SUCCESSION

SUCCESSIONARTICLE 774ARTICLE 774.Succession is a mode ofacquisition by virtue ofwhich the property,rights and obligations tothe extent of the valueof the inheritance, of aperson are transmittedthrough his death toanother or others either by his will or byoperation of law.succession mortis causa

Elements of the definition:Mode of acquisition (ownership)Transfer of the property, rights and obligations to the extent of the value of the inheritance of a person Transmission thru death Transmission to anotherBy will or operation of law(testate or intestate/legal

ARTICLE 775ARTICLE 775

In this Title, "decedent is the general term applied to the person whose property is transmitted through succession, whether or not he left a will. If he left a will, he is also called the testator.ARTICLE 776ARTICLE 776.

The inheritanceincludes all theproperty, rights andobligations of aperson which are notextinguished by hisdeath. Inheritance is the property or right acquired

Succession is the manner by virtue of which the property or right is acquired.Rights Extinguished by Death: support;Family rights;Marital authority;Parental authoritypartnership;agency; andRight to hold public or private office.

Rights NOT Extinguished by DeathRight to bring an action for forcible entry or unlawful detainer;Right to continue a lease contract

ObligationsAll obligations are transmissible unless purely personal.

Example:-obligation to pay the debts of the decedent but limited only to the estate left by the deceased.ARTICLE 777ARTICLE 777.

The rights to the succession aretransmitted from themoment of the deathOf the decedent.

- are made effective Requisites of Succession:1.death of decedent2. transmissible estate3.existence (transferee is still alive)4.capacity of transferee5.designated by decedent or by law; and6.acceptance of transfereeARTICLE 777Death: Kinds

1.Actual death successor becomes the owner at the time of death and not at the time of the delivery of the property. 2.Presumed deathA. Ordinary Death (Art 390)-Shall be presumed dead for the purpose of opening his succession at the end of ten years (5 years in case he disappeared after the age of 75)-Death is presumed at the end of ten or five yearsB. Extraordinary Death (Art 391)ARTICLE 778Kinds of Succession:

Testamentary = decedent died with a valid will

Legal or intestate = effected by operation of law in default of a will.

Mixed = effected partly by will and partly by operation of law

Contractual Succession = future husband and future wife give to each other future property, effective mortis causa, by means of a marriage settlement

ARTICLE 778

Succession may be:1.Testamentary;2. Legal or intestate;3. Mixed.ARTICLE 779ARTICLE 779

Testamentary succession is that which results from the designation of an heir, made in a will executed in the form prescribed by law.ARTICLE 779Kinds of Will:

Notarial will = executed with the formalities of the law and is duly acknowledged and notarized by a notary public

Holographic will = entirely written in the handwriting of the testator and must be signed and dated also in his handwriting

Nuncupative will = oral will (not allowed)

ARTICLE 780ARTICLE 780

Mixed succession is that effected party by will and partly by operation of law.ARTICLE 781ARTICLE 781The inheritance of a person includes not only the property and the transmissible rights and obligations existing at the time of his death, but also those which have accrued thereto since the opening of the succession.Accretion (Alluvium)-ownership under the LAWARTICLE 782ARTICLE 782.

An heir is a person called to the succession either by the provision of a will or by operation of law.Devisees and legatees are persons to whom gifts of real and personal property are respectively given by virtue of a will.

ARTICLE 782Decedent person whose properties is transmitted through successiona. Testator If he left a willb. Intestate If there is no will.Successor person who succeeds the property of the decedent1. Heir = what is given is whole or aliquot parta.Compulsory heir = succeeds by operation of law with recognized legitimeb. Voluntary heir those instituted by testator in order to succeed to the free portionc. legal or intestate heir = those who succeed to the estate of the decedent if there is no will2. devisee = what is given in an individualized or specific real property

3. legatee = individualized or specific personal property

If in a will, a compulsory heir is given more than his legitime, he assumes a dual status.CHAPTER 2TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSIONARTICLE 783ARTICLE 783 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.Essential Characteristics of Testamentary Act: Personal Act Animus testandi Solemn or formal act Statutory Rightunilateral Capacity Free from vices of consent IndividualRevocable Disposes of the testators estatemortis causa

ARTICLE 784ARTICLE 784.

The making of a will is a strictly personal act; it cannot be left in whole or in part of the discretion of a third person, or accomplished through the instrumentality of an agent or attorney.ARTICLE 785Art. 785.

The duration or efficacy of the designation of heirs, devisees or legatees, or the determination of the portions which they are to take, when referred to by name, cannot be left to the discretion of a third person.ARTICLE 786Art. 786. The testator may entrust to a third person the distribution of specific property or sums of money that he may leave in general to specified classes or causes, and also the designation of the persons, institutions or establishments to which such property or sums are to be given or applied.allowable designation

classes or causes must be specified

ARTICLE 787Article 787

The testator may not make a testamentary disposition in such manner that another person has to determine whether or not it is to be operative.MAKING OF A WILL AS A STRICTLY PERSONAL ACT

Rules to be observed:1.It cannot be left in whole or in part to the discretion of a third person, or accomplished through the instrumentality of an agent or attorney. (Art. 784)2.The duration or efficacy of the designation of heirs, devisees or legatees, or the determination of the portions which they are to take, when referred to by name, cannot be left to the discretion of a third person. (Art. 785)3. The testator may not make a testamentary disposition in such manner that another person has to determine whether or not it is to be operative. (Art. 787)Exceptions:1. The testator may entrust to a third person:a. The distribution of specific property or sums of money that he may leave in general to specified classes or causes, and b. The designation of the persons, institutions or establishments to which such property or sums are to be given or applied. (Art. 786.)ARTICLE 788Article 788. If a testamentary disposition admits of different interpretations, in case of doubt, that interpretation by which the disposition is to be operative shall be preferred.What will happen if there are different interpretations of the will?ARTICLE 789Art. 789. When there is an imperfect description, or when no person or property exactly answers the description, mistakes and omissions must be corrected, if the error appears from the context of the will or from extrinsic evidence, excluding the oral declarations of the testator as to his intention; and when an uncertainty arises upon the face of the will, as to the application of any of its provisions, the testator's intention is to be ascertained from the words of the will, taking into consideration the circumstances under which it was made, excluding such oral declarations.ARTICLE 790Art. 790. The words of a will are to be taken in their ordinary and grammatical sense, unless a clear intention to use them in another sense can be gathered, and that other can be ascertained.Technical words in a will are to be taken in their technical sense, unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intention, or unless it satisfactorily appears that he was unacquainted with such technical sense.ARTICLE 791Art. 791. The words of a will are to receive an interpretation which will give to every expression some effect, rather than one which will render any of the expressions inoperative; and of two modes of interpreting a will, that is to be preferred which will prevent intestacy.ARTICLE 792Art. 792. The invalidity of one of several dispositions contained in a will does not result in the invalidity of the other dispositions, unless it is to be presumed that the testator would not have made such other dispositions if the first invalid disposition had not been made.ARTICLE 793Art. 793.

Property acquired after the making of a will shall only pass thereby, as if the testator had possessed it at the time of making the will, should it expressly appear by the will that such was his intention.AFTER-ACQUIRED PROPERTIES

Gen. Rule: the will only include those properties already possessed and owned by the testator at the time of his death, not those acquired after

Exceptions:if expressly stated in the will to include after-acquired propertiesif will is republished or modified by a subsequent will or codicilwill erroneously stated properties unless after making the will, said properties will belong to the testatorlegacy of credit or remission