Notarial Will: Meaning

The first paragraph sets the signatures:

Article 805 also requires that:

• the testator and the witnesses sign every page except the last on the left margin;
• all pages are numbered correlatively in letters on the upper part of each page;
• the attestation clause states the number of pages, that the testator signed the will and every page in the presence of the witnesses, and that the witnesses signed in the presence of the testator and of one another.

Article 806 adds that "every will must be acknowledged before a notary public by the testator and the witnesses." See Article 805 for the full explanation.

In Kucskar v. Sekito (2020), the Supreme Court explained the two acts. Attestation "refers to the act of three or more witnesses themselves who certify to the execution of the will before them, and to the manner of its execution." Acknowledgment is the act of the person who made the will in going to a competent officer and declaring that the will is his or her own act or deed. The Court added that even if substantial compliance is accepted for the attestation clause, it cannot be applied to the acknowledgment required by Article 806.

In Azuela v. Court of Appeals (2006), the Supreme Court said that a will whose attestation clause does not state the number of pages, or is not signed by the witnesses, or that has only a jurat instead of an acknowledgment, is fatally defective: "Any one of these defects is sufficient to deny probate." In Lopez v. Lopez (2012), the attestation clause gave no page count, and the difference between the pages stated in the acknowledgment and the actual pages could not be explained from the will itself, so probate was denied.

Article 809 excuses small defects in the form or language of the attestation if the will was in fact executed and attested in substantial compliance with Article 805, and there was no bad faith, forgery, fraud or undue influence.

Under Article 820, any person of sound mind, 18 or older, not blind, deaf or dumb, and able to read and write. Article 821 disqualifies a person not domiciled in the Philippines and a person convicted of falsification of a document, perjury or false testimony.

A holographic will under Article 810 must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed by the testator, but needs no witnesses or notary. A notarial will may be typed but needs the witnesses, the attestation clause and the acknowledgment. Both must be allowed in probate before they pass property.

For the two forms side by side, see holographic vs notarial will.

Made-up illustration: Rogelio types a four-page will. He signs at the end and on the left margin of pages one to three, and three witnesses sign the same way in his presence and in each other's. The pages are numbered "Page One of Four" and so on, the attestation clause says the will has four pages and is signed by the witnesses, and all of them acknowledge the will before a notary public. If the witnesses had signed only the margins and not the attestation clause, the will could be refused probate.

For the full checklist, see Notarial will requirements.

For an overview, see wills and probate in the Philippines.