Wills and Succession

Introduction:

In various legal system which respect private enterprise and

recognize the institution of private property, the transfer of
assets from one generation to another is considered a great
stabilizing force, to which value is attached. But while they
agree on the basic idea of inheritance, they differ with
respect to the law that governs succession to a person’s
estate, where his assets are located in various jurisdictions.
Wills and Successions: Foreign Element

Foreign Element can be in the form of a

will executed overseas, of foreigner
dying within Philippine Territory and
leaving properties here and abroad,
of a Filipino dying overseas with
properties in the Philippines,
of a testator specifying a foreign law to
govern the disposition of his estate.
Example:
Byron Chavez, a Filipino businessman, dies, domiciled in
California, and leaves real and personal properties in various
places: a house and lot in California, big parcels of land in Cebu
City and suburbans; substantial shares of stock in a number of
multi national corporations; and considerable bank deposits in
Manila and New York

1. What law or laws determine who will succeed, and to what

extent, to Chavez’s assets?
2. Does it matter whether proceedings for the administration of the
Chavez estate to take place in California, his domicile at the time
of his death, or in the Philippines, his country ?
 Choice of Law: Theories or System

Theories or System in determining the

proper law for the transmission of
successional rights:

UNITARY SYSTEM

SPLIT OR SCISSION SYSTEM

 UNITARY SYSTEM

Unitary or Single system – only one law

determines transmission of real as well as
personal properties.
e.i. Philippines (The national law of the
deceased governs the transmission of both
real as well as personal properties).
 SPLIT or DIVISION

Splitor Division system, succession to real

property is governed by the lex situs, while
succession to movable or personal property
is governed by the law of the domicile of
the deceased at the time of his death.
 WILLS AND SUCCESSION

Will – is an act whereby a person is

permitted, with the formalities prescribed by
law, to control to a certain degree the
disposition of his estate, to take effect after
his death. (Art. 783 CC)
 WILLS AND SUCCESSION

Succession, is a mode of acquisition by

virtue of which the property, rights and
obligations to the extent of the value of
inheritance, of a person are transmitted
through his death to another or others
either by his will or by operation of law
(Art. 774 CC)
Validity of Wills:

◦ Extrinsic validity – deals with the forms and

solemnities in the making of wills, which include the
age and testamentary capacity of the testator and the
form of the will.

◦ Intrinsic validity- refers to the validity of the

dispositions made by the decedent. It concerns on the
order of succession, the amount of successional rights
and such other matters that fall under the term
“substance” as distinguished from “forms and
solemnities” of wills.
 Philippine Conflict Rules on Extrinsic
Validity of Wills
Art. 17 CC,
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.
When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or
consular officials of the Republic of the Philippines in a foreign country,
the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in
their execution.
Xxx

Article 815 CC,

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.
Philippine Conflict Rules on Extrinsic
Validity of Wills: Alien
Art. 816 CC,

The will of an alien who is abroad produces the 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. When the acts
referred to are executed before the diplomatic or
consular officials of the Republic of the Philippines in a
foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine
laws shall be observed in their execution.
Philippine Conflict Rules on Extrinsic
Validity of Wills: Other provisions
Art. 817 CC,

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.
JOINT WILLS: PROHIBITED

ART. 818 CC,

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.

Art. 819 CC,

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.
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL
Art. 810 CC,

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.
 REVOCATION OF WILL

Art. 829 CC,

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 the Code.
REVOCATION
 Ifthe revocation is done outside the Philippines by a
person who is domiciled here, it is valid in accordance
with our law (lex domicilii) or the lex loci actus of the
revocation (the place where the revocation was
made)

 Principle of dependent relative revocation- if the

subsequent will is denied probate by reason of its
defective execution, the earlier will may then be
entitled to probate if proved to be duly and properly
executed.
Philippine Law on intrinsic validity of
wills
Art. 16 CC, 2nd par.
xxx 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 nature of the property and regardless of
the country wherein said property may be found.

◦ This was followed by the Supreme Court in Miciano vs.

Brimo, 50 Phil. 867; Bellis vs. Bellis, 20 SCRA 558;
and Cayetano vs. Leonidas, 129 SCRA 522.
Philippine Law on intrinsic validity of
wills
Under the Unitary System adopted from Roman Law,
the intrinsic validity of wills is governed by the
national law of the decedent.

Refrerence: Art. 16, par. 2 of the CC

BAR Problem: Civil 2015
Joint Wills
Art. 818 CC states that: “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”

Joint wills whether executed by Filipinos in the

Philippines or abroad, even if such foreign country
allows it, are considered VOID in the Philippines
on ground of Public Policy.
Joint Wills
Although the law expressly invalidates joint wills
executed by Filipinos in a foreign country which
allows such, it is silent about joint wills executed
in the Philippines by aliens whose national laws
does not prohibit it.

However, it is suggested that in accordance with

the expressed policy in Art. 819 of the CC, said
will should not be probated if it affects heirs in the
Philippines
DEPECAGE
Depecage (from the French “depecer”
meaning “to dissect” is a term for the
phenomenon where “different aspects of a
case involving a foreign element may be
governed by different systems of laws.
Summary: Extrinsic and Intrinsic Validity

 The extrinsic validity of wills is governed by the law of

the place where they are executed;
 The intrinsic validity of a will is governed by the national
law of the decedent.

(The intrinsic validity of wills under the Civil Code is

governed by Arts. 798 to 803, which governs wills executed
by citizens of the Philippines wherever they may have been
executed, as his national law follows him in his travels in
accordance with the art. 15 in relation to 2nd par. of Art. 16
the CC.)
PROBATE OF THE WILL

The probate of a will refers to the

authentication of a will in a probate
proceedings in court concerning the
capacity of the testator and the compliance
with those requisites or solemnities which
the law prescribes for its validity.

Mandatory.
Effect of Probate:

Once probated, the principle of res judicata

applies, with respect to its extrinsic validity.
This means that the testator was of sound
mind and disposing mind at the time when
he executed the will and was not acting
under duress, etc. and that the will was
signed by him in the presence of the
required number of witnesses, and that the
will is genuine and is not a forgery.
Allowance of Will Proved Outside of Philippines and
Administration of Estate
A will may be probated outside the Philippines.
Rule 77 of the Rules of Court provides the
procedure on the allowance of will proved outside
the Philippines and administration of estate.

 When a decedent has properties in the Philippines

and abroad, the administration of his estate will
require the appointment of a domiciliary or
principal adminstrator and an ancillary
administrator with respect to properties abroad.
Evidence necessary for the reprobate or allowance of will
in the country, which has been probated outside the
Philippines:
1. The due execution of the will in accordance with
the foreign law;
2. The testator has his domicile in the foreign
country and not in the Philippines;
3. The will has been admitted to probate in such
country;
4. The fact that the foreign tribunal is a probate
court; and
5. The laws of a foreign country on probate and
allowance of wills.
Ancillary Administrator vis-à-vis Principal Administrator

When a person dies intestate owning property in the

country of his domicile as well as in a foreign country,
administration shall be had in both countries. That
which is granted in the jurisdiction of the decedent’s
domicile is termed the principal administration.

The ancillary administration is proper whenever a

person dies leaving in a country other than that of his
domicile, property to be administered in the nature of
assets of the decedent, liable for his individual debts
or to be distributed among his heirs.
 Grounds for the disallowance of the Will

Rule 76 Sec. 9. Grounds for disallowing will. - The will

shall be disallowed in any of the following cases:
(a) If not executed and attested as required by law;
(b) If the testator was insane, or otherwise mentally
incapable to make a will, at the time of its execution;
(c) If it was executed under duress, or the influence of
fear, or threats;
(d) If it was procured by undue and improper pressure
and influence, on the part of the beneficiary, or of some
other person for his benefit;
(e) If the signature of the testator was procured by fraud
or trick, and he did not intend that the instrument should
be his will at the time of fixing his signature thereto.