I.

X, a widower, died leaving a will stating that the house and lot where he lived cannot be
partitioned for as long as the youngest of his four children desires to stay there. As coheirs and
co-owners, the other three may demand partition anytime. (1%
XI
!he spouses "eter and "aula had three (# children. "aula later obtained a $udgment of nullity
of marriage. !heir absolute community of property having been dissolved, they delivered "1
million to each of their # children as their presumptive legitimes.
"eter later re-married and had two (% children by his second wife &arie. "eter and &arie,
having successfully engaged in business, ac'uired real properties. "eter later died intestate.
1. (ho are "eter)s legal heirs and how will his estate be divided among them* (+%
%. (hat is the effect of the receipt by "eter)s # children by his first marriage of their
presumptive legitimes on their right to inherit following "eter)s death* (+%
%,,-
PART I
I
TRUE or FALSE. Answer !./0 if the statement is true, or 1A230 if the statement is false.
04plain your answer in not more than two (% sentences. (+%
1. !he doctrine of 5processual presumption5 allows the court of the forum to presume that
the foreign law applicable to the case is the same as the local or domestic law.
%. In reserva troncal, all reservatarios (reservees inherit as a class and in e'ual shares
regardless of their pro4imity in degree to the prepositus.
#. An oral partnership is valid.
6. An oral promise of guaranty is valid and binding.
+. A dead child can be legitimated.
V
1our children, namely7 Alberto, 8aldomero, 9aridad, and :ioscoro, were born to the spouses
9onrado and 9larita de la 9osta. !he children)s birth certificates were duly signed by 9onrado,
showing them to be the couple)s legitimate children.
2ater, one 0dilberto de la 9ru; e4ecuted a notarial document ac<nowledging Alberto and
8aldomero as his illegitimate children =with 9larita. 0dilberto died leaving substantial properties.
In the settlement of his estate, Alberto and 8aldomero intervened claiming shares as the
deceased)s illegitimate children. !he legitimate family of 0dilberto opposed the claim.
Are Alberto and 8aldomero entitled to share in the estate of 0dilberto* 04plain. (6%
VI
>n :ecember 1, %,,,, :r. ?uanito 1uentes e4ecuted a holographic will, wherein he gave
nothing to his recogni;ed illegitimate son, ?ay. :r. 1uentes left for the /nited 3tates, passed the
@ew Aor< medical licensure e4aminations, resided therein, and became a naturali;ed American
citi;en. Be died in @ew Aor< in %,,C. !he laws of @ew Aor< do not recogni;e holographic wills
or compulsory heirs.
1. 9an the holographic will of :r. 1uentes be admitted to probate in the "hilippines* (hy
or why not* (#%
%. Assuming that the will is probated in the "hilippines, can ?ay validly insist that he be
given his legitime* (hy or why not* (#%
VII
.amon &ayaman died intestate, leaving a net estate of "1,,,,,,,,,.,,. :etermine how much
each heir will receive from the estate7
1. If .amon is survived by his wife, three full-blood brothers, two half-brothers, and one
nephew (the son of a deceased full-blood brother* 04plain. (#%
%. If .amon is survived by his wife, a half-sister, and three nephews (sons of a deceased
full-blood brother* 04plain. (#%
%,,D
EIII.
(1,%
In 1-DF, ?ennifer and 8rad were madly in love. In 1-D-, because a certain "icasso painting
reminded 8rad of her, ?ennifer ac'uired it and placed it in his bedroom. In 1--,, 8rad and
?ennifer bro<e up. (hile 8rad was mending his bro<en heart, he met Angie and fell in love.
8ecause the "icasso painting reminded Angie of him, 8rad in his will be'ueathed the painting to
Angie. 8rad died in 1--+. 3addened by 8radGs death, ?ennifer as<ed for the "icasso painting as
a remembrance of him. Angie refused and claimed that 8rad, in his will, be'ueathed the painting
to her. Is Angie correct* (hy or why not*
X
Arthur e4ecuted a will which contained only7 (i a provision disinheriting his daughter 8ernica for
running off with a married man, and (ii a provision disposing of his share in the family house
and lot in favor of his other children 9onnie and :ora. Be did not ma<e any provisions in favor
of his wife 0rica, because as the will stated, she would anyway get H of the house and lot as
her con$ugal share. !he will was very brief and straightforward and both the above provisions
were contained in page 1, which Arthur and his instrumental witness, signed at the bottom.
"age % contained the attestation clause and the signatures, at the bottom thereof, of the #
instrumental witnesses which included 2ambert, the driver of ArthurI Aoly, the family coo<, and
Attorney Jorba, the lawyer who prepared the will. !here was a #rd page, but this only contained
the notarial ac<nowledgement. !he attestation clause stated the will was signed on the same
occasion by Arthur and his instrumental witnesses who all signed in the presence of each other,
and the notary public who notari;ed the will. !here are no marginal signatures or pagination
appearing on any of the # pages. /pon his death, it was discovered that apart from the house
and lot, he had a " 1 million account deposited with A89 ban<.
1. (as 0rica preterited* (1%
%. (hat other defects of the will, if any, can cause denial of probate* (%%
#. (as the disinheritance valid* (1%
6. Bow should the house and lot, and the cash be distributed* (1%
XI
?ohn and "aula, 8ritish citi;ens at birth, ac'uired "hilippine citi;enship by naturali;ation after
their marriage. :uring their marriage the couple ac'uired substanial landholdings in 2ondon and
in &a<ati. "aula bore ?ohn three children, "eter, "aul and &ary. In one of their trips to 2ondon,
the couple e4ecuted a $oint will appointing each other as their heirs and providing that upon the
death of the survivor between them the entire estate would go to "eter and "aul only but the
two could not dispose of nor divide the 2ondon estate as long as they live. ?ohn and "aul died
tragically in the 2ondon 3ubway terrorist attac< in %,,+. "eter and "aul filed a petition for
probate of their parentGs will before a &a<ati .egional !rial 9ourt.
1. 3hould the will be admitted to probate* (%%
%. Are the testamentary dispositions valid* (%%
#. Is the testamentary prohibition against the division of the 2ondon estate valid* (%%
XIII
.aymond, single, named his sister .uffa in his will as a devisee of a parcel of land which he
owned. !he will imposed upon .uffa the obligation of preseving the land and transferring it,
upon her death, to her illegitimate daughter 3carlet who was then only one year old. .aymond
later died, leaving behind his widowed mother, .uffa and 3carlet.
1. Is the condition imposed upon .uffa, to preserve the property and to transmit it upon her
death to 3carlet, valid* (1%
%. If 3carlet predeceases .uffa, who inherits the property* (%%
#. If .uffa predeceases .aymond, can 3carlet inherit the property directly from .aymond*
(%%
%,,C
X
(1,%
1or purpose of this 'uestion, assume all formalities and procedural re'uirements have been
complied with.
In 1-C,, .amon and :essa got married. "rior to their marriage, .amon had a child, Anna. In
1-C1 and 1-C%, .amon and :essa legally adopted 9herry and &ichelle respectively. In 1-C#,
:essa died while giving birth to 2arry Anna had a child, 2ia. Anna never married. 9herry, on the
other hand, legally adopted 3helly. 2arry had twins, Bans and Kretel, with his girlfriend, 1iona.
In %,,+, Anna, 2arry and 9herry died in a car accident. In %,,C, .amon died. (ho may inherit
from .amon and who may not* Kive your reason brieftlyI
%,,F
- X -
:on died after e4ecuting a 2ast (ill and !estament leaving his estate valued at "1% &illion to
his common-Iaw wife .oshelle. Be is survived by his brother .onie and his half-sister &ichelle.
1. (as :onGs testamentary disposition of his estate in accordance with the law on
succession* (hether you agree or not, e4plain your answer. %.+%
%. If :on failed to e4ecute a will during his lifetime, as his lawyer, how will you distribute his
estate* 04plain. %.+%
#. Assuming he died intestate survived by his brother .onie, his half-sister &ichelle, and
his legitimate son ?ayson, how will you. distribute his estate* 04plain. %.+%