MARK KEVIN A.

ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

BICOL COLLEGE
SCHOOL OF LAW
Daraga, Albay

MID-TERM EXAMINATION
[Succession]
November 22, 2021
5:30-7:00 PM

Direction: Answer the question briefly, correctly and understandably.

I.

Arthur executed a will which contained only: i) a provision disinheriting his

daughter Bernice for running of with a married man, and ii) a provision
disposing of his share in the family house and lot in favour of his other
children Connie and Dora. He did not make any provisions in favour of his
wife Erica, because as the will stated, she would anyway get ½ of the
house and lot as her conjugal share. The will was very brief and
straightforward and both the above provisions were contained in page 1,
which Arthur and his instrumental witnesses which included lambert, the
driver of Arthur, Yoly, the family cook and Atty. Zorba, the lawyer who
prepared the will. There was a 3 rd page, but this only contained the notarial
acknowledgement. The attestation clause stated the will was signed on the
same occasion by Arthur and his instrumental witnesses who all signed in
the presence of each other, and the notary public who notarized the will.
There are no marginal signatures or pagination appearing on any of the 3
pages. Upon his death, it was discovered that apart from the house and lot,
he had a P1 million account deposited with ABC Bank.

a. Was Erica preterited? [5%]

NO, Erica was not preterited.

MARK KEVIN A. ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

Under the Civil Code provisions on wills, one of the

requirements for preterition to take place is that the compulsory
heir omitted must be in the direct line of the testator.

Here, while Erica is a compulsory heir, she cannot be pretirated

or omitted because she is not in the direct line of compulsory
heirs.

Thus, Erica was not pretirated.

b. What other defects of the will, if any, can cause denial of

probate? [5%]

The following are the other defects of the will that can cause its
denial during probate:

a. The will does not contain pages correlatively in letters on

the upper part of the three pages
b. The three-witness rule was violated when Atty. Zorba,
the one who prepared the will, acted as one of the three
witnesses during the signing of the will
c. There was no marginal signature at the last page of the
will.
d. The attestation was silent as to the number of pages
upon which the will was written.

c. Was the disinheritance valid? [5%]

Yes, the disinheritance was valid.

Under the Civil Code, a testator may disinherit his child of his
estate if the latter leads a dishonorable or graceful life, like running off
with a married man. Here, the act of running off with a married man is
a sufficient cause for Bernice’s disinheritance.

d. How should the house and lot, and the cash be distributed?
[5%]
MARK KEVIN A. ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

The house and lot as well as the cash amounting to 1 million

should be distributed consistent to the provisions of the civil
code on intestate succession.

Under the civil code, if a widow or widower and legitimate

children or descendants are left, the surviving spouse has the
same share as of the children. Here, since the probate of the
will cannot be allowed, the aforecited provision must be applied.
Thus, ownership over the house and lot will be created among
wife Erica and her children Bernice, Connie and Dora. Further,
the amount of P 1 million must be equally divided among them.

II.

Ernesto, an overseas Filipino worker, was coming home to the Philippines

after working for so many years in the Middle East. He had saved
P100,000 in his savings account in Manila which he intended to use to start
a business in his home country. On his flight home, Ernesto had a fatal
heart attack. He left behind his widowed mother, his common-law wife and
their twin sons. He left no will, no debts, no other relatives and no other
properties except the money in his savings account. Who are the heirs
entitled to inherit from him and how much should each receive? [10%]

ANSWER:

Ernesto’s mother and his twin sons are entitled to inherit from his estate.

Under the law, illegitimate children are entitled to one half of the estate in
case legitimate ascendants are left by the deceased. In the case at bar,
Ernesto’s twin sons are entitled to receive one-half of his estate. Thus, the
widowed mother gets P50,000.00 and the twin sons shall receive
P25,000.00 each.

Further, Ernesto’s common-law wife cannot inherit from him because she is
not a compulsory heir.

III.

John and Paula, British citizens at birth, acquired Philippines citizenship by

naturalization after their marriage. During their marriage the couple
MARK KEVIN A. ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

acquired substantial landholdings in London and in Makati. Paula bore

John three children, Peter, Paul and Mary. In one of their trips to London,
the couple executed a joint will appointing each other as their heirs and
providing upon the death of the survivor between them the entire estate
would go to Peter and Paul only but the two could not dispose of nor divide
the London estate as long as they live. John and Paula died tragically in
London subway terrorist attack in 2005. Peter and Paul filed a Petition for
Probate of their parent’s will before a Makati Regional Trial Court.

a) Should the will be admitted to probate? [10%]

NO, the will cannot be admitted for probate.

Under the law, the execution of a joint will produces no legal effect
as it is prohibited in the Philippines. Thus, a joint will cannot be
probated. Here, the joint will executed by John and Paula was
invalid because the same is not sanctioned by our laws. As a
result, the joint will cannot be admitted for probate.

b) Are the Testamentary dispositions valid? [10%]

No. The testamentary dispositions are not valid due to the

following:

a.) the omission of Mary, a legitimate child, resulted to preterition

which shall annul the institution of Peter and Paul as heirs

b.) the disposition that Peter and Paul could not dispose of nor
divide the London estate as long as they live is void.

c) Is the testamentary prohibition against the division of the London

estate valid? [10%]

No. the testamentary prohibition against the division of the London

estate is void. A testator, however, may prohibit partition for a
period which shall not exceed twenty (20) years.

IV.
MARK KEVIN A. ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

Raymond, single named his sister Ruffa in his will as a devisee of a parcel
of land which he owned. The will imposed upon Ruffa the obligation of
preserving the land and transferring it, upon her death, to her illegitimate
daughter Scarlet who was then only one year old. Raymond later died,
leaving behind his widowed mother, Ruffa and Scarlet.

a) Is the condition imposed upon Ruffa to preserve the property

and to transmit it upon her death to Scarlet valid? [10%]

Yes, the condition imposed upon Ruffa to preserve the property

and to transmit it upon her death to Scarlet is valid because it is
tantamount to fideicommissary substitution under Art. 863 of
the Civil Code.

b) If Scarlet predeceases Ruffa, who inherits the property? [10%]

Ruffa will inherit the property as Scarlet's heir. Scarlet acquires

a right to the succession from the time of Raymond's death,
even though she should predecease Ruffa .

c) If Ruffa predeceases Raymond, can Scarlet inherit the property

directly from Raymond? [10%]

If Ruffa predeceases Raymond, Raymond's widowed mother

will be entitled to the inheritance. Scarlet, an illegitimate child,
cannot inherit the property by intestate succession from
Raymond who is a legitimate relative of Ruffa (Art. 992, Civil
Code). Moreover, Scarlet is not a compulsory heir of Raymond,
hence she can inherit only by testamentary succession. Since
Raymond executed a will in the case at bar, Scarlet may inherit
from Raymond

V.

Steve was born blind. He went to school for the blind, and learned to read
in Braille language. He speaks English fluently. Can he:

a) Make a will? [3%]

MARK KEVIN A. ARROCO
Jusis Doctor – 3rd Year

Yes, Steve can make a will.

Under the law, a blind person, can make a notarial will, subject
to compliance with the "two-reading rule" and to the formalities
required by law. In this case, assuming that Steve is of legal age
and of sound mind at the time of execution of the will, the will
executed by Steve may produce legal effect.

b) Act as a witness to a will? [3%]

Stevie cannot be a witness to a will.

The Civil Code expressly provide that only 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. Here, Steve, being blind, cannot be a
witness to a will.

c) In either of the above instances, must the will be read to him?

[4%]

Yes, the will must be read to him twice.

Under the law, for a blind person to validly execute a will, the
instrument must be read to him twice, once by one of the subscribing
witnesses, and again, by the notary public before whom the will is
acknowledged.