Civil Law Review 1

Saturday 8-12 p.m.

I. Choose the correct answer. Justify you choice.

1. Which of the following statements is FALSE:

a. It is mandatory that testator place the date of the holographic will at the top of the
will so it can be clearly seen.
FALSE- It is not mandatory that the date is placed at the top of the will.
What’s mandatory is that it be dated.
b. It is mandatory that the attestation clause state the total number of pages of the
notarial will, otherwise, the will is void.
TRUE- it is mandatory to put the number of pages used upon which the will
is written
c. It is mandatory that the will be written in a language known to the testator.
TRUE- It is a common formality that the will is executed in the language
known to the testator
d. None of the above.

2. The probate of the will is mandatory if:

a. It contains testamentary dispositions.
b. It contains the acknowledgment o Justify yf an illegitimate child.
c. A compulsory heir is disinherited in the will.
d. Only (b) and (c) are correct.
e. All of the above.
-Probate of will is mandatory

3. Testator had one son, A. Which of the following dispositions results in A’s preterition?
His estate is worth P120,000.
a. Testator institutes B, a nephew, to 1/2 of his estate.
No- ½ is still his
b. Testator gives B, P40,000 and C, P40,000.
No- Here, the legitime is impaired the remedy is to reduce the testamentary
disposition
c. Testator gives A, P20,000; B, 1/2 of his estate; C, P40,000
No-reduce
d. None of the above.

4.The testator left an estate worth P12 million. He was survived by his 3 legitimate
children, A, B, and C; a surviving spouse and the 4 children of A and two children of C.
A, B, and C repudiate their inheritance. Select the statement that is false.
a. The grandchildren will get P1 million each as their legitime.
b. The free portion is P4 million.
c. The legitime of the spouse is P2 million.
d. The legitime of the spouse is P1 million.
e. None of the above.

5. Which of the following acts if done by a third person would invalidate the will?
A. Make insertions in a holographic will without the participation of the testator.
B. Write the name of the testator at the end of the will and on the left-hand margin of
each and every page in his presence and under his express direction.
C. Determine the aliquot portion of the estate that the instituted heir will receive from
the testator.
D. None of the above.
Because the testator should be the one to and determine the aliquot portion and the property
given by the heirs

6. The will is invalid if:

a. It does not contain an institution of an heir.
b. The institution of heir is annulled due to preterition.
c. The testator was 17 years old when he executed it.
d. All of the above.
-2-

7. Which of the following is not a valid signature?

a. The testator affixes his thumb mark, instead of signing the will.
 b. The testator signed the will with a cross.
c. The testator put his thumb mark on the will and beside the thumb mark, his agent
wrote his name.
d. ,k,None of the above.

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A A blind person cannot execute a valid will. -false
B. The lawyer that notarized the will may be one of the three
attesting witnesses. -false -the attesting witnesses should
acknowledge that they were attesting the will, if the notary is also an attesting
witness he will be appearing before himself

C. The preterition of a compulsory heir in the direct line invalidates the will. -false only
annulment of the
D. Joint wills under Philippine law are void. -true
E. None of the above.

9. The testator bequeathed a legacy of P50,000 to his driver and left the rest of the estate to
his only son, resulting in the preterition of his daughter. The estate is worth P950,000.
Which of the following statements is TRUE.
A. The driver’s legacy is invalidated by the preterition of the daughter.
-the only way it is reduced is when the legitime is reduced, here it is within the free portion
B. The institution of the son as heir is annulled resulting in an invalid will.
C. The daughter will get P450,000 as her inheritance.
D. All of the choices are false.

10. If the hereditary estate of the testator is worth P9,000,000 and he had three (3)
legitimate children, a surviving spouse and one illegitimate child, only one of the
following statements is true:
a. The disposable portion is P1.5 million.
b. The disposable portion is P3.5 million.
c. The disposable portion is P2.25 million.
d. None of the above.

Legit- 1.5 each= 450,000

Spouse- 1.5
Illegit- 750

1/2 of the estate divided equally among them, hare equal to one legitimate child from the free
portion, 1/2 of the share of a legitimate child taken from the free portion, the free portion is
the remainder of the estate
à

II. Essay. Briefly answer the questions and justify your answers when required.

1. A is the acknowledged natural child of B who died when A was already 22 years
old. When B's full blood brother, C, died, he (C), was survived by his widow and the
four legitimate children of his other brother, D. Claiming that he is entitled to inherit
from his father's brother, C, A brought suit to obtain his share in the estate of C. Will
his action prosper? Justify your answer.

The action of A will not prosper. Being an illegitimate child of B, he

is barred by Article 992 of the Civil Code from inheriting ab intestato
from the legitimate relatives of his father.

Yes, A’s action will prosper.

The law provides that if the decedent dies without a will and was survived by a surviving legal
spouse and his or her siblings or their children, the spouse will receive ½ of the estate, and
the other ½ of the estate will be divided among the decedent’s siblings or their children.

In this case, A is a child of B, the brother of C, he is entitled to the share that was supposed
to be given to his deceased father.
 2. Because her eldest son, Juan, had been pestering her for capital to start a
business, Josefa gave him P100,000. Five years later, Josefa died, leaving a last
will and testament in which she instituted only her four younger children as her sole
heirs. At the time of her death, her only properly left was P900,000.00 in a bank.
Juan opposed the will on the ground of preterition. How should Josefa's estate be
divided among her heirs? State briefly the reason(s) for your answer.

The estate of Josefa which is a total of 1M should be divided among her five
children equally.

In this case, there is no preterition. The law provides that preterition is the
total omission of a compulsory heir from the inheritance. The effect of
preterition is the annulment of the institution of the heirs in the will. When
Josefa left her entire estate to her four children, leaving off Juan, through the
will, there was complete omission of Juan from the inheritance, hence there is
preterition.

The donation made by Josefa to Juan shall be collated or returned to her

estate. The law provides that very compulsory heir, who succeeds with other
compulsory heirs, must bring intothe mass of the estate any property or right
which he may have received from the decedent, during the lifetime of the
latter, by way of donation,  in order that it may becomputed in the
determination of the legitime of each heir, and in the account of the partition.
Therefore, the 100,000 given to Juan should be returned to the estate making
it 1M in total. This 1M will be divided to all the children of Josefa which is
200k each.

Juan was not preterited because Josefa donated 100,000 pesos to

him when she was alive. This donation is considered an advance on
the Juan’s inheritance. There being no preterition, the institutions in
the will shall be respected but the legitime of Juan has to be
completed if he received less.

After collating the donation to Juan of P100.000 to the

remaining property of P900,000, the estate of Josefa is
P1,000,000. Of this amount, one-half or P500,000, divided by
the 5 children, resulting in each legitimate child having a
legitime of P100,000. The legitime, therefore, of Juan is
P100,000. Since the donation given to him was P100,000, he
had already received in full his legitime and he will not
receive anything anymore from the testatrix. The four
remaining children will get P100,000 each as their legitime
and shall divide the free portion of P500,000, equally among
themselves, or P125,000 each. In total, the four younger
children shall each receive P225,000.
3. a) If a will is executed by a testator who is a Filipino citizen, what law will govern if
the will is executed in the Philippines? What law will govern if the will is executed in
another country? Explain your answers.

a) If the testator who is a Filipino citizen executes his will in the

Philippines, Philippine law will govern the formalities.

( b). If said Filipino testator executes his will in another country, the law of
the country where he maybe or Philippine law will govern the formalities.
(Article 815, Civil Code}
If a will is executed by a testator who is a Filipino citizen and is executed in
the Philippines, the Philippine law shall govern. The will created abroad is
valid although it must still follow Philippine laws on succession. It can
be probated abroad or probated directly in the Philippines. It can then
 be used to transfer the properties to the heirs. The principle of
nationality is followed when it comes to succession.

(b) If a will is executed by a foreigner, for instance, a Japanese, residing in the

Philippines, what law will govern if the will is executed in the Philippines? And what
law will govern if the will is executed in Japan, or some other country, for instance,
the U.S.A.? Explain your answers.

( a). If the testator is a foreigner residing in the Philippines and he

executes his will in the Philippines, the law of the country of which he is a
citizen or Philippine law will govern the formalities.
(b). If the testator is a foreigner and executes his will in a foreign
country, the law of his place of residence or the law of the country of
which he is a citizen or the law of the place of execution, or Philippine law
will govern the formalities (Articles 17. 816. 817. Civil Code).
The law that will govern is the nationality of the decedent, which in this case the law
of Japan.

The law that 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.

4. For purposes of this question, assume all formalities and procedural

requirements have been complied with. In 1970, Ramon and Dessa got married. Prior to
their marriage, Ramon had a child, Anna. In 1971 and 1972, Ramon and Dessa legally
adopted Cherry and Michelle, respectively. In 1973, Dessa died while giving birth to Larry.
Anna had a child, Lia. Anna never married. Cherry, on the other hand, legally adopted
Shelly. Larry had twins, Hans and Gretel, with his girlfriend, Fiona. In 2005, Anna, Larry,
and Cherry died in a car accident. In 2007, Ramon died.

Lia and Michele are the only possible heirs of Ramon.

Lia succeeds by representation of Anna who, if she is an illegitimate

child of Ramon, may be represented by her descendants. (Article 990,
NCC). If Anna is a legitimate child, Lia may not inherit (Article 992,
NCC)

Michelle may inherit as an adopted child of Ramon, unless the word

“respectively” means she was adopted only by Dessa. In the latter
case, Michelle will not inherit from Ramon. The relationship created is
exclusively between the adopter and the adopted, and does not extend to the
relatives of either. Neither are the children of the adopted considered as descendants
of the adopter.

Shelly cannot inherit from Ramon. She cannot represent Cherry in the
inheritance of Ramon since filiation created by adoption is exclusively
between the adopter and the adopted. The legal relationship does not
extend to the children of the adopted.
- 20 –

Hans and Gabriel, being illegitimate children of Larry, cannot inherit from
Ramon ab intestato because of the barrier between the legitimate and
the illegitimate. (Article 992, NCC)

Dessa, Ana , Larry and Cherry will not inherit from Ramon because they
predeceased Ramon. The law requires that one must be alive to be
capacitated to inherit. (Article 1025, NCC)

5. Armand died intestate. His full-blood brothers, Bobby and Conrad, and half-blood
brothers, Danny, Edward and Floro, all predeceased him. The following are the
surviving relatives:

1. Benny and Bonnie, legitimate children of Bobby; (full brother)

2. Cesar, legitimate child of Conrad; (full brother)
3. Dante, illegitimate child of Danny; half-blood brothers
4. Ernie, adopted child of Edward; and half-blood brothers
5. Felix, grandson of Floro. half-blood brothers

The net value of Armand's estate is P 1,200,000.

300,000- each brother

(a) How much will Benny and Bonnie get by right or representation?
None. In intestate succession if all the brothers and sisters of
the decedent predeceased the latter, the nephews and
nieces inherit in their own right or per capita and not by right
of representation. (See Article 975)
(b) How much is Dante”s share of the estate?
None. Dante will not inherit because his is an illegitimate child
of a legitimate half-brother of Armand thus the barrier applies.
(c) How much is Ernie’s share of the estate?
None, Ernie will not inherit because being an adopted child of
Edward, he cannot inherit from the relatives of the latter as
the adoption creates only a relationship between adopter and
adopted.
(d) How much is Felix’s share of the estate?
Felix is not entitled to inherit because the right of representation in the
collateral line is only available to nephews and nieces of the decedent
and not to grandnephews or grandnieces. Justify your answers to a to d
questions.