from whom he is to inherit, and of his right to the
inheritance. (991)
Art. 1044. Any person having the free disposal of his property may accept or
repudiate an inheritance.
Any inheritance left to minors or incapacitated persons may be accepted by their
parents or guardians. Parents or guardians may repudiate the inheritance left to their
wards only by judicial authorization.
The right to accept an inheritance left to the poor shall belong to the persons
designated by the testator to determine the beneficiaries and distribute the property,
or in their default, to those mentioned in Article 1030. (992a)
Art. 1045. The lawful representatives of corporations, associations, institutions and
entities qualified to acquire property may accept any inheritance left to the latter, but
in order to repudiate it, the approval of the court shall be necessary.(993a)
Art. 1046. Public official establishments can neither accept nor repudiate an
inheritance without the approval of the government. (994)
Art. 1047. A married woman of age may repudiate an inheritance without the consent
of her husband. (995a)
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Art. 1048. Deaf-mutes who can read and write may accept or repudiate the
inheritance personally or through an agent. Should they not be able to read and write,
the inheritance shall be accepted by their guardians. These guardians may repudiate
the same with judicial approval. (996a)
Art. 1049. Acceptance may be express or tacit.
An express acceptance must be made in a public or private document.
A tacit acceptance is one resulting from acts by which the intention to accept is
necessarily implied, or which one would have no right to do except in the capacity of
an heir.
Acts of mere preservation or provisional administration do not imply an acceptance of
the inheritance if, through such acts, the title or capacity of an heir has not been
assumed. (999a)
Art. 1050. An inheritance is deemed accepted:
(1) If the heirs sells, donates, or assigns his right to a stranger, or to his co-heirs,
or to any of them;
(2) If the heir renounces the same, even though gratuitously, for the benefit of one
or more of his co-heirs;
(3) If he renounces it for a price in favor of all his co-heirs indiscriminately; but if
this renunciation should be gratuitous, and the co-heirs in whose favor it is
made are those upon whom the portion renounced should devolve by virtue of
accretion, the inheritance shall not be deemed as accepted. (1000)
Art. 1051. The repudiation of an inheritance shall be made in a public or authentic
instrument, or by petition presented to the court having jurisdiction over the
testamentary or intestate proceedings. (1008)
Art. 1052. If the heir repudiates the inheritance to the prejudice of his own creditors,
the latter may petition the court to authorize them to accept it in the name of the heir.
The acceptance shall benefit the creditors only to an extent sufficient to cover the
amount of their credits. The excess, should there be any, shall in no case pertain to
the renouncer, but shall be adjudicated to the persons to whom, in accordance with
the rules established in this Code, it may belong. (1001)
Art. 1053. If the heir should die without having accepted or repudiated the inheritance
his right shall be transmitted to his heirs. (1006)
Art. 1054. Should there be several heirs called to the inheritance, some of them may
accept and the others may repudiate it. (1007a)
Art. 1055. If a person, who is called to the same inheritance as an heir by will and ab
intestato, repudiates the inheritance in his capacity as a testamentary heir, he is
understood to have repudiated it in both capacities.
Should he repudiate it as an intestate heir, without knowledge of his being a
testamentary heir, he may still accept it in the latter capacity. (1009)
Art. 1056. The acceptance or repudiation of an inheritance, once made, is
irrevocable, and cannot be impugned, except when it was made through any of the
causes that vitiate consent, or when an unknown will appears. (997)
Art. 1057. Within thirty days after the court has issued an order for the distribution of
the estate in accordance with the Rules of Court, the heirs, devisees and legatees
shall signify to the court having jurisdiction whether they accept or repudiate the
inheritance.
If they do not do so within that time, they are deemed to have accepted the
inheritance. (n)
USON v. DEL ROSARIO
 Rights recognized for the first time in the NCC shall be given retroactive effect
subject to the exception when an acquired or vested right shall be impaired.
 Article 2253 provides that "if a right should be declared for the first time in this
Code, it shall be effective at once, even though the act or event which gives rise
thereto may have been done or may have occurred under the prior legislation,
provided said new right does not prejudice or impair any vested or acquired right,
of the same origin." The right of ownership of Uson became vested in 1945 upon
the death of her husband this is so because of Art. 777. The new right
recognized under the NCC in favor of illegitimate children of the deceased cannot
be asserted to the impairment of the vested right of Uson over the lands.
DE BORJA v. DE BORJA
 The claim of the defendants that Maria Uson (legal wife) has relinquished her
right over the lands in question because she expressly renounced to inherit any
future property that her husband may acquire and leave upon his death in the
deed of separation they had entered into cannot be entertained for the simple
reason that future inheritance cannot be the object of a contract nor can it be
renounced.
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BONILLA v. BARCENA
 From the moment of the death of the decedent, the heirs become the absolute
owners of his property, subject to the rights and obligations of the decedent, and
they cannot be deprived of their rights thereto except by the methods provided
for by law. The moment of death is the determining factor when the heirs acquire
a definite right to the inheritance whether such right be pure or contingent. The
right of the heirs to the property of the deceased vests in them even before
judicial declaration of their being heirs in the testate or intestate proceedings.
 The question as to whether an action survives or not depends on the nature of
the action and the damage sued for. In the causes of action which survive, the
wrong complained [of] affects primarily and principally property and property
rights, the injuries to the person being merely incidental, while in the causes of
action which do not survive, the injury complained of is to the person, the
property and rights of property affected being incidental.
CRUZ v. CRUZ
 A Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Deed of Sale of Real Property is one
relating to property and property rights, and therefore, survives the death of the
petitioner.
BOUGH v. MODESTO
 The contract is valid. It is well settled that rights by inheritance are acquired and
transmitted upon the death of the decedent. If this is so, it must necessarily follow
that it is perfectly legal for an heir to enter into a contract of the nature of the
document (Modesto agreed that he would share with Restituto whatever property
he might inherit from his deceased wife) in this case, the understanding to be, of
course, that the contract would be effective only if and when he is really declared
an heir and only as regards any property that might be adjudicated to him as
such.
BORROMEO-HERRERA v. BORROMEO
 The heirs could waive their hereditary rights in 1967 even if the order to partition
the estate was issued only in 1969. The prevailing jurisprudence on waiver of
hereditary rights is that "the properties included in an existing inheritance cannot
be considered as belonging to third persons with respect to the heirs, who by
fiction of law continue the personality of the former. Nor do such properties have
the character of future property, because the heirs acquire a right to succession
from the moment of the death of the deceased.
 For a waiver to exist, three elements are essential: (1) the existence of a right; (2)
the knowledge of the existence thereof; and (3) an intention to relinquish such
right. The intention to waive a right or advantage must be shown clearly and
convincingly. The circumstances of this case show that the signatories to the
waiver document did not have the clear and convincing intention to relinquish
their rights, in fact on a later date, an agreement to partition was signed by the
heirs and was approved by the trial court.
G. Kinds of Succession
Art. 778. Succession may be:
(1) Testamentary;
(2) Legal or intestate; or
(3) Mixed.
1. Testamentary
Art. 779. Testamentary succession is that which results from the designation of an
heir, made in a will executed in the form prescribed by law
2. Legal or Intestate
Art. 960. Legal or intestate succession takes place:
(1) If a person dies without a will, or with a void will, or one which has
subsequently lost its validity;
(2) When the will does not institute an heir to, or dispose of all the property
belonging to the testator. In such case, legal succession shall take place only
with respect to the property of which the testator has not disposed;
(3) If the suspensive condition attached to the institution of heir does not happen
or is not fulfilled, or if the heir dies before the testator, or repudiates the
inheritance, there being no substitution, and no right of accretion takes place;
(4) When the heir instituted is incapable of succeeding, except in cases provided
in this Code.
3. Mixed
Art. 780. Mixed succession is that effected partly by will and partly by operation of
law.
4. Contractual
Art. 130. The future spouses may give each other in their marriage settlements as
much as one-fifth of their present property, and with respect to their future property,
only in the event of death, to the extent laid down by the provisions of this Code
referring to testamentary succession.
Art. 1347. All things which are not outside the commerce of men, including future
things, may be the object of a contract. All rights which are not intransmissible may
also be the object of contracts.
No contract may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly
authorized by law.
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All services which are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or Article 828. A will may be revoked by the testator at any time before his death. Any
public policy may likewise be the object of a contract. waiver or restriction of this right is void. (737a)

Art. 752. The provisions of Article 750 notwithstanding, no person may give or
receive, by way of donation, more than he may give or receive by will.
The donation shall be inofficious in all that it may exceed this limitation.
(Family Code) Art. 84. If the future spouses agree upon a regime other than the
absolute community of property, they cannot donate to each other in their marriage
settlements more than one-fifth of their present property. Any excess shall be
considered void.
Donations of future property shall be governed by the provisions on testamentary
succession and the formalities of wills.
5. Compulsory
TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION
Article 796. All persons who are not expressly prohibited by law may make a will.
(662)
Article 797. Persons of either sex under eighteen years of age cannot make a will. (n)
Article 798. In order to make a will it is essential that the testator be of sound mind at
the time of its execution. (n)
Article 777. The rights to the succession are transmitted from the moment of the
death of the decedent. (657a)
Article 818. Two or more persons cannot make a will jointly, or in the same
instrument, either for their reciprocal benefit or for the benefit of a third person. (669)
Article 784. The making of a will is a strictly personal act; it cannot be left in whole or
in part to the discretion of a third person, or accomplished through the instrumentality
of an agent or attorney. (670a)
Article 785. The duration or efficacy of the designation of heirs, devisees or legatees,
or the determination of the portions which they are to take, when referred to by name,
cannot be left to the discretion of a third person. (670a)

II. WILLS Article 786. The testator may entrust to a third person the distribution of specific
property or sums of money that he may leave in general to specified classes or
A. Definition. causes, and also the designation of the persons, institutions or establishments to
which such property or sums are to be given or applied. (671a)
Article 783. A will is an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities
prescribed by law, to control to a certain degree the disposition of this estate, to take Article 787. The testator may not make a testamentary disposition in such manner
effect after his death. (667a) that another person has to determine whether or not it is to be operative. (n)

B. Characteristics
C. Interpretation of Wills
Article 783. A will is an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities
prescribed by law, to control to a certain degree the disposition of this estate, to take Article 788. If a testamentary disposition admits of different interpretations, in case of
effect after his death. (667a) doubt, that interpretation by which the disposition is to be operative shall be preferred.

Article 839. The will shall be disallowed in any of the following cases: Article 789. When there is an imperfect description, or when no person or property
xx exactly answers the description, mistakes and omissions must be corrected, if the
xx error appears from the context of the will or from extrinsic evidence, excluding the oral
(3) If it was executed through force or under duress, or the influence of fear, or declarations of the testator as to his intention; and when an uncertainty arises upon
threats; the face of the will, as to the application of any of its provisions, the testator's intention
is to be ascertained from the words of the will, taking into consideration the
(4) If it was procured by undue and improper pressure and influence, on the part of circumstances under which it was made, excluding such oral declarations. (n)
the beneficiary or of some other person;
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Article 790. The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical
sense, unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be gathered, and
that other can be ascertained.
Technical words in a will are to be taken in their technical sense, unless the context
clearly indicates a contrary intention, or unless it satisfactorily appears that the will
was drawn solely by the testator, and that he was unacquainted with such technical
sense.
Article 791. The words of a will are to receive an interpretation which will give to every
expression some effect, rather than one which will render any of the expressions
inoperative; and of two modes of interpreting a will, that is to be preferred which will
prevent intestacy. (n)
Article 792. The invalidity of one of several dispositions contained in a will does not
result in the invalidity of the other dispositions, unless it is to be presumed that the
testator would not have made such other dispositions if the first invalid disposition had
not been made. (n)
Article 793. Property acquired after the making of a will shall only pass thereby, as if
the testator had possessed it at the time of making the will, should it expressly appear
by the will that such was his intention. (n)
Article 794. Every devise or legacy shall cover all the interest which the testator could
device or bequeath in the property disposed of, unless it clearly appears from the will
that he intended to convey a less interest. (n)
Article 930. The legacy or devise of a thing belonging to another person is void, if the
testator erroneously believed that the thing pertained to him. But if the thing
bequeathed, though not belonging to the testator when he made the will, afterwards
becomes his, by whatever title, the disposition shall take effect. (862a)
SOLLA v. ASCUENTA
 Where the testator's intention is manifest from the context of the will and
surrounding circumstances, but is obscured by inapt and inaccurate modes of
expression, the language will be subordinated to the intention, and in order to
give effect to such intention, as far as possible, the court may depart from the
strict wording and read word or phrase in a sense different from that which is
ordinarily attributed to it, and for such purpose may mould or change the
language of the will. such as restricting its application or supplying omitted words
or phrases.
TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY AND INTENT
A. Who may make a will?
Article 796. All persons who are not expressly prohibited by law may make a will.
(662)
Article 797. Persons of either sex under eighteen years of age cannot make a will. (n)
Article 798. In order to make a will it is essential that the testator be of sound mind at
the time of its execution. (n)
Article 799. To be of sound mind, it is not necessary that the testator be in full
possession of all his reasoning faculties, or that his mind be wholly unbroken,
unimpaired, or unshattered by disease, injury or other cause.
It shall be sufficient if the testator was able at the time of making the will to know the
nature of the estate to be disposed of, the proper objects of his bounty, and the
character of the testamentary act. (n)
Article 800. The law presumes that every person is of sound mind, in the absence of
proof to the contrary.
The burden of proof that the testator was not of sound mind at the time of making his
dispositions is on the person who opposes the probate of the will; but if the testator,
one month, or less, before making his will was publicly known to be insane, the
person who maintains the validity of the will must prove that the testator made it
during a lucid interval. (n)
Article 801. Supervening incapacity does not invalidate an effective will, nor is the will
of an incapable validated by the supervening of capacity. (n)
Article 802. A married woman may make a will without the consent of her husband,
and without the authority of the court. (n)
Article 803. A married woman may dispose by will of all her separate property as well
as her share of the conjugal partnership or absolute community property. (n)
B. Supervening incapacity
Article 801. Supervening incapacity does not invalidate an effective will, nor is the will
of an incapable validated by the supervening of capacity. (n)
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BALTAZAR v. LAXA The attestation shall state the number of pages used upon which the will is written,
 The burden of proving the testator’s incapacity lies on those who assail the and the fact that the testator signed the will and every page thereof, or caused some
validity of his will. It must be proven with clear and convincing evidence and not other person to write his name, under his express direction, in the presence of the
just bare allegation of forgetfulness. instrumental witnesses, and that the latter witnessed and signed the will and all the
pages thereof in the presence of the testator and of one another.
IV. SOLEMNITIES OF WILLS
If the attestation clause is in a language not known to the witnesses, it shall be
interpreted to them. (n)
A. Kinds of Wills. Arts. 804, 810

Article 804. Every will must be in writing and executed in a language or dialect known Article 806. Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator
to the testator. (n) and the witnesses. The notary public shall not be required to retain a copy of the will,
or file another with the office of the Clerk of Court.(n)
Article 810. A person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written,
dated, and signed by the hand of the testator
himself. It is subject to no other form, and may be made in or out of the Philippines, GARCIA v. LACUESTA
and need not be witnessed. (678, 688a)  An attestation clause must state that another person wrote the testator’s name
under the latter’s express direction.
B. Notarial Wills  A cross cannot be taken as the signature of the testator absent proof unless it is
his usual signature.
1. General requirements.  The cross was not proven to be the signature of the testator.

Article 804. Every will must be in writing and executed in a language or dialect known
to the testator. (n)
SUROZA v. HONRADO
 A will written in a language not known to the testator is void. It runs contrary to
the mandatory provision of Article 804 of the Civil Code that every will must be
executed in a language or dialect known to the testator.
 In the opening paragraph of the will, it was stated that English was a language
“understood and known” to the testatrix. But in its concluding paragraph, it was
stated that the will was read to the testatrix “and translated into Filipino
language.”
2. Specific requirements.
Article 805. Every will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end
thereof by the testator himself or by the testator's name written by some other person
in his presence, and by his express direction, and attested and subscribed by three or
more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another.
The testator or the person requested by him to write his name and the instrumental
witnesses of the will, shall also sign, as aforesaid, each and every page thereof,
except the last, on the left margin, and all the pages shall be numbered correlatively
in letters placed on the upper part of each page.
BALONAN v. ABELLANA
 The law requires that the testator himself sign the will, or if he cannot do so, the
testator's name must be written by some other person in his presence and by his
express direction.
 The present law, Article 805 of the Civil Code, in part provides as follows: “Every
will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end thereof by the
testator himself or by the testator's name written by some other person in his
presence, and by his express direction, and attested and subscribed by three or
more credible witness in the presence of the testator and of one another.”
 Note that the old law as well as the new requires that the testator himself sign the
will, or if he cannot do so, the testator's name must be written by some other
person in his presence and by his express direction.
NERA v. RIMANDO
 The true test of presence of the testator and the witnesses in the execution of a
will is not whether they actually saw each other sign, but whether they might
have been seen each other sign, had they chosen to do so, considering their
mental and physical condition and position with relation to each other at the
moment of inscription of each signature. The position of the parties with relation
to each other at the moment of the subscription of each signature, must be such
that they may see each other sign if they choose to do so.
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TABOADA v. ROSAL
 When the testator signs at the left hand margin of the last page instead of the
attestation clause, it is considered an unsubstantial defect which must be ignored
in order to fulfill the wishes of the decedent.
Defects:
1. No indication of total number of pages = disposition stated total number of
pages;
2. Signature of testatrix at the left hand margin and not at the end = it is an
unsubstantial defect which may be ignored.
ECHAVEZ v. DOZEN CONSTRUCTION
 An acknowledgment is made by one executing a deed, declaring before a
competent officer or court that the deed or act is his own. On the other hand, the
attestation of a will refers to the act of the instrumental witnesses themselves
who certify to the execution of the instrument before them and to the manner of
its execution.
 An attestation must state all the details the third paragraph of Article 805
requires. In the absence of the required avowal by the witnesses themselves, no
attestation clause can be deemed embodied in the Acknowledgement of the
Deed of Donation Mortis Causa.
IN RE ENRIQUE LOPEZ v. LOPEZ
 The law is clear that the attestation must state the number of pages used upon
which the will is written. The purpose of the law is to safeguard against possible
interpolation or omission of one or some of its pages and prevent any increase or
decrease in the pages. It held that while Article 809 of the same Code requires
mere substantial compliance of the form in Article 805, the rule only applies if the
number of pages is reflected somewhere else in the will with no evidence aliunde
or extrinsic evidence required. While the acknowledgment portion stated that the
will consists of 7 pages including the page on which the ratification and
acknowledgment are written, the RTC observed that it has 8 pages including the
acknowledgment portion. As such, it disallowed the will for not having been
executed and attested in accordance with law.
ICASIANO v. ICASIANO
 The prevailing policy is to require satisfaction of the legal requirements in order
to guard against fraud and bad faith but without undue or unnecessary
curtailment of testamentary privilege.
 The inadvertent failure of one witness to affix his signature to one page of a
testament, due to the simultaneous lifting of two pages in the course of signing,
is not per se sufficient to justify denial of probate. Impossibility of substitution of
this page is assured not only the fact that the testatrix and two other witnesses
did sign the defective page, but also by its bearing the coincident imprint of the
seal of the notary public before whom the testament was ratified by testatrix and
all three witnesses.
 The law should not be so strictly and literally interpreted as to penalize the
testatrix on account of the inadvertence of a single witness over whose conduct
she had no control, where the purpose of the law to guarantee the identity of the
testament and its component pages is sufficiently attained, no intentional or
deliberate deviation existed, and the evidence on record attests to the full
observance of the statutory requisites. The prevailing policy is to require
satisfaction of the legal requirements in order to guard against fraud and bad
faith but without undue or unnecessary curtailment of testamentary privilege.
 The law should not be so strictly and literally interpreted as to penalize the
testatrix on account of the inadvertence of a single witness over whose conduct
she had no control, where the purpose of the law to guarantee the identity of the
testament and its component pages is sufficiently attained, no intentional or
deliberate deviation existed, and the evidence on record attests to the full
observance of the statutory requisites. The prevailing policy is to require
satisfaction of the legal requirements in order to guard against fraud and bad
faith but without undue or unnecessary curtailment of testamentary privilege.
CRUZ v. VILLASOR
 The notary public before whom the will was acknowledged cannot be considered
as the third instrumental witness since he cannot acknowledge before himself his
having signed the will.
GABUCAN v. MANTA
 If the will bears no required documentary stamp, the court should not dismiss the
probation of a will but rather require the petitioner to affix the required
documentary stamp to the notarial acknowledgment of the will.
JAVELLANA v. LEDESMA
 The New Civil Code does not require that the signing of the testator, witnesses
and the notary be accomplished in one single act. All that is required is that every
will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and witnesses.
Witnesses to a will
a. Who are competent?
Article 820. Any person of sound mind and of the age of eighteen years or
more, and not blind, deaf or dumb, and able to read and write, may be a
witness to the execution of a will mentioned in article 805 of this Code. (n)
Article 821. The following are disqualified from being witnesses to a will:
(1) Any person not domiciled in the Philippines;
(2) Those who have been convicted of falsification of a document, perjury
or false testimony. (n)
Article 824. A mere charge on the estate of the testator for the payment of
debts due at the time of the testator's death does not prevent his creditors
from being competent witnesses to his will. (n)
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b. Supervening incompetency.
Article 822. If the witnesses attesting the execution of a will are competent at
the time of attesting, their becoming subsequently incompetent shall not
prevent the allowance of the will. (n)
c. Competency of interested witness.
Article 823. If a person attests the execution of a will, to whom or to whose spouse, or
parent, or child, a devise or legacy is given by such will, such devise or legacy shall,
so far only as concerns such person, or spouse, or parent, or child of such person, or
any one claiming under such person or spouse, or parent, or child, be void, unless
there are three other competent witnesses to such will. However, such person so
attesting shall be admitted as a witness as if such devise or legacy had not been
made or given. (n)
3. Special Requirements for deaf, deaf-mute & blind testators.
Article 807. If the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he must personally read the will, if
able to do so; otherwise, he shall designate two persons to read it and communicate
to him, in some practicable manner, the contents thereof. (n)
Article 808. If the testator is blind, the will shall be read to him twice; once, by one of
the subscribing witnesses, and again, by the notary public before whom the will is
acknowledged. (n)
GARCIA v. VASQUEZ
 Art. 808 of the NCC provides that: “if the testator is blind, the will shall be read to
him twice; once by one of the subscribing witnesses, and again by the notary
public before whom the will is acknowledged.” The rationale behind the
requirement of reading the will to the testator if he is blind or incapable of reading
is to make the provisions thereof known to him, so that he may able to object if
they are not in accordance with his wishes. The aim of the law is to ensure that
the dispositions of the will are properly communicated to and understood by the
handicapped testator, thus, making them truly reflective of his desire.
4. Substantial Compliance.
Article 809. In the absence of bad faith, forgery, or fraud, or undue and improper
pressure and influence, defects and imperfections in the form of attestation or in the
language used therein shall not render the will invalid if it is proved that the will was in
fact executed and attested in substantial compliance with all the requirements of
article 805. (n)
C. Holographic Wills
1. General requirements.
Article 804. Every will must be in writing and executed in a language or
dialect known to the testator. (n)
2. Specific requirements.
Article 810. A person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written,
dated, and signed by the hand of the testator himself. It is subject to no other form,
and may be made in or out of the Philippines, and need not be witnessed. (678, 688a)
Article 812. In holographic wills, the dispositions of the testator written below his
signature must be dated and signed by him in order to make them valid as
testamentary dispositions. (n)
Article 813. When a number of dispositions appearing in a holographic will are signed
without being dated, and the last disposition has a signature and a date, such date
validates the dispositions preceding it, whatever be the time of prior dispositions. (n)
ROXAS v. DE JESUS
 A date containing the month and year, without indicating the specific day, is valid
compliance with art 810 (holographic will must be dated) there being no
appearance of fraud, bad faith, undue influence and pressure.
KALAW v. RELOVA
 As a general rule only parts which are under erasures, corrections, and
interlineations made by the testator in a holographic will litem not been noted
under his signature shall be deemed void, HOWEVER if those particular words
are erased or corrected if made void would not leave the will with anything to
stand on, is shall be void as a whole.
V. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENT BY REFERENCE.
Article 827. If a will, executed as required by this Code, incorporates into itself by
reference any document or paper, such document or paper shall not be considered a
part of the will unless the following requisites are present:
(1) The document or paper referred to in the will must be in existence at the time
of the execution of the will;
(2) The will must clearly describe and identify the same, stating among other
things the number of pages thereof;
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(3) It must be identified by clear and satisfactory proof as the document or paper
referred to therein; and
(4) It must be signed by the testator and the witnesses on each and every page,
except in case of voluminous books of account or inventories. (n)
VI. CODICILS
A. Definition. Art. 825, 830
Article 825. A codicil is supplement or addition to a will, made after the execution of a
will and annexed to be taken as a part thereof, by which disposition made in the
original will is explained, added to, or altered. (n)
Article 830. No will shall be revoked except in the following cases:
(1) By implication of law; or
(2) By some will, codicil, or other writing executed as provided in case of wills; or
(3) By burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating the will with the intention of
revoking it, by the testator himself, or by some other person in his presence,
and by his express direction. If burned, torn, cancelled, or obliterated by some
other person, without the express direction of the testator, the will may still be
established, and the estate distributed in accordance therewith, if its contents,
and due execution, and the fact of its unauthorized destruction, cancellation, or
obliteration are established according to the Rules of Court. (n)
B. Solemnities. Art. 826
Article 826. In order that a codicil may be effective, it shall be executed as in the case
of a will. (n)
VII. REVOCATION OF WILLS AND TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS
A. Definition of revocation
B. When may revocation be effected.
Article 828. A will may be revoked by the testator at any time before his death. Any
waiver or restriction of this right is void. (737a)
C. Law governing revocation.
Article 829. A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person who does not
have his domicile in this country, is valid when it is done according to the law of the
place where the will was made, or according to the law of the place in which the
testator had his domicile at the time; and if the revocation takes place in this country,
when it is in accordance with the provisions of this Code. (n)
D. Modes of revocation.
Article 830. No will shall be revoked except in the following cases:
(1) By implication of law; or
(2) By some will, codicil, or other writing executed as provided in case of wills; or
(3) By burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating the will with the intention of
revoking it, by the testator himself, or by some other person in his presence,
and by his express direction. If burned, torn, cancelled, or obliterated by some
other person, without the express direction of the testator, the will may still be
established, and the estate distributed in accordance therewith, if its contents,
and due execution, and the fact of its unauthorized destruction, cancellation, or
obliteration are established according to the Rules of Court. (n)
GAGO v. MAMUYAC
 Where the will which cannot be found is shown to have been in
possession of the testator, when last seen, the presumption is, in the
absence of other competent evidence, that the same was cancelled or
destroyed;
 The fact that such cancellation or revocation has taken place must
either remain unproved or be inferred from evidence showing that after
due search the original will cannot be found.
 In view of the fact that the original will of 1919 could not be found after
the death of the testator Miguel Mamuyac and in view of the positive
proof that the same had been cancelled, the Court is of the conclusion
that the will presented for probate had been cancelled by the testator in
1920.
 Duplicate copy of a will may be admitted in evidence when it is made to
appear that the original has been lost and was not cancelled or
destroyed by the testator.
CASIANO v. CA
 In this case, while animus revocandi or the intention to revoke, may be
conceded, for that is a state of mind, yet the requisite alone would not suffice.
Animus revocandi is only one of the necessary elements for the effective
revocation of a last will and testament. The intention to revoke must be
accompanied by the overt physical act of burning, tearing, obliterating, or
cancelling the will carried out by the testator or by another person in his presence
and under his express direction.
 There is paucity of evidence to show compliance with these requirements. For
one, the documents or papers burned by Adriana’s maid, Guadalupe, was not
satisfactorily established to be a will at all, much less the will of Adriana Maloto.
For another, the burning was not proven to be under the express direction of
Adriana.
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E. Effect of revocation.
Article 831. Subsequent wills which do not revoke the previous ones in an express
manner, annul only such dispositions in the prior wills as are inconsistent with or
contrary to those contained in the later wills. (n)
Article 832. A revocation made in a subsequent will shall take effect, even if the new
will should become inoperative by reason of the incapacity of the heirs, devisees or
legatees designated therein, or by their renunciation. (740a)
Article 833. A revocation of a will based on a false cause or an illegal cause is null
and void. (n)
Article 834. The recognition of an illegitimate child does not lose its legal effect, even
though the will wherein it was made should be revoked. (741)
MOLO v. MOLO
 This doctrine is known as that of dependent relative revocation, and is usually
applied here the testator cancels or destroys a will or executes an instrument
intended to revoke a will with a present intention to make a new testamentary
disposition as a substitute for the old, and the new disposition is not made or, if
made, fails of effect for same reason. The doctrine is limited to the existence of
some other document, however, and has been applied where a will was
destroyed as a consequence of a mistake of law.
 Revocation of the first will, will be conditional and dependent upon the efficacy of
the new disposition; and if, for any reason, the new will intended to be made as a
substitute is inoperative, the revocation fails and the original will remains in full
force.
F. Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation
VIII. REPUBLICATION AND REVIVAL OF WILLS
Article 835. The testator cannot republish, without reproducing in a subsequent will,
the dispositions contained in a previous one which is void as to its form. (n)
Article 836. The execution of a codicil referring to a previous will has the effect of
republishing the will as modified by the codicil. (n)
Article 837. If after making a will, the testator makes a second will expressly revoking
the first, the revocation of the second will does not revive the first will, which can be
revived only by another will or codicil. (739a)
IX. ALLOWANCE OF WILLS.
Article 838. No will shall pass either real or personal property unless it is proved and
allowed in accordance with the Rules of Court.
The testator himself may, during his lifetime, petition the court having jurisdiction for
the allowance of his will. In such case, the pertinent provisions of the Rules of Court
for the allowance of wills after the testator's a death shall govern.
The Supreme Court shall formulate such additional Rules of Court as may be
necessary for the allowance of wills on petition of the testator.
Subject to the right of appeal, the allowance of the will, either during the lifetime of the
testator or after his death, shall be conclusive as to its due execution. (n)
A. Concept of probate
AGTARAP v. AGTARAP
 GEN RULE: The jurisdiction of the trial court, either as a probate or an intestate
court, relates only to matters having to do with the probate of the will and/or
settlement of the estate of deceased persons, but does not extend to the
determination of questions of ownership that arise during the proceedings.
 As held in several cases, a probate court or one in charge of estate proceedings,
whether testate or intestate, cannot adjudicate or determine title to properties
claimed to be a part of the estate. All that the said court could do as regards said
properties is to determine whether or not they should be included in the inventory
of properties to be administered by the administrator.
 EXCEPTIONS: (1) the probate court may provisionally pass upon in an intestate
or a testate proceeding the question of inclusion in, or exclusion from, the
inventory of a piece of property w/o prejudice to the final determination of
ownership in a separate action; (2) if the interested parties are all heirs to estate,
or the question is one of collation or advancement, or the parties consent to the
assumption of jurisdiction by the probate court and the rights of third parties are
not impaired, then the probate court is competent to resolve issues on
ownership.
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B. Necessity of probate
DE BORJA v. DE BORJA
 Probate of a will is MANDATORY when the heirs SETTLE and DISTRIBUTE the
estate of the decedent.
 Probate of will is NOT NECESSARY in the CONVEYANCE of SHARE as a
hereditary share in a decedent’s estate is transmitted or vested immediately from
the moment of the death of such predecessor in interest.
 Probate of will is NOT NECESSARY in the CONVEYANCE of share belonging to
a compulsory heir; the compulsory heir’s successional interest exists
independent of the will and would exist even if such will was not probated at all.
 A hereditary share in a decedent’s estate is transmitted or vested immediately
from the moment of the death of the decedent (w/ requisite contracting capacity)
disposing of his/her hereditary share immediately after such death, even if the
actual extent of such share is not determined until the subsequent liquidation of
the estate.
 It is likewise worthy of note in this connection that as the surviving spouse of
Francisco de Borja, Tasiana Ongsingco was his compulsory heir under article
995 of the NCC.
C. Modes of probate
D. Requirements for probate.
Article 811. In the probate of a holographic will, it shall be necessary that at least one
witness who knows the handwriting and signature of the testator explicitly declare that
the will and the signature are in the handwriting of the testator. If the will is contested,
at least three of such witnesses shall be required.
In the absence of any competent witness referred to in the preceding paragraph, and
if the court deem it necessary, expert testimony may be resorted to. (619a)
GAN v. YAP
 The courts will not distribute the property of the deceased in accordance with his
holographic will, unless they are shown his handwriting and signature.
 The execution and the contents of a lost/destroyed holographic will may not be
proved by the bare testimony of witnesses who have seen and/or read such will.
 In the case of a lost will, the three subscribing witnesses would be testifying to a
fact which they saw, namely the act of the testator of subscribing the will;
whereas in the case of a lost holographic will, the witnesses would testify as to
their opinion of the handwriting which they allegedly saw, an opinion which can
not be tested in court, nor directly contradicted by the oppositors, because the
handwriting itself is not at hand.
RODELAS v. ARANZA
 Pursuant to Art. 811 of the Civil Code, probate of holographic will is the
allowance of the will by the court after its due execution has been proved.
 The probate may be uncontested or not. If uncontested, at least one identifying
witness is required and, if not witness is available, experts may be resorted to. If
contested, at least three identifying witnesses are required.
 However, if the holographic will has been lost/destroyed and no other copy is
available, the will cannot be probated because the best and only evidence is the
handwriting of the testator in said will. It is necessary that there be a comparison
between sample handwritten statements of the testator and the handwritten will.
But, a photostatic copy or xerox copy of the holographic will may be allowed
because comparison can be made with the standard writings of the testator.
AZAOLA v. SINGSON
 Whether the will is contested/not contested, Art. 811 of the NCC cannot be
interpreted as to require the compulsory presentation of three witnesses to
indentify the handwriting of the testator, under penalty of having the probate
denied.
 The 3-witness rule in Art. 811 (when contested) can be considered mandatory
only in the case of ordinary testaments, precisely because the presence of at
least three witnesses at the execution of ordinary wills is made by law essential
to their validity (Art. 805). Where the will is holographic, no witness need be
present (Art. 810), and the rule requiring production of three witnesses must be
deemed merely permissive if absurd results are to be avoided.
CODOY v. CALUGAY
 Art. 811 is mandatory. The word “shall” in a statute commonly denotes an
imperative obligation and is inconsistent with the idea of discretion and that the
presumption is that the word “shall,” when used in a statute is mandatory.
UY KIAO ENG v. NIXON LEE
 The remedy of mandamus cannot be availed of by a person seeking for the
production of the original copy of a holographic will because there lies another
plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law by virtue of
Rule 76, Sec. 1 and Rule 75, Secs. 2-5.
PALAGANAS v. PALAGANAS
 Our laws do not prohibit the probate of wills executed by foreigners abroad
although the same have not as yet been probated and allowed in the countries of
their execution. A foreign will can be given legal effects in our jurisdiction. Art.
816 of the Civil Code states that the will of an alien who is abroad produces
effect in the Philippines if made in accordance with the formalities prescribed by
the law of the place where he resides, or according to the formalities observed in
his country.
 Our rules require merely that the petition for the allowance of a will must show,
so far as known to the petitioner: (a) jurisdictional facts; (b) the names, ages, and
residences of the heirs, legatees, and devisees of the testator or decedent; (c)
the probable value and character of the property of the estate; (d) the name of
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the person for whom letters are prayed; and (e) if the will has not been delivered
to the court, and the name of the person having custody of it.
E. Effect of allowance of wills
GALLANOSA v. ARCANGEL
 The 1939 decree of probate is conclusive as to the due execution or
formal validity of the will. That means that the testator was of sound
disposing mind at the time when he executed the will and was not acting
under duress, menace, fraud or undue influence; that the will was
signed by him, in the presence of the required number of witnesses, and
that the will is genuine and not a forgery. Accordingly, these facts
cannot again be questioned in subsequent proceeding, not even in a
criminal action for the forgery of will.
DE LA CERNA v. LEONIDES
ROBERTS v. LEONIDES
 The probate of the will is mandatory. It is anomalous that the estate of a
person who died testate should be settled in an intestate proceeding.
Therefore, the intestate case should be consolidated with the testate
proceeding and the judge assigned to the testate proceeding should
continue hearing two case.
NEPOMUCENO v. CA
 Citing Nuguid v. Nuguid: “In view of certain unusual provisions of the
will, which are of dubious legality, and because of the motion to
withdraw the petition for probate, the trial court acted correctly in
passing upon the will’s intrinsic validity even before its formal validity
had been established. The probate of a will might become an idle
ceremony if on its face, it appears to be intrinsically void.
 Where practical considerations demand that the intrinsic validity of the
will be passed upon, even before it is probated, the court should meet
the issue.
X. DISALLOWANCE OF WILLS.
Article 839. The will shall be disallowed in any of the following cases:
(1) If the formalities required by law have not been complied with;
(2) If the testator was insane, or otherwise mentally incapable of making a will, at
the time of its execution;
(3) If it was executed through force or under duress, or the influence of fear, or
threats;
(4) If it was procured by undue and improper pressure and influence, on the part
of the beneficiary or of some other person;
(5) If the signature of the testator was procured by fraud;
(6) If the testator acted by mistake or did not intend that the instrument he signed
should be his will at the time of affixing his signature thereto. (n)
Article 1335. There is violence when in order to wrest consent, serious or irresistible
force is employed.
There is intimidation when one of the contracting parties is compelled by a
reasonable and well-grounded fear of an imminent and grave evil upon his person or
property, or upon the person or property of his spouse, descendants or ascendants,
to give his consent.
To determine the degree of intimidation, the age, sex and condition of the person
shall be borne in mind.
A threat to enforce one's claim through competent authority, if the claim is just or
legal, does not vitiate consent. (1267a)
Article 1337. There is undue influence when a person takes improper advantage of
his power over the will of another, depriving the latter of a reasonable freedom of
choice. The following circumstances shall be considered: the confidential, family,
spiritual and other relations between the parties, or the fact that the person alleged to
have been unduly influenced was suffering from mental weakness, or was ignorant or
in financial distress. (n)
Article 1338. There is fraud when, through insidious words or machinations of one of
the contracting parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which, without
them, he would not have agreed to. (1269)
PASCUAL v. DE LA CRUZ
 Contradictions and inconsistencies appearing in the testimonies of the witnesses
and the notary, pointed out by the oppositors-appellants, relate to unimportant
details of the impressions of the witnesses about certain details which could have
been affected by the lapse of time and the treachery of human memory, and
which inconsistencies, by themselves, would not alter the probative value of their
testimonies on the due execution of the will.
 For purposes of determining the due execution of a will, it is not necessary that
the instrumental witnesses should give an accurate and detailed account of the
proceeding, such as recalling the order of the signing of the document by the
said witnesses. It is sufficient that they have seen or at least were so situated at
the moment that they could have seen each other sign, had they wanted to do
so.