Case Digest (G.R. No. 169144)
Facts:
In Re: In the Matter of the Petition to Approve the Will of Ruperta Palaganas With Prayer for the Appointment of Special Administrator, Manuel Miguel Palaganas and Benjamin Gregorio Palaganas, Petitioners, vs. Ernesto Palaganas, Respondent, G.R. No. 169144, January 26, 2011, the Supreme Court Second Division, Abad, J., writing for the Court.
The decedent, Ruperta C. Palaganas, a Filipino who had become a naturalized United States citizen, died on November 8, 2001, leaving a will executed in California naming her brother Sergio C. Palaganas as executor and leaving properties both in the Philippines and in the U.S. On May 19, 2003, Ernesto C. Palaganas (another brother) filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Malolos, Bulacan (Special Proceedings No. 112‑M‑2003, Branch 10) a petition to probate Ruperta’s will and for his appointment as special administrator.
On October 15, 2003, nephews Manuel Miguel Palaganas and Benjamin Gregorio Palaganas opposed the petition, contending that the California will should first be probated in the United States and, alternatively, asserting that the will was invalid for duress and lack of testamentary capacity; they also challenged Ernesto’s fitness to act as administrator. While proceedings were pending, the RTC permitted depositions of foreign‑based witnesses Gloria Villaluz and Sergio when they were in the Philippines, and directed memoranda on whether the U.S. will could be probated in the Philippines.
On June 17, 2004, the RTC issued an order admitting the will to probate, appointing Ernesto as special administrator at Sergio’s request, and issuing Letters of Special Administration, but it also required authenticated documents and other proof. Manuel and Benjamin appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA) (docketed as CA‑G.R. CV 83564). On July 29, 2005, the CA, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Ruben T. Reyes (concurring: Associate Justices Rebecca De Guia Salvador and Fernanda Lampas Peralta), affirmed the RTC’s order, holding that Section 2, Rule 76 of the Rules of Court...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- May a will executed by a foreigner abroad be probated in the Philippines even though it has not been previously probated and allowed in the country where it was ex...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)