SUCCESSION BAR ESSAY QUESTIONS

NO ANSWERS
2013
NO QUESTION ON SUX
2012
a) Natividads holographic will, which had only one (1) substantial provision, as frst written, named
Rosa as her sole heir. However, when regorio presented it !or probate, it already contained an
alteration, naming regorio, instead o! Rosa, as sole heir, but without authentication by Natividads
signature. Rosa opposes the probate alleging such lac" o! proper authentication. #he claims that the
unaltered !orm o! the will should be given e$ect. %hose claim should be granted& '(plain. ()*)
b) +ohn #agun and ,aria -arla -amua, .ritish citi/ens at birth, ac0uired 1hilippine citi/enship by
naturali/ation a!ter their marriage. 2uring their marriage, the couple ac0uired substantial landholdings
in 3ondon and in ,a"ati. ,aria begot three (4) children, +orge, 3uisito, and +oshur. 5n one o! their trips
to 3ondon, the couple e(ecuted a 6oint will appointing each other as their heirs and providing that upon
the death o! the survivor between them, the entire estate would go to +orge and 3uisito only but the
two (7) could not dispose o! nor divide the 3ondon estate as long as they live. +ohn and ,aria died
tragically in the 3ondon subway terrorist attac" in 788). +orge and 3uisito fled a petition !or probate o!
their parents will be!ore a ,a"ati Regional 9rial -ourt. +oshur vehemently ob6ected because he was
preterited.
1) #hould the will be admitted to probate& '(plain. (7*)
7) :re the testamentary dispositions valid& '(plain. (7*)
4) 5s the testamentary prohibition against the division o! the 3ondon estate valid& '(plain. (1*)
2011
No question on SUX
2010
9he spouses 1eter and 1aula had three (4) children. 1aula later obtained a 6udgment o! nullity o!
marriage. 9heir absolute community o! property having been dissolved, they delivered 11 million to
each o! their 4 children as their presumptive legitimes.
1eter later re;married and had two (7) children by his second wi!e ,arie. 1eter and ,arie, having
success!ully engaged in business, ac0uired real properties. 1eter later died intestate.
a. %ho are 1eters legal heirs and how will his estate be divided among them& ()*)
b. %hat is the e$ect o! the receipt by 1eters 4 children by his frst marriage o! their presumptive
legitimes on their right to inherit !ollowing 1eters death& ()*)
1
5. <, a widower, died leaving a will stating that the house and lot where he lived cannot be partitioned
!or as long as the youngest o! his !our children desires to stay there. :s coheirs and co;owners, the
other three may demand partition anytime. (1*)
XI
9he spouses 1eter and 1aula had three (4) children. 1aula later obtained a 6udgment o! nullity o!
marriage. 9heir absolute community o! property having been dissolved, they delivered 11 million to
each o! their 4 children as their presumptive legitimes.
1eter later re;married and had two (7) children by his second wi!e ,arie. 1eter and ,arie, having
success!ully engaged in business, ac0uired real properties. 1eter later died intestate.
1. %ho are 1eters legal heirs and how will his estate be divided among them& ()*)
2. %hat is the e$ect o! the receipt by 1eters 4 children by his frst marriage o! their presumptive
legitimes on their right to inherit !ollowing 1eters death& ()*)
2009
PART I
I
TRUE or A!SE" :nswer 9R=' i! the statement is true, or >:3#' i! the statement is !alse. '(plain your
answer in not more than two (7) sentences. ()*)
1. 9he doctrine o! ?processual presumption? allows the court o! the !orum to presume that the
!oreign law applicable to the case is the same as the local or domestic law.
2. 5n reserva troncal, all reservatarios (reservees) inherit as a class and in e0ual shares regardless
o! their pro(imity in degree to the prepositus.
3. :n oral partnership is valid.
4. :n oral promise o! guaranty is valid and binding.
5. : dead child can be legitimated.
#
>our children, namely@ :lberto, .aldomero, -aridad, and 2ioscoro, were born to the spouses -onrado
and -larita de la -osta. 9he childrens birth certifcates were duly signed by -onrado, showing them to
be the couples legitimate children.
3ater, one 'dilberto de la -ru/ e(ecuted a notarial document ac"nowledging :lberto and .aldomero as
his illegitimate children Awith -larita. 'dilberto died leaving substantial properties. 5n the settlement o!
his estate, :lberto and .aldomero intervened claiming shares as the deceaseds illegitimate children.
9he legitimate !amily o! 'dilberto opposed the claim.
:re :lberto and .aldomero entitled to share in the estate o! 'dilberto& '(plain. (B*)
#I
Cn 2ecember 1, 7888, 2r. +uanito >uentes e(ecuted a holographic will, wherein he gave nothing to his
recogni/ed illegitimate son, +ay. 2r. >uentes le!t !or the =nited #tates, passed the New Dor" medical
licensure e(aminations, resided therein, and became a naturali/ed :merican citi/en. He died in New
Dor" in 788E. 9he laws o! New Dor" do not recogni/e holographic wills or compulsory heirs.
1. -an the holographic will o! 2r. >uentes be admitted to probate in the 1hilippines& %hy or why
not& (4*)
2. :ssuming that the will is probated in the 1hilippines, can +ay validly insist that he be given his
legitime& %hy or why not& (4*)
#II
Ramon ,ayaman died intestate, leaving a net estate o! 118,888,888.88. 2etermine how much each
heir will receive !rom the estate@
1. 5! Ramon is survived by his wi!e, three !ull;blood brothers, two hal!;brothers, and one nephew
(the son o! a deceased !ull;blood brother)& '(plain. (4*)
2. 5! Ramon is survived by his wi!e, a hal!;sister, and three nephews (sons o! a deceased !ull;blood
brother)& '(plain. (4*)
2
200$
#III"
%10&'
5n 1FGH, +enni!er and .rad were madly in love. 5n 1FGF, because a certain 1icasso painting reminded
.rad o! her, +enni!er ac0uired it and placed it in his bedroom. 5n 1FF8, .rad and +enni!er bro"e up.
%hile .rad was mending his bro"en heart, he met :ngie and !ell in love. .ecause the 1icasso painting
reminded :ngie o! him, .rad in his will be0ueathed the painting to :ngie. .rad died in 1FF). #addened
by .radIs death, +enni!er as"ed !or the 1icasso painting as a remembrance o! him. :ngie re!used and
claimed that .rad, in his will, be0ueathed the painting to her. 5s :ngie correct& %hy or why not&
X
:rthur e(ecuted a will which contained only@ (i) a provision disinheriting his daughter .ernica !or
running o$ with a married man, and (ii) a provision disposing o! his share in the !amily house and lot in
!avor o! his other children -onnie and 2ora. He did not ma"e any provisions in !avor o! his wi!e 'rica,
because as the will stated, she would anyway get J o! the house and lot as her con6ugal share. 9he
will was very brie! and straight!orward and both the above provisions were contained in page 1, which
:rthur and his instrumental witness, signed at the bottom. 1age 7 contained the attestation clause and
the signatures, at the bottom thereo!, o! the 4 instrumental witnesses which included 3ambert, the
driver o! :rthurK Doly, the !amily coo", and :ttorney Lorba, the lawyer who prepared the will. 9here was
a 4rd page, but this only contained the notarial ac"nowledgement. 9he attestation clause stated the
will was signed on the same occasion by :rthur and his instrumental witnesses who all signed in the
presence o! each other, and the notary public who notari/ed the will. 9here are no marginal signatures
or pagination appearing on any o! the 4 pages. =pon his death, it was discovered that apart !rom the
house and lot, he had a 1 1 million account deposited with :.- ban".
1. %as 'rica preterited& (1*)
2. %hat other de!ects o! the will, i! any, can cause denial o! probate& (7*)
3. %as the disinheritance valid& (1*)
4. How should the house and lot, and the cash be distributed& (1*)
XI
+ohn and 1aula, .ritish citi/ens at birth, ac0uired 1hilippine citi/enship by naturali/ation a!ter their
marriage. 2uring their marriage the couple ac0uired substanial landholdings in 3ondon and in ,a"ati.
1aula bore +ohn three children, 1eter, 1aul and ,ary. 5n one o! their trips to 3ondon, the couple
e(ecuted a 6oint will appointing each other as their heirs and providing that upon the death o! the
survivor between them the entire estate would go to 1eter and 1aul only but the two could not dispose
o! nor divide the 3ondon estate as long as they live. +ohn and 1aul died tragically in the 3ondon #ubway
terrorist attac" in 788). 1eter and 1aul fled a petition !or probate o! their parentIs will be!ore a ,a"ati
Regional 9rial -ourt.
1. #hould the will be admitted to probate& (7*)
2. :re the testamentary dispositions valid& (7*)
3. 5s the testamentary prohibition against the division o! the 3ondon estate valid& (7*)
XIII
Raymond, single, named his sister Ru$a in his will as a devisee o! a parcel o! land which he owned. 9he
will imposed upon Ru$a the obligation o! preseving the land and trans!erring it, upon her death, to her
illegitimate daughter #carlet who was then only one year old. Raymond later died, leaving behind his
widowed mother, Ru$a and #carlet.
1. 5s the condition imposed upon Ru$a, to preserve the property and to transmit it upon her
death to #carlet, valid& (1*)
2. 5! #carlet predeceases Ru$a, who inherits the property& (7*)
3. 5! Ru$a predeceases Raymond, can #carlet inherit the property directly !rom Raymond& (7*)
200(
X
%10&'
>or purpose o! this 0uestion, assume all !ormalities and procedural re0uirements have been complied
with.
3
5n 1FE8, Ramon and 2essa got married. 1rior to their marriage, Ramon had a child, :nna. 5n 1FE1 and
1FE7, Ramon and 2essa legally adopted -herry and ,ichelle respectively. 5n 1FE4, 2essa died while
giving birth to 3arry :nna had a child, 3ia. :nna never married. -herry, on the other hand, legally
adopted #helly. 3arry had twins, Hans and retel, with his girl!riend, >iona. 5n 788), :nna, 3arry and
-herry died in a car accident. 5n 788E, Ramon died. %ho may inherit !rom Ramon and who may not&
ive your reason brie!tlyK
200)
; < ;
2on died a!ter e(ecuting a 3ast %ill and 9estament leaving his estate valued at 117 ,illion to his
common;5aw wi!e Roshelle. He is survived by his brother Ronie and his hal!;sister ,ichelle.
1. %as 2onIs testamentary disposition o! his estate in accordance with the law on succession&
%hether you agree or not, e(plain your answer. 7.)*
2. 5! 2on !ailed to e(ecute a will during his li!etime, as his lawyer, how will you distribute his
estate& '(plain. 7.)*
3. :ssuming he died intestate survived by his brother Ronie, his hal!;sister ,ichelle, and his
legitimate son +ayson, how will you. distribute his estate& '(plain. 7.)*
4