Garcia vs. Gatchalian

A will is valid and probateable only when acknowledged before a notary public by both the testator and the instrumental witnesses; acknowledgment by the testator alone does not satisfy Article 806 of the New Civil Code.

Gregorio Gatchalian, a 71-year-old widower with no forced heirs, died on March 15, 1967 in the municipality of Pasig, Province of Rizal. On April 2 of the same year, Pedro Reyes Garcia filed a petition with the Court of First Instance of Rizal in Special Proceedings No. 2623 for the probate of an alleged will, Exhibit "C", wherein Garcia was instituted as sole heir.

Felipe Gatchalian, Aurora G. Camins, Angeles G. Cosca, Federico G. Tubog, Virginia G. Talanay and Angeles G. Talanay opposed the petition. According to the oppositors, the will was procured by fraud, the deceased did not intend the instrument signed by him to be his will, and the deceased was physically and mentally incapable of making a will at the time of its alleged execution.

After due trial, the trial court found the document Exhibit "C" to be the authentic last will of the deceased. It nevertheless disallowed the will on the ground that the attesting witnesses did not acknowledge it before a notary public as required by law. Examination of Exhibit "C" showed acknowledgment before a notary public by the testator but not by the instrumental witnesses.

• Fraud in Procurement: Respondents opposed probate on the ground that the will was procured by fraud.
• Lack of Testamentary Intent: Respondents opposed probate on the ground that the deceased did not intend the instrument signed by him to be his will.
• Lack of Capacity: Respondents opposed probate on the ground that the deceased was physically and mentally incapable of making a will at the time of the alleged execution.

• Acknowledgment Before Notary Public: Whether a will acknowledged before a notary public by the testator but not by the instrumental witnesses satisfies Article 806 of the New Civil Code and may be allowed to probate.

• Acknowledgment Before Notary Public: No. Acknowledgment before a notary public by both the testator and the witnesses is indispensable for validity, and a document lacking acknowledgment by the witnesses may not be probated.

• Acknowledgment Before Notary Public: Article 806 of the New Civil Code expressly requires every will to be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses. Prior precedent had already construed compliance by both testator and witnesses as indispensable for validity. Applied to Exhibit "C", which was acknowledged by the testator but not by the instrumental witnesses, the omission constituted noncompliance with a mandatory formality. Accordingly, probate was properly denied notwithstanding the trial court's finding of authenticity.

• Mandatory Acknowledgment of Wills — Every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses, and compliance by both is indispensable for validity. The Court applied the doctrine to affirm denial of probate where only the testator, and not the instrumental witnesses, acknowledged Exhibit "C" before the notary public.

• "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." — States the controlling statutory formality under Article 806 of the New Civil Code upon which probate was denied.
• "We have held heretofore that compliance with the requirement contained in the above legal provision to the effect that a will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and also by the witnesses is indispensable for its validity (In re: Testate Estate of Alberto, G. R. No. L-11948, April 29, 1959)." — Defines the mandatory character of joint acknowledgment and supplies the precedential basis for affirmance.
• "An examination of the document (Exhibit "C") shows that the same was acknowledged before a notary public by the testator but not by the instrumental witnesses." — States the decisive factual deficiency that rendered the otherwise authentic will unprobateable.

• In re: Testate Estate of Alberto, G.R. No. L-11948, April 29, 1959 — Followed as controlling precedent for the rule that acknowledgment before a notary public by both the testator and the witnesses is indispensable to the validity of a will.

• Article 806, New Civil Code — Requires every will to be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses, without requiring the notary to retain a copy or file another with the Clerk of Court; applied to invalidate Exhibit "C" for lack of acknowledgment by the instrumental witnesses.

Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., Zaldivar, Sanchez, Castro, Angeles and Fernando, JJ., concur. Concepcion, C.J., and Reyes, J.B.L., J., took no part.