SYLLABUS

Wills & Succession

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

(a) Definition of Terms

(b) Charges against the Estate of a Deceased Person
Estate of Hemady v Luzon Surety, 100 Phil 388
(c) Concept of Inheritance; its components
(d) Opening of Succession
Pacio v Billon, 1 SCRA 384
Uson v del Rosario, 92 Phil 530
Bonilla v Barcena, 71 SCRA 491
De Borja v vda, de Borja, 46 SCRA 577
Butte v Manuel Uy & Sons, Inc., 4 SCRA 526
Go Ong v Court of Appeals, 154 SCRA 270
Reganon v Imperial, 22 SCRA 80
Salvador v Sta, Maria, 20 SCRA 603
Ramirez v Salazar, 24 SCRA 918

II. A. TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION

General Provisions
(a) Definition of a Will
(b) Nature of Making a Will; Personal Act of the Testator
(c) Delegable and non-delegable functions of a Testator
(d) Imperfection of the language of a Will; Rules of Interpretation
Dizon-Rivera v Dizon, 33 SCRA 554
Vda. De Villaflor v Juico, 4 SCRA 550
(e) Partial Invalidity of Testamentary Dispositions
(f) After-Acquired Properties
(i) Properties acquired after Making of a will (Art. 793)
(ii) Accruals to the Estate since the opening of Succession (Art 781)
Santos v Blas, 1 SCRA 899
(g) Governing law of a will as to form Article 795
– as to time of execution Article 815
– as to a Filipino in a foreign country Article 816
– as to an alien who is abroad Article 817
– as to an alien who is in the Philippines
(h) Governing law of a will as to substantive validity Article 16

B. Testamentary Capacity
(a) Elements of testamentary capacity
De Guzman v Intestate Estate of Francisco Benitez, 169 SCRA 284

C. Form of Wills
(a) Notarial Will
Suroza v Honrado, 110 SCRA 388
Reyes v vda. De Vidal, 2 SCUD 53
Balonan v Abellana, 109 Phil 359
Garcia v Lacuesta, 90 Phil 489
Nera v Rimando, 18 Phil 450
Taboada v Rosal, 118 SCRA 195
Icasiano v Icasiano, 11 SCRA 422
Cagro v Cagro. 92 Phil 1032
Lopez v Liboro, 81 Phil 429
vda. De Ramos v Court of Appeals, 81 SCRA 393
Garcia v Gatchalian, 21 SCRA 1056
Page 1
 Cruz v Villasor, 54 SCRA 31
Gabucan v Manta, 95 SCRA 752
Garcia v Vazquez, 32 SCRA 490
Alvarado v Gaviola, Jr.,, 226 SCRA 347
Gil v Murciano, 88 Phil 260
Caneda v Court of Appeals, 222 SCRA 781
(b) Holographic Will
Roxas v de Jesus, Jr., 134 SCRA 245
Labrador v Court of Appeals, 184 SCRA 170
(c) Probate of a Holographic Will
Gan v Yap, 104 Phil 509
Rodelas v Aranza, 119 SCRA 16
Azaola v Singson, 109 Phil 102
Rivera v Intermediate Appellate Court, 182 SCRA 322
(d) Alterations in a Holographic Will
Kalaw v Relova, 132 SCRA 237
Ajero v Court of Appeals, 236 SCRA 488
(e) Joint Wills
de la Cerna v Rebaca-Potot, 12 SCRA 576
(f) Witnesses to a Notarial Will
(g) Qualifications and Disqualifications
Gonzales v Court of Appeals, 90 SCRA 187
(h) Definition and Form of a Codicil
(i) Purpose and Requisites of Incorporation by Reference

D. Revocation of Wills
Gago v Mamuyac, 49 Phil 902
Testate Estate of Adriana Maloto v Court of Appeals, 158 SCRA 451
(a) Implied Revocation
(b) Ineffectivity of a Revoking Will
(c) Revocation based on a False Cause

E. Republication and Revival of Wills

F. Allowance and Disallowance of a Will

Gallanosa v Arcangel, 83 SCRA 676
Maninang v Court of Appeals, 114 SCRA 478
Pastor, jr., v Court of Appeals, 122 SCRA 885
Jimenez v Intermediate Appellate Court, 184 SCRA 367
Ozaeta v Cuartero, 99 Phil 1041
Coso v Fernandez Deza, 42 Phil 596
Pascual v dela Cruz, 28 SCRA 421
Nepomuceno v Court of Appeals, 139 SCRA 206
Roberts v Leonidas, 129 SCRA 33

G Institution of Heirs
(a) Institution of Heirs compared to Legacies and Devises
(b) Concept of Legitime and the Freedom to Dispose Property
(c) Error in Designation of Heirs
(d) Disposition in favor of an unknown person (Art. 844)
compared to: (i) Institution of relatives in general (Art. 959)
(ii) Institution of the Soul (Art. 1029)
(iii) Institution of the poor in general (Art. 1030)
(e) Rule of Equal Division
(f) Individual and Collective Institution
(g) Full-blood and Half-blood siblings
(h) Incomplete Distribution without Partial Intestacy
(i) Excessive Institution

Page 2
(j) Statement of a False Cause
Austria v Reyes, 31 SCRA 754

H. Preterition
Reyes v Baretto-Datu, 19 SCRA 85
Aznar v Duncan, 17 SCRA 590
Nuguid v Nuguid, 17 SCRA 449
Balanay v Martinez, 64 SCRA 454
Cayetano v Leonidas, 129 SCRA 522
Acain v Intermediate Appellate Court, 155 SCRA 100

I. Substitution of Heirs
(a) Simple Substitution
(b) Brief or Compendious Substitution
(c) Reciprocal Substitution
(d) Fideicommissary Substitution
Ramirez v Ramirez, 111 SCRA 704
Vda. de Mapa v Court of Appeals, 154 SCRA 294
Crisologo v Singson, 4 SCRA 491
(e) Prohibition to Alienate the Inheritance
Rodriguez v Court of Appeals, 27 SCRA 546

J. Conditional Institution/Institution with a Term

(a) No burden on the Legitime
(b) Effect of Impossible Conditions
(c) Condition not to marry
(d) Disposicion Captatoria
(e) Purely Potestative Condition
(f) Casual or Mixed Condition
(g) Suspensive Condition
(h) Negative Potestative Condition
(i) Modal Institution
(j) Institution with a Term

K. Legitime
(a) Concept of Legitime
(b) Compulsory Heirs
Castro v Court of Appeals, 173 SCRA 656
Tayag v Court of Appeals, 209 SCRA 665
Baritua v Court of Appeals, 183 SCRA 565
Van Dorn v Romillo, Jr., 139 SCRA 139
Rosales v Rosales, 148 SCRA 69
(c) Reserva Troncal
Padura v Baldovino, 104 Phil 1065
Edroso v Sablan, 25 Phil 295
Sienes v Esparcia, 1 SCRA 750
Lacerna v vda. de Corsino, 1 SCRA 1227
Solivio v Court of Appeals, 182 SCRA 119
Chua v CFI of Negros Occidental, 78 SCRA 414
Florentino v Florentino, 40 Phil 480
Gonzales v CFI of Manila, 104 SCRA 481
De Papa v Camacho, 144 SCRA 281
Carillo v de Paz, 18 SCRA 467
Sumaya v Intermediate Appellate Court, 201 SCRA 178
(d) Reserva Maxima and Reserva Minima
(e) Extinguishment of the Reserva
(f) General Principles Governing the Legitime
(g) Table of Legitime

Page 3
(h) Completion of Legitime
(i) Protection of the legitime
(i) Completion of legitime (Article 906)
(ii) Preterition (Article 854)
(iii) Collation (Article 1061)
(j) Calculation of the Hereditary Estate
Mateo v Lagua. 29 SCRA 864
vda. de Tupas v RTC of Negros Occidental, 144 SCRA 622
(k) Imputation of donations
(l) Liquidation of the Absolute Community of Property/Conjugal Partnership
(m) Calculation of the Legitime

L. Disinheritance
(a) Concept of Disinheritance
(b) Requisites of Disinheritance
(c) Form of Disinheritance
(d) Defective Disinheritance
(e) Grounds for Disinheritance
(i) Ref. Articles 18, 19 and 20, Revised Penal Code
(ii) Ref. Article 228, 229, 230 231 and 232, Family Code
(f) Effects of Reconciliation
(g) Right of Representation

M. Legacies and Devises

(a) Definition
(b) Distinction between legacies and devises
(c) Distinguished from institution of heirs
(d) Responsibility for payment of legacies and devises
(e) Order of Acquisition
(f) Legacy/Devise of a thing belonging to the beneficiary
(g) Encumbered Property
(h) Legacy of a Credit
(i) Legacy of a Remission
(j) Alternative Legacies and Devises
(k) Order of Preference (Art. 911 compared to Art. 950)
(l) Repudiation and Ineffective Legacies and Devises
(m) Implied Revocation of Legacies and Devises

III. INTESTATE SUCCESSION

A. Causes of Intestate Succession

Rodriguez v de Borja, 17 SCRA 418
Madarcos v de la Merced, 174 SCRA 599

B. Fundamental Rules of Intestacy

(a) Rules of Proximity
de los Santos v de la Cruz, 37 SCRA 555
(b) Rule of Equal Division

C. Right of Representation
De la Puerta v Court of Appeals, 181 SCRA 861
Abellana-Bacayo v Ferraris-Borromeo, 14 SCRA 986
Sayson v Court of Appeals, 205 SCRA 321
(a) Nature of Right of Representation
(b) Heirs Entitled to the Right of Representation
(c) Representation in the Direct Descending Line
(d) Representation in the Collateral Line
(e) Entitlement under the Right of Representation

Page 4
D. Order of Intestate Succession
(a) Order of Intestate Succession to a Legitimate Person
(b) Order of Intestate Succession to an Illegitimate Person
(c) Order of Intestate Succession to an Adopted Person
(d) Successional Rights of an Adopted Child
(e) Successional Rights of Parents and Ascendants
(f) Successional Rights of an Illegitimate Child
Del Prado v Santos, 18 SCRA 68
Cacho v Udan, 13 SCRA 693
(g) The Barrier
Cuartico v Cuartico, 52 O.G. 1489
Corpus v Corpus, 85 SCRA 567
Leonardo v Court of Appeals, 120 SCRA 890
Diaz v Intermediate Appellate Court, 150 SCRA 645; 182 SCRA 427
Vda. de Crisologo v Court of Appeals, 137 SCRA 233
Suntay III v Cojuabgco-Suntay, 621 SCRA 142
(h) Successional Rights of the Surviving Spouse
Santillon v Miranda, 14 SCRA 563
(i) Successional Rights of Collateral Relatives
(i) Full-Blood and Half-Blood Siblings
(ii) Right of Representation
(j) Successional Rights of the State
(i) Rule 91, Revised Rules of Court
(ii) Disposition of Escheated Property
(iii) Recovery of Reappearing Heir

IV. PROVISIONS COMMON TO TESTAMENTARY IN INTESTATE

SUCCESSION

A. Right of Accretion
(a) Definition of Accretion
(b) Grounds for Accretion
(c) Reason for Accretion
(d) Coverage of Accretion
(e) Avoidance of Accretion
(f) Accretion in Testamentary Succession
(g) Accretion in Intestate Succession
(h) Sharing of Accrued Property
(i) Effects of Accretion
(j) Accretion among Compulsory Heirs

B. Capacity to Succeed
(a) Absolute and Relative Incapacity
(b) Rights of the Unborn Child (Ref. Art. 41, Civil Code)
Parish Priest of Victoria v. Rigor, 89 SCRA 496
(c) Incapacity by Reason of Possible Undue Influence
(d) Incapacity by Reason of Morality Article 739, Civil Code
(e) Incapacity by Reason of Unworthiness
Ref: Article 920, paragraph 1
Ref. Article 919, paragraph 2
Ref. Article 921, paragraph 4
(f) Rules of Condonation
Ref. Article 922 on Reconciliation
(g) Determination of Capacity to Succeed
Cid v Burnaman, 24 SCRA 435
(h) Representation of an Incapacitated Person

Page 5
C. Acceptance and Repudiation of the Inheritance
(a) Freedom to Accept or to Repudiate
(b) Time to Accept or Repudiate
Dimayuga v Court of Appeals, 129 SCRA 111
(c) Presumption of Acceptance
(d) Irrevocability of Choice
(e) Retroactivity of the Choice
(f) Who may Accept or Repudiate
(g) Kinds of Acceptance (Express or Tacit)
(h) Manner of Repudiation
(i) Right of a Creditor to Accept an Inheritance
Leviste v Court of Appeals, 160 SCRA 581
(j) Transmissibility of the Right to Accept
(k) Expanded Effect of Repudiation as a Testamentary Heir

D. Executors and Administrators

Ref. Rules 78 to 90, Revised Rules of Court

E. Collation
(a) Definition and Purpose
De Roma v Court of Appeals, 152 SCRA 205
(b) Collation, Imputation, Reduction
(c) Collation of Value vs. Return of Property
(d) What constitutes a gratuitous conveyance
(e) Dispensing with Collation
(f) Collation by grandchildren succeeding by representation
(g) Collation by grandchildren succeeding in their own right
(h) Collation of wedding gifts

F. Partition
(a) Co-ownership prior to Partition
(b) Concept of Partition
(c) Partition Inter Vivos
Mang-oy v Court of Appeals, 144 SCRA 33
Chavez v Intermediate Appellate Court, 191 SCRA 211
(d) Right to Demand Partition
(e) Partition Involving Indivisible Property
(f) Right of Redemption of a Co-Heir
Alonzo v Intermediate Appellate Court, 150 SCRA 261
(g) Reciprocal Warranty of Title and Quality of Property
(h) Waiver of Warranty
(i) Grounds for Rescission of Partition
Ref: Article 1390, Civil Code

Page 6