G.R. No. 237449 - Kucskar vs. Sekito, Jr.

On October 28, 1999, Aida A. Bambao (Aida), a naturalized American citizen residing in California, executed a Last Will and Testament nominating her cousin, Cosme B. Sekito, Jr. (Cosme), as special independent executor over her assets in the Philippines. The attestation clause was signed by two witnesses but did not state the number of pages, did not include three witnesses, and lacked notarial acknowledgment.
Aida died on February 5, 2000 in Long Beach, California.

On March 27, 2000, Cosme filed a petition for allowance of the will, appointment as special administrator of Aida’s estate, and as guardian ad litem for Elsa Bambao, Aida’s adopted minor child. Linda A. Kucskar (Linda), the decedent’s sister and will beneficiary, opposed, claiming she defrayed Elsa’s expenses and that a Calbayog City property was omitted.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasig City, Branch 264, appointed Cosme special administrator and Cosme and Linda as co-guardians of Elsa. On August 4, 2011, the RTC granted the petition, issued a certificate of allowance of the will, ordered recording in the Register of Deeds, and issued letters testamentary to Cosme.

Linda’s motion for reconsideration and Cosme’s motion to disinherit Linda were denied on November 10, 2014; the RTC held Linda estopped from contesting execution and warned her share could be revoked if she persisted.
Linda appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA docket no. 104100), which on August 31, 2017 affirmed the RTC under the rule on substantial compliance with Art. 805 CC despite attestation defects.
Linda filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 before the Supreme Court, arguing that the will should not be probated because foreign law was neither alleged nor proven, and the will failed to meet Philippine formalities (no notarial acknowledgment, two witnesses only, unsigned pages, missing page count).

Whether a will executed abroad by a naturalized American citizen may be probated in the Philippines without alleging and proving the foreign law governing its formalities.
Whether Aida’s will complied with Philippine formalities for a notarial will under Articles 805–806 of the Civil Code in the absence of proof of California law.