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Dear Atty. AGA,
Nais ko pong itanong ang ilang bagay tungkol po sa huling habilin ng aking lolo. Ganito po ang pagkakagawa ng will, sa unang pahina po at sa pangalawang pahina ay nakasaad ang mga habilin ng aking lolo at ang first and second page na ito ay pirmado ng lolo ko at ng tatlong witnesses sa huling habilin ng aking lolo.
Pagkatapos po nito ay ang patunay ng mga saksi bilang third page at sa baba po ng patunay na ito ay ang salitang “subscribed and sworn to before me this ______ day of ____ xxx xxx”. Sa third page po na ito ay may signature lamang ang tatlong witnesses sa will ng lolo ko.
Bago po kami gumawa ng susunod na hakbang ay itatanong ko po sana sa inyo kung maaari na ang mga tagapagmana na nabanggit sa last will ng lolo ko na paghatian na ang mga mana nila kagad base sa last will po na ito?
Gumagalang,
JR
Ikinalulungkot ko na ang huling habilin na sinasabi mo kung saan ang lolo mo ang testator ay defective will or invalid will.
Under Article 805 of the Civil Code, “Every will, other than a holographic will, must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself xxx xxx and attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in presence of the testator and of one another.” And according to Article 806 of the Civil Code, “Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses.”
Dapat ay mayroong signature o pirma ang iyong lolo bilang testator sa third page ng will o sa baba mismo ng attestation clause o ang sinasabi mong patunay ng mga saksi. Ang sinasabi mong huling habilin ay hindi acknowledge before a notary public. Ang last will ng lolo mo ay napagtibay ng “jurat” lamang which is not the one required by a notarial will. A notarial will must be acknowledged before a notary public.
In a decision held by our Supreme Court in the case of FELIX AZUELA vs. COURT OF APPEALS, GERALDA AIDA CASTILLO substituted by ERNESTO G. CASTILLO, G.R. No. 122880, April 12, 2006, “Yet even if we consider what was affixed by the notary public as a jurat, the will would nonetheless remain invalid, as the express requirement of Article 806 is that the will be “acknowledged”, and not merely subscribed and sworn to.
The will does not present any textual proof, much less one under oath, that the decedent and the instrumental witnesses executed or signed the will as their own free act or deed.
The acknowledgment made in a will provides for another all-important legal safeguard against spurious wills or those made beyond the free consent of the testator. An acknowledgement is not an empty meaningless act.
Sa kaso pa rin na FELIX AZUELA vs. COURT OF APPEALS ipinaliwanag ng ating Korte Suprema ang difference between an acknowledgment and a jurat ng ganito, “An acknowledgment is the act of one who has executed a deed in going before some competent officer or court and declaring it to be his act or deed. It involves an extra step undertaken whereby the signor actually declares to the notary that the executor of a document has attested to the notary that the same is his/her own free act and deed.
A jurat is that part of an affidavit where the notary certifies that before him/her, the document was subscribed and sworn to by the executor.
The acknowledgment coerces the testator and the instrumental witnesses to declare before an officer of the law that they had executed and subscribed to the will as their own free act or deed. Such declaration is under oath and under pain of perjury, thus allowing for the criminal prosecution of persons who participate in the execution of spurious wills, or those executed without the free consent of the testator.
It also provides a further degree of assurance that the testator is of certain mindset in making the testamentary dispositions to those persons he/she had designated in the will.
Ipinapaalam ko sa iyo na hindi kaagad-agad napaghahati-hatian ang properties ng yumao ayon sa kanyang huling habilin. Dapat mong malaman na ang huling habilin o last will and testament ay kailangan munang maipa-probate sa court. Under Section 1, Rule 75 - Allowance necessary. “No will shall pass either real or personal estate unless it is proved and allowed in the proper court.”
Gayunpaman JR maipayo ko sa iyo na huwag mo ng ipa-probate ang huling habilin ng lolo mo.
Invalid kasi ang huling habilin na ito at sayang lamang ang magagastos ninyo. Ang payo ko ay gumawa na lang kayo ng extra-judicial settlement of the deceased.
***
Kung kayo ay may mga bagay na nais malaman o problemang nais na idulog, maaari kayong magsadya o sumulat sa aming tanggapan sa DZXL RMN MANILA sa Guadalupe Complex, 4th Floor, Guadalupe, EDSA, Makati City.
Patuloy rin tayong makinig sa ating radio program, ITO ANG BATAS WITH ATTY. AGA, Lunes hanggang Biyernes, sa bagong time slot 4:00-5:00 pm, DZXL RMN Manila sa 558 khz or through live streaming at www.rmnnews.com/tv. Pwede ring mag-email sa agalaw@pldtdsl.net.
Lagi po nating tandaan, ITAGUYOD NATIN ANG LAKAS NG ATING BATAS!
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