1. Does Art.

774 also apply to juridical persons to the extent that successional rights of corporate
entities are governed under the Civil Code?
2. Can there be a transfer of ownership by succession without the fact of death? Is the transmission
still gratuitous if the heir is made to pay deficiency taxes before ownership can be transferred?
3. Are all obligations to give extinguished upon the death of the obligor? How about obligations to
do or not to do?
4. In an ejectment case, what is the legal effect of a death of a party during the pendency of the
case?
5. What are the causes of action extinguished by death?
6. Are all criminal cases extinguished upon death of the complainant? Upon death of the accused?
7. At what point does succession open for persons declared presumptively dead – after the lapse
of 10 years? After the decree has been issued by a competent court? At the point when he was
found to be absent, i.e. the decree retroacts to the first day of his absence?
8. Does the delivery of presumptive legitimes transfer ownership to the common children by virtue
of tradicion or succession?
9. If you were given the opportunity to choose, would you rather be an heir or a legatee/devisee?
Why?
10. What is/are the instance(s) contemplated in Art. 785 inasmuch as the phrase “when referred to
by name” appears to qualify the extent of the prohibited delegation as regards the portions to
which the heirs can succeed?
11. Clara, thinking of her mortality, drafted a will and asked Roberta, Hannah, Luisa and Benjamin
to be witnesses. During the day of the signing of her will, Clara fell down the stairs and broke
both her arms. Coming from the hospital, Clara insisted on signing her will by thumbmark and
said that she can sign her full name later. While the will was being signed, Roberta experienced
a stomach ache and kept going to the restroom for long periods of time. Hannah, while waiting
for her turn to sign the will, was reading a book on the couch, beside the table on which everyone
was signing. Benjamin, aside from witnessing the will, also offered to notarize it. A week after,
Clara was run over by a drunk driver while crossing the street. May the will of Clara be admitted
to probate? Give your reasons briefly.
12. Why did the law specifically prescribe that the notary and one of the witnesses communicate the
contents of the will to the blind testator but did not prescribe the same persons to do the same
for deaf and deaf-mute testators?
13. 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 (1%) b) Act as a witness to a will? c) In either of
the above instances, must the will be read to him?
14. What is the effect if the prior conviction or any disqualification of the witness was concealed from
the testator?
15. Can the testator declare that he will still prepare the document to be incorporated at the same
time have it incorporated by reference?
16. If the testator himself had his own will admitted to probate during his lifetime, can he still revoke
the same?
17. What is the difference between a fiduciary-fideicommissary relationship with a trustor-trustee
relationship?
18. 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 only then 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? b.) If
Scarlet predeceases Ruffa, who inherits the property? c.) If Ruffa predeceases Raymond, can
Scarlet inherit the property directly from Raymond?
19. Emil, the testator, has 3 legitimate children, Tom, Henry and Carlito; a wife named Adette;
parents named Pepe and Pilar; an illegitimate child Ramon; brother Mark; and a sister Nanette.
Since his wife Adette is well-off, he wants to leave to his illegitimate child as much of his estate
as he can legally do. His estate has a net amount of P1.2M and all the above-named relatives
are still living. Emil now comes to you for advice in making a will. How will you distribute his
estate according to his wishes without violating the law on testamentary succession?
20. Should the legatee die before the pension in Art. 945 is fully paid, will the payments continue and
pass to the heirs of the legatee?
21. Don died after executing a last will and testament leaving his estate valued at P12M to his
common-law wife Roshelle. He is survived by his brother Ronie and his half-sister Michelle. (1)
Was Don’s testamentary disposition of his estate in accordance with the law on succession?
Whether you agree or not, explain your answer. (2) If Don failed to execute a will during his
lifetime, as his lawyer, how will you distribute his estate? Explain. (3) Assuming he died intestate
survived by his brother Ronie, his half-sister Michelle, and his legitimate son Jayson, how will
you distribute his estate? Explain. (4) Assuming further he died intestate survived by his father
Juan, his brother Ronie, his half-sister Michelle, and his legitimate son Jayson, how will you
distribute his estate? Explain.
22. Ernesto, an OFW, was coming home. He had saved 100k 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?
23. Ramon Mayaman died intestate, leaving a net estate of 10M. Determine how much each heir will
receive from the estate: (a) If Ramon is survived by his wife, 3 full-blood brothers, 2 half-brothers
and 1 nephew (son of deceased full-blood brother). Explain. (b) If Ramon is survived by his wife,
a half-sister, and 3 nephews (sons of deceased full-blood brother). Explain.