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Title	IDs & Reference #s	Background	Primary Holding	Subject Matter
Samaniego-Celada vs. Abena (30th June 2008)	AK538910 579 Phil. 60 , 556 SCRA 569 , G.R. No. 145545	Margarita S. Mayores died single and without any ascending or descending heirs, survived only by collateral relatives, including her first cousin, the petitioner. Before her death, Margarita executed a will bequeathing her real and personal properties to several individuals, including her lifelong companion, the respondent, whom she also designated as executor. The petitioner sought letters of administration for the estate, while the respondent sought the probate of the will, leading to a consolidated legal battle over the will's validity.	An error in the attestation clause regarding the total number of pages of a will does not invalidate the instrument if the pages are correlatively lettered and the evidence shows substantial compliance with the formal requirements of Article 805 of the Civil Code, provided there is no evidence of bad faith, fraud, or undue influence.	Wills and Succession Subject and Object of Succession
Rioferio vs. Court of Appeals (13th January 2004)	AK447741 464 Phil. 67 , 419 SCRA 54 , G.R. No. 129008	The case involves a conflict between the legitimate family and the second family of Alfonso P. Orfinada, Jr. over the ownership of several real and personal properties. Following Alfonso's death, the second family (petitioners) moved quickly to claim ownership of certain properties through an extrajudicial settlement, which the legitimate family (respondents) challenged as fraudulent and prejudicial to the estate.	Heirs have the legal standing to bring suit to recover property of the estate pending the appointment of an administrator, as successional rights are transmitted from the moment of the decedent's death pursuant to Article 777 of the Civil Code.	Wills and Succession Opening of Succession
Borromeo-Herrera vs. Borromeo (23rd July 1987)	AK365719 152 SCRA 171 , No. L-41171 , No. L-55000 , No. L-62895 , No. L-63818 , No. L-65995	Vito Borromeo died in 1952, leaving no forced heirs but significant property in Cebu. Initially, a document was presented for probate as his last will and testament, naming Fortunato, Tomas, and Amelia Borromeo as heirs. However, the probate court and later the Supreme Court found the will to be a forgery. The case shifted to intestate proceedings, where various relatives sought recognition. In 1969, the trial court declared nine individuals as the legal intestate heirs. Fortunato Borromeo then attempted to claim a majority share of the estate by presenting a "Waiver of Hereditary Rights" purportedly signed by five of these heirs in 1967, leading to multiple legal challenges regarding the waiver's validity, the judge's impartiality, and the administration of the estate.	The Supreme Court held that a waiver of hereditary rights is invalid if the essential elements of a waiver—specifically a clear and convincing intention to relinquish the right—are absent, particularly when the conduct of the parties subsequent to the waiver (such as entering into partition agreements and assigning rights for consideration) contradicts the intent to waive. Furthermore, the Court established that while a probate court has jurisdiction over matters incidental to the settlement of the estate, it cannot charge the attorney's fees of individual heirs against the estate's assets, as such fees are the personal liability of the heirs who hired the counsel.	Wills and Succession Opening of Succession
Cayetano vs. Leonidas (30th May 1984)	AK102084 214 Phil. 460 , 129 SCRA 522 , No. L-54919	Adoracion C. Campos was an American citizen and a permanent resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who died in Manila in 1977 while on a temporary visit. Her father, Hermogenes Campos, initially took possession of her entire estate by executing an Affidavit of Adjudication, claiming to be her sole compulsory heir. However, a will executed by Adoracion in the United States, which had already been probated in Pennsylvania, was later presented for reprobate in the Philippines by her sister, Nenita Campos Paguia.	The intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, including the order of succession and the amount of successional rights, is governed exclusively by the national law of the decedent pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code; consequently, Philippine laws on legitimes do not apply to the estate of a foreign national whose own national law does not provide for such compulsory inheritance.	Wills and Succession Subject and Object of Succession
Parish Priest of Roman Catholic Church of Victoria, Tarlac vs. Rigor (30th April 1979)	AK907180 89 SCRA 493 , 178 Phil. 400 , 75 OG No. 38 , No. L-22036	Father Pascual Rigor, a Catholic priest, died in 1935 leaving a will that distributed his estate among his sisters and a cousin, but included a controversial legacy involving four parcels of riceland. This legacy was conditioned upon a male relative pursuing a career in the priesthood, with the Parish Priest of Victoria, Tarlac, acting as administrator during intervals when no qualified legatee was available. For nearly twenty years following the probate of the will, the ricelands remained in the possession of the legal heirs because no nephew or relative of Father Rigor came forward to claim the legacy by enrolling in the seminary.	A testamentary disposition in favor of a "nearest male relative" who would study for the priesthood is deemed inoperative if no such relative exists or has manifested the required intent at the time of the testator's death, as successional rights vest at the moment of death and require the heir or legatee to be living and qualified at that specific time.	Wills and Succession Subject and Object of Succession
Bonilla vs. Barcena (18th June 1976)	AK926241 71 SCRA 491 , 163 Phil. 516 , 72 OG 9257 , G.R. No. 41715	The dispute began when Fortunata Barcena filed a civil action to quiet title over several parcels of land in Abra against Leon Barcena and others. While the case was active and after an amended complaint had been filed, the defendants sought to terminate the proceedings by arguing that the plaintiff's death rendered the case moot as a dead person lacks the legal personality to maintain a suit.	An action to quiet title over property survives the death of the plaintiff; therefore, the trial court must allow the substitution of the deceased party by their heirs or legal representatives rather than dismissing the case for lack of legal personality.	Wills and Succession Opening of Succession
De Borja vs. Vda. de Borja (18th August 1972)	AK452926 150-B Phil. 486 , G.R. No. L-28040 , G.R. No. L-28568 , G.R. No. L-28611	Francisco de Borja was first married to Josefa Tangco, who died in 1940. Following her death, Francisco married Tasiana Ongsingco. When Francisco died in 1954, a bitter conflict arose between his son from the first marriage, Jose, and his widow, Tasiana, leading to eighteen pending court cases. The dispute primarily concerned the administration and distribution of the estates of both Josefa and Francisco, as well as the ownership of the Hacienda Jalajala.	An heir may validly sell or compromise their undivided hereditary share in a decedent's estate even before the probate of the will, as successional rights are transmitted and vested from the moment of the decedent's death pursuant to Article 777 of the Civil Code.	Wills and Succession Opening of Succession
Bellis vs. Bellis (6th June 1967)	AK036910 20 SCRA 358 , G.R. No. L-23678	Amos G. Bellis, a citizen of Texas, U.S.A., had legitimate children from two marriages and three illegitimate children. He executed a will in the Philippines, where some of his assets were located, providing specific legacies for his first wife and his three illegitimate children, with the remainder of his estate going to his seven legitimate children. At the time of his death, he was a resident of Texas. The will did not conform to the Philippine system of legitimes, which grants compulsory shares to illegitimate children.	The national law of a foreign decedent determines the intrinsic validity of their will, the order of succession, the amount of successional rights, and the capacity to succeed, even if the properties are located in the Philippines; Philippine laws on legitimes and public policy do not apply to the succession of foreign nationals.	Persons and Family Law Wills and Succession
De la Cerna vs. Rebaca-Potot (23rd December 1964)	AK932855 12 SCRA 576 , 120 Phil. 1361 , 63 OG No. 38 , No. L-20234	In 1939, a married couple executed a single document as their joint last will and testament, bequeathing two parcels of land to their niece. This occurred during the effectivity of the Civil Code of 1889, which, like the subsequent Civil Code of 1950, strictly prohibited joint wills. The dispute arose decades later when the heirs of the husband challenged the validity of the testamentary disposition after both spouses had passed away.	A final decree of probate by a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive as to the validity and due execution of a will regarding the estate of the deceased testator, even if the will is a prohibited joint will; however, such a decree does not bind the estate of the other joint testator who was still alive at the time of the first probate, as the court lacks jurisdiction over the estate of a living person.	Wills and Succession Law governing form and content
Enriquez, et al. vs. Abadia, et al. (9th August 1954)	AK716660 95 Phil. 627 , No. L-7188	In 1923, Father Sancho Abadia, a parish priest in Cebu, wrote a document intended to be his last will and testament, disposing of properties valued at approximately P8,000. He died in 1943, but the petition for probate was not filed until 1946. At both the time of the will's execution and the testator's death, the law (Act No. 2645) required strict formalities for wills, including marginal signatures by the testator and witnesses on every page and numbering of pages in letters, while holographic wills were entirely unrecognized.	The formal validity of a will is determined by the law in force at the time the instrument was executed, and a subsequent law with more liberal requirements cannot validate a will that was void for failure to comply with the legal formalities existing at the time of its creation.	Wills and Succession Law governing form and content
Uson vs. Del Rosario, et al. (29th January 1953)	AK429553 92 Phil. 530 , G.R. No. L-4963	Faustino Nebreda died in 1945, leaving behind his lawful wife, Maria Uson, with whom he had no children. At the time of his death, he was living with a common-law wife, Maria del Rosario, with whom he had four illegitimate children. Following Faustino's death, the common-law family took possession of five parcels of land owned by the deceased, prompting the legal widow to file an action for recovery of ownership and possession.	Successional rights are transmitted and become vested from the moment of the death of the decedent; consequently, any new rights granted by subsequent legislation (such as the New Civil Code) cannot be applied retroactively if they prejudice or impair these vested rights.	Wills and Succession Opening of Succession
Fluemer vs. Hix (17th March 1930)	AK920918 G. R. No. L-32636 , 54 Phil. 610	Edward Randolph Hix allegedly executed his last will and testament in Elkins, West Virginia, on November 3, 1925. Following his death, A.W. Fluemer, acting as the special administrator of the estate, filed a petition in the Philippine Islands to probate the document, asserting that Hix was a resident of West Virginia and that the will was valid under the laws of that state.	Foreign laws are not judicially noticed by Philippine courts and must be proved as facts through the specific methods of authentication prescribed by procedural law; furthermore, a proponent of a foreign will must provide competent evidence of its due execution according to the foreign law and establish the testator's domicile in that foreign jurisdiction.	Wills and Succession Law governing form and content