Source: https://attorney.org.ph/legal-news/tag/49-will
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 22:13:33+00:00

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How To Determine The Validity Of A Will?
Making a will ensures that conflict and controversy regarding the deceased person's estate are prevented. A will under Article 783 refers to " a will is an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities prescribed by law, to control to a certain degree the disposition of this estate, to take effect after his death."
Article 784 also states that the making of a will must be a personal act. The Civil Codes also specifies that a testator can execute can execute two kinds of wills. These are the attested and holographic will.
Art. 804. Every will must be in writing and executed in a language or dialect known to the testator.
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.
Art. 807. If the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he must personally read the will, if able to do so; otherwise, he shall designate two persons to read it and communicate to him, in some practicable manner, the contents thereof.
Art. 808. If the testator is blind, the will shall be read to him twice; once, by one of the subscribing witnesses, and again, by the notary public before whom the will is acknowledged.
Art. 809. In the absence of bad faith, forgery, or fraud, or undue and improper pressure and influence, defects and imperfections in the form of attestation or in the language used therein shall not render the will invalid if it is proved that the will was in fact executed and attested in substantial compliance with all the requirements of article 805.
If you have already made your last will and testament and decided to make some changes, do you need to follow the same requirements as the old will? In most cases, creating a new will can still be considered invalid if it does not meet the conditions under Article 830. Creating a new will does not automatically revoke the old will.
The old will can be still be considered operative if there is no valid revocation of a will by a subsequent will. This means that the subsequent will should comply with the formal requirements in terms of executing it. The maker of the will must have testamentary capacity and the subsequent will should contain express revocatory clause which shows incompatibility with the old will.
You must clearly express your intention to replace your old will. It should also specify your intention to revoke it. The subsequent will must also be probated by Court as this is still part of the requirement.
Art. 834. The recognition of an illegitimate child does not lose its legal effect, even though the will wherein it was made should be revoked.
It cannot be denied that the settlement of a deceased person's estate can lead to bitter litigations if the relatives cannot see eye to eye. This is why preparing a last will and testament is a good option to prevent conflicts. A last will and testament refers to an act whereby an individual is permitted, following the legal procedures, to control a certain degree the disposition of his/her estate. The will serves as a document whereby the testator disposes of his/her estate or property, which will take effect upon his/her death. The testator refers to the deceased person who created the will. A legatee refers to the person whom the testator gives the personal property through a will while the devisee is the person who is given real property in a will. The person who is entrusted to implement the provisions is referred to as the executor.
A will differs from inheritance as the latter refers to "all the property, rights and obligations of a person who are not extinguished by his death" according to Civil Code, Art. 776. The will determines the disposition of the inheritance.
A document may be entitled a last will and testament but when it provides that all properties need to be transferred during the testator's lifetime, it is not considered a will because a will takes effect upon the testator's death. A disposition that takes effect before his/her death is referred to as a donation and this should be governed by the formalities of and legal provisions on donations.
A holographic will refers to a writen document which is dated and signed by the hand of the testator himself while a notarial will is governed by the provisions under Article 805 and 806, Civil Code.
" 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."
People enter into an agreement for various reasons such as buying, selling or rendering services. Contracts contain relevant agreements which both parties should perform. However, there are instances when one of the contracting parties ends up dealing with legal disputes because of one essential element that has been taken for granted: notarization. Does notarization bear any weight on the contract? While merely signing a contract binds a person into an agreement, a contract that bears the signature of contracting parties may not suffice in spite the presence of consent elements.
Notarization has a legal impact on the contract as it converts a private document to a public instrument. Agreements on the contract are enforceable once the document is notarized because it is a strong proof of the document’s authenticity. However, basic requirements must also be observed in notarizing documents. The document is also rendered admissible in court as tangible evidence once it is notarized. Notarization also prevents fraud among legal documents and contracts. The documents that often require notarization are Power of Attorney, medical documents, sworn statements, affidavits, deeds, wills and trusts.
1. The unsigned document must be brought to the notary public. It is important to note that the document must not be signed in advance as the notary public will not entertain signed documents without their presence. Proper identification must be secured to ensure that notary public can verify your identity. Proofs of identity include TIN, NBI Clearance and SSS ID.
2. Upon verifying your identity, the notary public will also check your documents. There are instances when notary publics prepare document for you to sign. This step is usually required in the case of affidavits.
3. Once identification and document are clear, you will be asked to sign the document. You will also be observed if you are signing under duress or if another person is forcing you to sign the document against your will.
4. You should also have one credible witness who is personally known to either the individual signing the document or the notary public.
5. The transaction will be recorded on the notary’s journal. The record will show the date, place and other essential details of the transaction.
6. If the requirements and process have been fulfilled, the notary will stamp the document with an official public seal or stamp to prove that your document is notarized. The payment for notarization will vary from location to location.
Vague terms can wreak havoc on completing your will and you might run the risk of being misinterpreted. The attorney uses a standard language for everyone to understand the content of your will. With the standard language, confusions are prevented and the message is conveyed to your beneficiaries and will executors.
Homemade wills are less likely to be free of errors because it does not undergo the same scrutiny and examination that it gets when it is done by attorneys. Let’s face it, there are some technicalities involved in completing a will and attorneys are detail-oriented. They know the process of preparing a will, but if you are going to make your own will without seeking help from professionals, you might commit errors that are often difficult to undo. Some of the major errors that you may commit include forgetting to keep your will updated, forgetting to include your sign in the will, adding amendments and many others.
Attorneys have undergone extensive training to familiarize themselves with the law’s intricacy. Imagine the time and effort they invested to acquire their title. If you are going to write your own will based on assumptions, there might be some areas that remain unclear to you. There will be questions lingering in your mind and they will remain unanswered unless you decide to get help. Contingencies are covered by an attorney that specializes in will preparation. There will be no confusions and your questions are answered point blank.
Inheritance law is essential when preparing a will. Since it is governed by Civil Code, everything must be accurate and concise. An attorney can provide the right solutions to various inheritance issues that DIY will preparation may have possibly missed.
• It must be properly executed.
The will should include a date and place of signing. There should be witnesses in your presence before signing could take place.
• The testator must be of legal age.
A testator must be at least eighteen years of age to be considered qualified for preparing a will.
• The testator must have a sound mind.
It is also important that you are fully aware you are making a will. You should know the names of beneficiaries or descendants.
• The will must be properly signed.
An unsigned will is considered invalid. With that being said, it is required that you voluntarily sign your will. Alternative provisions will be made if there are some unlikely circumstances that deterred a testator to sign the will such as illness or illiteracy.
• There must be a clear intention to transfer the property.
A statement with your intention to transfer the property to specific persons must also be prepared.

References: Art. 804

Art. 805

Art. 806

Art. 807

Art. 808

Art. 809

Art. 834
 Art. 776
 Art. 805

Art. 806