Kitem Duque Kadatuan Jr.

Succession
Atty. Crisostomo A. Uribe
I.

General Provisions

A. Definitions and Concepts

Article 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. (n)
Article 712. Ownership is acquired by occupation and by intellectual creation.
Ownership and other real rights over property are acquired and transmitted by law, by donation, by
testate and intestate succession, and in consequence of certain contracts, by tradition.
They may also be acquired by means of prescription.
Article 1311. Contracts take effect only between the parties, their assigns and heirs, except in case
where the rights and obligations arising from the contract are not transmissible by their nature, or by
stipulation or by provision of law. The heir is not liable beyond the value of the property he received
from the decedent.
If a contract should contain some stipulation in favor of a third person, he may demand its fulfillment
provided he communicated his acceptance to the obligor before its revocation. A mere incidental
benefit or interest of a person is not sufficient. The contracting parties must have clearly and
deliberately conferred a favor upon a third person. (1257a)

Basis of Law of Succession

Legal Philosophy of the Civil Code on Succession
Fundamental changes in the NCC
B. Law Governing Form
1. As to time of execution
Article 795. The validity of a will as to its form depends upon the observance of the law in force at
the time it is made. (n)

2. As to place of execution
Article 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments shall be
governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed.
When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of
the Philippines in a foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed
in their execution.

Kitem Duque Kadatuan Jr.

1 | Page

Kitem Duque Kadatuan Jr.

Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts or property, and those which have for their object
public order, public policy and good customs shall not be rendered ineffective by laws or judgments
promulgated, or by determinations or conventions agreed upon in a foreign country.
Article 810. A person may execute a holographic will which must be entirely written, dated, and
signed by the hand of the testator himself. It is subject to no other form, and may be made in or out
of the Philippines, and need not be witnessed. (678, 688a)
Article 815. When a Filipino is in a foreign country, he is authorized to make a will in any of the
forms established by the law of the country in which he may be. Such will may be probated in the
Philippines. (n)
Article 816. 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. (n)
Article 817. A will made in the Philippines by a citizen or subject of another country, which is
executed in accordance with the law of the country of which he is a citizen or subject, and which
might be proved and allowed by the law of his own country, shall have the same effect as if executed
according to the laws of the Philippines. (n)
Article 818. Two or more persons cannot make a will jointly, or in the same instrument, either for
their reciprocal benefit or for the benefit of a third person. (669)
Article 819. Wills, prohibited by the preceding article, executed by Filipinos in a foreign country shall
not be valid in the Philippines, even though authorized by the laws of the country where they may
have been executed. (733a)

In Re Will of Rev. Abadia

Doctrine: the validity of a will is to be judged not by the law enforce at the time of the testator's

death or at the time the supposed will is presented in court for probate or when the petition is
decided by the court but at the time the instrument was executed.
Facts:
Petitioners argument:
Respondents argument:
Issue:
Held:

Kitem Duque Kadatuan Jr.

2 | Page