Title
Gan vs. Yap
Case
G.R. No. L-12190
Decision Date
Aug 30, 1958
A holographic will's probate was denied due to insufficient evidence; testimonies alone cannot prove authenticity without the original document, highlighting risks of fraud.

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-12190)

Key Dates

Holographic Will Allegedly Executed: November 5, 1951
Probate Petition Filed: March 17, 1952
Supreme Court Decision Date: August 30, 1958

Applicable Constitutional Framework

The 1935 Philippine Constitution governed judicial power and procedural due process at the time of decision.

Applicable Statutory Law

– Spanish Civil Code (recognition of holographic wills)
– Act No. 190 (1901 Code of Civil Procedure) repealing non-notarial wills, including holographic wills
– New Civil Code (effective 1960) reviving holographic wills, arts. 810–814 (cited for interpretive guidance)
– Rules of Court, Rule 77 (proof of lost or destroyed wills by secondary evidence)

Statement of Facts

Felicidad Esguerra Alto-Yap died on November 20, 1951, leaving real property in Pulilan, Bulacan, and Manila. Fausto E. Gan petitioned for probate of an alleged holographic will drawn November 5, 1951, distributing five shares in Bulacan to various relatives and residuary estate to husband Ildefonso Yap, conditioned on construction of a health center in Pulilan. Oppositor denied existence or execution of any will. The holographic will itself was never produced to the court.

Procedural History

The trial court received petitioner’s testimonies that the testatrix wrote, signed and showed her will to four relatives, and that she entrusted it in a purse to her niece Felina. The husband and a household attendant testified the testatrix, seriously ill on November 5, could not have executed any will, and that no such document existed at her bedside. The court denied probate; a reconsideration motion was likewise denied. Petitioner appealed.

Issues

  1. Was the alleged holographic will validly executed and in existence at death?
  2. May a lost or destroyed holographic will be proved solely by witness testimony under existing law?

Trial Court Findings

– Testatrix purportedly sought secrecy from her husband yet repeatedly exposed the will to non-beneficiary relatives.
– It was improbable she would carry the will in a purse accessible to her husband.
– Husband’s return of the purse without destroying the document contradicted petitioner’s theory of concealment.
– Medical evidence established her serious illness on the date of the alleged execution, making execution improbable.

Evidentiary Analysis of Holographic Wills

– Holographic wills derive their sole safeguard from the testator’s handwriting and signature.
– Rules of Court permit proof of lost ordinary wills by subscribing witnesses, but holographic wills lack that protective structure.
– Spanish Civil Code and related authorities require physical production of the holographic instrument for identity verification.
– Allowing probate of a lost holographic will on parol testimony would expose estates to forgery and untestable or perjured witnesses.

Supreme Court Rational




...continue reading

Analyze Cases Smarter, Faster
Jur is a legal research platform serving the Philippines with case digests and jurisprudence resources. AI digests are study aids only—use responsibly.