Article 799 Lim

ARTICLE 799- new case
G.R. No. L-33592 March 31, 1931 Estate of the deceased Victorina Villaranda. EUSE !" L!M, petitioner-appellant, vs. #UL!"N" $%!N$&, oppositor-appellee. Perfecto Gabriel and Eusebio Orense for appellant. Camus and Delgado for appellee. S'REE', J.: This is a contest over the probate of a paper writing purporting to be the will of Victorina Villaranda y Diaz, a former resident of the municipality of Meycauayan, Province of ulacan, who died in the !ospital of "an #uan de Dios, in the $ity of Manila, on #une %, &%'%. The deceased left no descendants or ascendants, and the document produced as her will purports to leave her estate, consisting of properties valued at P(),))), more or less, chiefly to three collateral relatives, *usebia, $rispina, and Maria, of the surname of +im. This instrument was offered for probate by *usebia +im, named in the instrument as e,ecutri, -pposition was made by #uliana $hinco, a full sister of the deceased. .pon hearing the cause the trial court sustained the opposition and disallowed the will on the ground that the testatri, did not have testamentary capacity at the time the instrument purports to have been e,ecuted by her /rom this 0udgment the proponent of the will appealed. The deceased was a resident of Mercauayan, Province of ulacan, and was about 1) years of age at the time of her death. -n the morning of #une ', &%'%, she was stric2en with apople,y, incident to cerebral hemorrhage, and was ta2en in an unconscious condition, seated in a chair, to her room. Doctor 3eronimo 4. 3aanan, a local physician of Meycauayan, visited the old lady, with whom he was well ac5uianted, three or four times, the first visit having occurred between 6 and 7 p. m. of #une 8d. .pon e,amining the patient, he found her insensible and incapable of tal2ing or controlling her movements. -n the same day the parish priest called for the purpose of administering the last rites of the church, and being unable to ta2e her confession, he limited himself to performing the office of e,treme unction. Doctor 9sidoro +im, of Manila, was also called upon to visit the patient and he came to see her two or three times. :ith his approval, it was decided to ta2e the woman to the hospital of "an #uan de Dios in Manila, and on the morning of #une (, &%'%, the ambulance from this hospital arrived, in charge of Doctor 3uillermo +opez del $astillo, a resident physician of the hospital. ;t about && c<cloc2 a.m. on that day she was embar2ed on the ambulance and ta2en to the hospital, where she died four days later. The purported will, which is the sub0ect of this proceeding, was prepared by Perfecto 3abriel, a practicing attorney of Manila, whose wife appears to be related to the chief beneficiaries named in the will. This gentlemen arrived upon the scene at % o<cloc2 on the forenoon of #une (, &%'%. ;fter informing himself of the condition of the testatri,, he went into a room ad0acent to that occupied by the patient and, ta2ing a sheet from an e,ercise boo2, wrote the instrument in 5uestion. !e then too2 it into the sic2 room for e,ecution. :ith this end in view 3abriel suggested to Doctor +opez del $astillo that he would be pleased to have Doctor $astillo sign as a witness, but the latter e,cused himself for the reason that he considered the old lady to be lac2ing in testamentary capacity. ;nother person present was Marcos 9ra, a first cousin of the deceased, and attorney 3abriel as2ed him also whether or not he was willing to sign as one of the witnesses. 9ra replied in a discouraging tone, and the attorney
turned away without pressing the matter. 9n the end three persons served as witnesses, all of whom were in friendly relations with the lawyer, and two relatives of his wife. The intended testatri, was not able to affi, her signature to the document, and it was signed for her by the attorney. The vital 5uestion in the case is whether the supposed testatri, had testamentary capacity at the time the paper referred to was signed. .pon this point we are of the opinion, as was the trial 0udge, that the deceased, on the morning of #une (, &%'%, was in a comatose condition and incapable of performing any conscious and valid act. The testimony of Doctor 3aanan and Doctor +opez del $astillo is sufficient upon this point, and this testimony is well corroborated by Paciana Diaz and 9rene ;horro. The first of these witnesses was the one who chiefly cared for the deceased during her last illness in Meycauayan until she was carried away to the hospital in Manila= and the second was a neighbor, who was called in when the stro2e of apople,y first occurred and who visited the patient daily until she was removed from Meycauayan. The testimony of these witnesses is convincing to the effect that the patient was in a continuous state of coma during the entire period of her stay in Meycauayan, subse5uent to the attac2, and that on the forenoon of #une (, &%'%, she did not have sufficient command of her faculties to enable her to do any valid act. Doctor +im, the physician from Manila, testified for the proponent of the will. !is testimony tends to show that the patient was not suffering from cerebral hemorrhage but from ur>mic trouble, and that, after the first attac2, the patient was much relieved and her mind so far cleared up that she might have made a will on the morning of #une (th. The attorney testified that he was able to communicate with the deceased when the will was made, and that he read the instrument over to her clause by clause and as2ed her whether it e,pressed her wishes. !e says that she made signs that enabled him to understand that she concurred in what was written. ut it is clear, even upon the statement of this witness, that the patient was unable to utter intelligent speech. .pon the authority of Perry vs. Elio ?'% Phil., &8@A, the paper offered for probate was properly disallowed. The 0udgment appealed from will therefore be affirmed, and it is so ordered, with costs against the appellant. BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Article 799 Lim

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Article 799 Lim

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Article 799 Lim

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ARTICLE 799- new case

You might also like