Case Digest: Blas vs. Santos, No. L-14070. March 29, 1961

                                         Art. 774, 776 | Succession, Inheritance

Provision:

Art. 774. Succession is a mode of acquisition by virtue of which the property, rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance, of a person are transmitted through his death to another or others either by his will or by operation of law.

Art. 776. The inheritance includes all the property, rights and obligations of a person which are not extinguished by his death.

Art. 781. The inheritance of a person includes not only the property and the transmissible rights and obligations existing at the time of his death, but also those which have accrued thereto since the opening of the succession.

Principle:

Compromise is a contract by which each of the parties in interest, by giving, promising, or retaining something avoids the provocation of a suit or terminates one which has already been instituted.

Ponente:

Labrador, J.

Facts:

Sometime before 1898, Simeon Blas contracted a marriage with Marta Cruz.
In 1898, Marta Cruz died.

In 1899, Simeon Blas contracted second marriage with Maxima Santos.

Simeon Blas had three children in his first marriage, only one of whom, Eulalio, left children, namely, Maria Gervacio Blas, one of the plaintiffs, Marta Gervacio Blas, one of the defendants, and Lazaro Gervacio Blas. In 1953, Lazaro died in and is survived by three legitimate children who are plaintiffs herein, namely, Manuel Gervacio Bias, Leoncio Gervacio Blas and Loida Gervacio Blas. 

Simeon Blas had properties with Marta Cruz, but no liquidation of these properties was made. Maxima Santos does not appear to have properties to her marriage with Simeon Blas

In 1936, Simeon Blas executed a last will and testament declaring that one-half of all the properties acquired during the second marriage would belong to his wife Maxima Santos de Blas. The will was witnessed. 

Maxima Santos also executed a document, Exhibit "A", pledging to transmit half of her share of the conjugal properties to the heirs and legatees of Simeon Blas depending upon the respect, service and treatment accorded to her.

The reason why the testator ordered the preparation of Exhibit "A" was because the properties during his first marriage with Marta Cruz had not been liquidated and were not separated from those acquired during the second marriage.

In 1937, Simeon Blas died.

In 1956, Maxima Santos died.

Plaintiffs filed an action against the administratix of Maxima Santos' estate to secure a declaration that half of Maxima Santos' properties, promised to plaintiffs, be delivered to them.

Lower Court:

Complaint dismissed.

(1) That Exhibit "A" has not created any right in favor of plaintiffs which can serve as a basis for the complaint;

(2) That neither can it be considered as a valid and enforceable contract for lack of consideration and because it deals with future inheritance;

(3) That Exhibit "A" is not a will because it does not comply with the requisites for the execution of a will; nor could it be considered as a donation.

Nature:

Appeal from judgment of CFI-Rizal.

 

Issue:

WoN Exhibit "A" binds the estate of Maxima Santos to convey the promised properties. (YES)

Held:

Judgment reversed.

The preparation and execution of Exhibit "A" was ordered by Simeon Blas evidently to prevent his heirs by his first marriage from contesting his will and demanding liquidation of the conjugal properties acquired during the first marriage, and an accounting of the fruits and proceeds thereof from the time of the death of his first wife.

Exhibit "A", therefore, appears to be the compromise defined in Article 1809 of the Civil Code of Spain, in force at the time of the execution of Exhibit "A", which provides as follows:

Compromise is a contract by which each of the parties in interest, by giving, promising, or retaining something avoids the provocation of a suitor terminates one which has already the provocation been instituted. 

Under Exhibit "A", therefore, Maxima Santos contracted the obligation and promised to give one-half of the indicated properties to the heirs and legatees of Simeon Blas.

It is a compromise and at the same time a contract with a sufficient cause or consideration. It is not a contract on future inheritance but an obligation or promise made by the maker to transmit one-half of her share in the conjugal properties acquired with her husband, which properties are stated or declared to be conjugal properties in the will of the husband. 

The properties subject of the contract Exhibit "A" are well defined properties, existing at the time of the agreement, which Simeon Blas declares in his statement as belonging to his wife as her share in the conjugal partnership. Certainly his wife's actual share in the conjugal properties may not be considered as future inheritance because they were actually in existence at the time Exhibit "A" was executed.

The main ground upon which plaintiffs base their present action is the document Exhibit "A", already fully considered above. As this private document contains the express promise made by Maxima Santos to convey in her testament, upon her death, one-half of the conjugal properties she would receive as her share in the conjugal properties, the action to enforce the said promise did not arise until and after her death when it was found that she did not comply with her above-mentioned promise.The right of action arose at the time of the death of Maxima Santos, when she failed to comply with the promise made by her in Exhibit "A".