Seangio v. Reyes (2006): A Handwritten Disinheritance

After the father died, some of his children asked the Regional Trial Court of Manila to settle his estate as an intestate estate, that is, as if he left no will. His widow and two of his other children opposed. They said he left a holographic will disinheriting one of the children, the eldest son, and they filed a petition for its probate. The two cases were heard together.

The document was handwritten in Filipino, dated and signed by the father, and titled "Kasulatan sa pag-aalis ng mana." In it the father disinherited his eldest son. He wrote that the son had been "lapastangan" (disrespectful) to him and had used the father's name to borrow money from a bank, which was not repaid. The document also mentioned one daughter by name.

The trial court dismissed the probate petition on the ground of preterition. It reasoned that the document mentioned only two of the children and left out the others. The widow and the two children who filed for probate went to the Supreme Court.

Was the document a holographic will, and did it cause preterition that would justify dismissing the probate case?

The Supreme Court granted the petition. It set aside the trial court's orders, directed the trial court to hear the petition for the allowance of the holographic will, and suspended the intestate case until the probate case ends.

Disinheritance needs a will. The Court said: "For disinheritance to be valid, Article 916 of the Civil Code requires that the same must be effected through a will wherein the legal cause therefor shall be specified."

The reasons stated. The Court found that the incidents in the document, "taken as a whole, can be considered a form of maltreatment" of the father by his son, which is a cause for disinheriting a child under Article 919.

A holographic will. The Court said the document, "although it may initially come across as a mere disinheritance instrument, conforms to the formalities of a holographic will prescribed by law." It was written, dated and signed by the father's own hand, as Article 810 requires. The Court added that holographic wills, usually prepared by people not trained in law, should be read more liberally than wills drawn by an expert, and that a disinheritance is itself an act of disposition.

No preterition. Under Article 854, preterition annuls the institution of heir. The Court found that the compulsory heirs in the direct line were not preterited: the father "did not institute an heir to the exclusion of his other compulsory heirs." Mentioning one daughter in the document did not make her the universal heir.

Probate first. The Court said "the law favors testacy over intestacy" and that the probate of the will cannot be dispensed with. "Unless the will is probated, the disinheritance cannot be given effect." It also said testate proceedings take precedence over intestate proceedings for the same estate.

A document entirely written, dated and signed by the testator that disinherits a child for a legal cause is a holographic will and must go through probate; a will that only disinherits one heir and institutes no heir does not cause preterition, and testate proceedings take precedence over intestate proceedings for the same estate.

Seangio shows that a disinheritance can sit in a short handwritten document, as long as it has the form of a holographic will and states a legal cause. It also separates disinheritance from preterition: leaving out heirs by naming no heir at all is different from instituting one heir to the exclusion of the others.

The Court did not decide that the disinheritance was valid. It found that the reasons stated could amount to maltreatment and sent the will to probate, where its due execution would be tested. For the rules on handwritten wills, see holographic will requirements, and for when a parent may disinherit a child, see can parents disinherit a child?.

Made-up illustration: Mario writes by hand, dates and signs a page saying he disinherits his son Ramon for repeatedly insulting him in front of the family. Following Seangio, the page may be a holographic will. Whether the disinheritance takes effect depends on probate and on whether the cause is proven.

See also the comparison preterition vs disinheritance.

Read the full decision on the Supreme Court E-Library (link in the sources below). For an estate or inheritance dispute, see where to find legal help.