Arts. 805, 806 | Succession, Testamentary Capacity
Provisions:
Art. 799. To be of sound mind, it is not necessary that the testator be in full possession of all his reasoning faculties, or that his mind be wholly unbroken, unimpaired, or unshattered by disease, injury or other cause.
It shall be sufficient if the testator was able at the time of making the will to know the nature of the estate to be disposed of, the proper objects of his bounty, and the character of the testamentary act.
Art. 800. The law presumes that every person is of sound mind, in the absence of proof to the contrary.
The burden of proof that the testator was not of sound mind at the time of making his dispositions is on the person who opposes the probate of the will; but if the testator, one month, or less, before making his will was publicly known to be insane, the person who maintains the validity of the will must prove that the testator made it during a lucid interval.
Art. 805. Every will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself or by the testator's name written by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction, and attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another.
The testator or the person requested by him to write his name and the instrumental witnesses of the will, shall also sign, as aforesaid, each and every page thereof, except the last, on the left margin, and all the pages shall be numbered correlatively in letters placed on the upper part of each page.
The attestation shall state the number of pages used upon which the will is written, and the fact that the testator signed the will and every page thereof, or caused some other person to write his name, under his express direction, in the presence of the instrumental witnesses, and that the latter witnessed and signed the will and all the pages thereof in the presence of the testator and of one another.
If the attestation clause is in a language not known to the witnesses, it shall be interpreted to them.
Art. 806. Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses. The notary public shall not be required to retain a copy of the will, or file another with the Office of the Clerk of Court.
Ponente:
Del Castillo, J.
Petitioners: Antonio B. Baltazar, Sebastian M. Baltazar, Antonio L. Mangalindan, Rosie M. Mateo, Nenita A. Pacheco, Virgilio Regala, Jr., and Rafael Titco
Respondent: Lorenzo Laxa
Recit Version:
Paciencia Regala made a will bequeathing her properties to her nephew, Lorenzo Laxa, and his family. Paciencia left for the USA, where she lived with Lorenzo until her death. Lorenzo filed for probate, which was opposed due to alleged mental incapacity.
The Supreme Court held that the will was validly executed. The burden to prove Paciencia's unsound mind rested with the petitioners, who failed to provide substantial evidence. The state of being forgetful does not necessarily make a person mentally unsound so as to render him unfit to execute a will. The special bond between Paciencia and Lorenzo's family further validated the will.
Facts:
In 1981, Paciencia Regala made her last will and testament in Pampango dialect.
The will was executed and witnessed in the house of a retired judge and remained in his custody until Paciencia's death.
Childless and without any brothers or sisters, Paciencia bequeathed all her properties to Lorenzo R. Laxa, his wife Corazon F. Laxa, and their children Luna Lorella Laxa and Katherine Ross Laxa.
Lorenzo is Paciencia's nephew and was raised by her as her own son.
Six days after the execution of the will, Paciencia left for the United States of America where she resided with Lorenzo and his family until her death.
In 1996, Paciencia died.
In 2000, Lorenzo filed a petition for the probate of Paciencia's will.
There was no opposition until the evidence was presented.
Antonio Baltazar later filed an opposition, claiming that the properties in the will belonged to Nicomeda Regala Mangalindan, his predecessor-in-interest.
He was joined by petitioners Sebastian M. Baltazar, Virgilio Regala, Jr., Nenita A. Pacheco, Felix B. Flores, Rafael Titco, Rosie M. Mateo and Antonio L. Mangalindan who opposed the probate of the will on several grounds, including claims of mental incapacity, duress, and forgery.
Rosie testified that Paciencia was often referred to as magulyan (forgetful) because she would sometimes leave her wallet in the kitchen then start looking for it moments later.
Trial court: Denied the probate of the will due to lack of testamentary capacity, primarily based on the testimony of Rosie.
Court of Appeals: Reversed the trial court's decision, stating that being magulyan does not necessarily indicate mental unsoundness. The oppositors failed to prove that Paciencia was tricked or forced into signing the will.
Issue:
WoN the authenticity and due execution of the notarial Will was sufficiently established to warrant its allowance for probate. YES
Held:
Due execution of the will or its extrinsic validity pertains to whether the testator, being of sound mind, freely executed the will in accordance with the formalities prescribed by law. These formalities are enshrined in Articles 805 and 806 of the New Civil Code.
A careful examination of the face of the Will shows faithful compliance with the formalities laid down by law. The signatures of the testatrix, Paciencia, her instrumental witnesses and the notary public, are all present and evident on the Will. Further, the attestation clause explicitly states the critical requirement that the testatrix and her instrumental witnesses signed the Will in the presence of one another and that the witnesses attested and subscribed to the Will in the presence of the testator and of one another. In fact, even the petitioners acceded that the signature of Paciencia in the Will may be authentic although they question her state of mind when she signed the same as well as the voluntary nature of said act.
The burden to prove that Paciencia was of unsound mind at the time of the execution of the will lies on the shoulders of the petitioners.
Petitioners claimed that Paciencia was not only magulyan but was actually suffering from paranoia. The state of being forgetful does not necessarily make a person mentally unsound so as to render him unfit to execute a Will. Forgetfulness is not equivalent to being of unsound mind.
Apart from the testimony of Rosie pertaining to Paciencia forgetfulness, there is no substantial evidence, medical or otherwise, that would show that Paciencia was of unsound mind at the time of the execution of the Will. The testimony of subscribing witnesses to a Will concerning the testator's mental condition is entitled to great weight where they are truthful and intelligent. More importantly, a testator is presumed to be of sound mind at the time of the execution of the Will and the burden to prove otherwise lies on the oppositor. There was no showing that Paciencia was publicly known to be insane one month or less before the making of the Will. Clearly, thus, the burden to prove that Paciencia was of unsound mind lies upon the shoulders of petitioners.
Bare allegations of duress or influence of fear or threats, undue and improper influence and pressure, fraud and trickery cannot be used as basis to deny the probate of a will.
Evidence shows the acknowledged fact that Paciencia's relationship with Lorenzo and his family is different from her relationship with petitioners. The very fact that she cared for and raised Lorenzo and lived with him both here and abroad, even if the latter was already married and already has children, highlights the special bond between them. This unquestioned relationship between Paciencia and the devisees tends to support the authenticity of the said document as against petitioner's allegations of duress, influence of fear or threats, undue and improper influence, pressure, fraud, and trickery which, aside from being factual in nature, are not supported by concrete, substantial and credible evidence on record.
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