AJERO VS CA

Facts:
On January 20, 1983, petitioners instituted Sp. Proc. No. Q-37171, for allowance of Annie
Sand's holographic will.

Annie's will has an alterations and corrections that are not signed by the decedent.

CA held that the holographic will of Anne Sand was not executed in accordance with the
formalities prescribed by law. It held that Articles 813 and 814 of the New Civil Code, ante, were
not complied with, hence, it disallowed the probate of said will.

ISSUE: Whether or not the will should not be probated on the ground that it is not compliant with
the form

Ruling: No, it can still be probated.

As provided under Article 810 of the New Civil Code, thus:

“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.” (Italics supplied.)

Failure to strictly observe other formalities will not result in the disallowance of a holographic will
that is unquestionably handwritten by the testator.

A reading of Article 813 of the New Civil Code shows that its requirement affects the validity of
the dispositions contained in the holographic will, but not its probate. If the testator fails to sign
and date some of the dispositions, the result is that these dispositions cannot be effectuated.
Such failure, however, does not render the whole testament void.

when there's a number of erasures, corrections, and interlineations made by the testator in a
holographic Will have not been noted under his signature, x x x the Will is not thereby
invalidated as a whole, but at most only as respects the particular words erased, corrected or
interlined.