Riera Vs Palmaroli

Riera vs.
Palmaroli,
G.R. No. 14851,
September 3, 1919
FACTS:
Juan, a Spanish subject died in the Manila. Petitioner Riera is the widow of the deceased.
Respondent Vicente produced in the CFI of Manila a document purporting to be the will of the
deceased, and asked to be probated. Publication was made and probate proceedings were
entered.
Petitioner received no information about the probate for the lack of adequate means to
communicate and coupled with the ongoing war between Europe. She only received information
of the probate after she ordered an attorney to write a letter to Manila to look after her deceased
husband’s estate. Said communication was not received.
Petitioner’s attorneys appeared in the CFI of Manila and moved to the order to set aside
the probate in order to allow her to oppose. The application was made under Sec. 113 of the Code
of Civil Procedure, but it was denied by the CFI as it was filed more than six months since the
date of the order of the probate. The present case was made under Sec. 513 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
PETITIONER’S CONTENTION:
The probate was prejudicial to petitioner as she was an interested party of the estate, and
she is entitled to be heard in the matter of the probate.
Petitioner alleged that the will is void under Philippine laws because the will is not signed
on the left margin of each page by the attesting witnesses and the pages were not numbered. She
also contended that if the will in question be considered as the will of a Spanish subject, it is void
for the failure to comply with specific requirements.
Another irregularity in the admission of the will in question to probate, as stated in the
petition, is that the document produced in court and actually proved as the will of the decedent
was not the original but a copy certified by the Spanish Consul General in this city from the
records of his own office.
ISSUE:
Whether or not petitioner can obtain an order for rehearing of the probate proceedings.
RULING:
PROBATE NOT A CONTENTIOUS LITIGATION
NO. The present application under Sec. 513 is limited to granting of new trial on judgment
against defaults. Default can only arise on contentious litigation where a party impleaded served
with processes and fails to appear in court. The proceeding to probate a will is not a contentious
litigation in any sense, because nobody is impleaded or served with process. It is a special
proceeding, and although notice of the application is published, nobody is bound to appear and
no order for judgment by default, is ever entered.
It is manifest from this that the remedy given in section 513 can have no application to the
order legalizing the will of Juan; and this is necessarily fatal to the petition before us. This
consequence follows regardless of any irregularities that may have occurred in the Court of First
Instance in admitting the will to probate and regardless of any error which that court may have
committed in the action taken upon the proof submitted at the hearing.
It is not alleged that any fraud has been attempted or committed, or that the document
probated is any other than a testamentary memorial in which the decedent actually gave
expression to his desires with regard to the disposition of his property. But if fraud had been
charged — as, for instance, if it were alleged that the purported will is forged document — the
remedy, if any exists, would not be found in a proceeding under section 513, but in an original
action in the Court of First Instance.
DISCUSSION ON WILLS
A will is nothing more than a species of conveyance whereby a person is permitted, with
the formalities prescribed by law, to control in a certain degree the disposition of his property
after his death. Out of consideration for the important interests involved the execution and proof
of wills has been surrounded by numerous safeguards, among which is the provision that after
the death of the testator his will may be judicially established in court.
The action of the court in admitting a will to probate has all the effect of a judgment; and
as such is entitled to full faith and credit in other courts. The proceeding by which this is
accomplished is considered to be in the nature of a proceeding in rem, and upon this idea the
decree of probate is held binding on all persons in interest, whether they appear to contest the
probate or not. The proceeding is not a contentious litigation; and though the persons in interest
are given an opportunity to appear and reasonable precautions are taken for publicity, they are
not impleaded or required to answer.
The probate of a will, while conclusive as to its due execution, in no wise involves the
intrinsic validity of its provisions. If, therefore, upon the distribution of the estate of Juan, it
should appear that any provision of his will is contrary to the law applicable to his case, the will
must necessarily yield upon that point and the disposition made by law must prevail. The
petitioner is therefore free to appear in the Court of First Instance at the proper juncture and
discuss the question of the validity of such provisions of the will as affect her interests adversely

Riera Vs Palmaroli

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Riera Vs Palmaroli

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Riera Vs Palmaroli

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Riera vs.

PROBATE NOT A CONTENTIOUS LITIGATION

You might also like