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Directions: Read the questions carefully. Answer in a manner that is concise and direct to the
point. Use FLAC whenever necessary. Best of luck. God bless.
1. In her notarial will, the testatrix wrote, “I hereby bequeath all my personal and real
properties to ALL THE MEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE.”
a) During the probate proceedings, however, the will was found not to have an
attestation clause. Will the will be allowed probate? (10 pts.)
b) Will your answer in the preceding question (a) be the same if the will were a
holographic will? (10 pts.)
2. Mr. Antona was a 60-year old Filipino domiciled in Australia. He had one legitimate
child in the Philippines named Alistar. Before his death, Mr. Antona contracted a second
marriage with an Australian and had another child named Escoto. Mr. Antona and his
second family resided in Sydney, Australia. Prior to the death of Mr. Antona, Escoto sold
the property to his best friend Solis representing that his father told him that he was
leaving the property in Melbourne, Australia to him alone. Is the sale valid? (10 pts.)
3. Mario is lawyer who is in his 70s. He recently reconnected with his high school
sweetheart, Rosario, through social media. The exchanges between them were very
pleasant and brought back much wonderful, youthful memories. Rosario made Mario a
legatee in her will leaving him behind all their pictures together, love-letters, and some
pieces of jewelry that he gave her then. The children of Rosario opposed the probate of
the will claiming that their mother was not of sound mind when she executed her will as
her memory was failing more often than not. In fact, they alleged that she had
dementia. Mario, on the other hand, claimed that Rosario’s mind was sound as she was
able to recall all their walks, conversations, and even their prom. If you were the judge,
will you allow probate of the will and why? (10 pts.)
4. The testator and the four (4) witnesses were all gathered in a room. While the testator
was executing the will and asking the witnesses to sign, the 1 st witness was intently
watching the Netflix TV series Chesapeake Shores and was so engrossed with the twists
and turns of the TV show; the 2 nd witness was going in and out of the room to go to the
sink as she was having morning sickness; the 3 rd witness was on his laptop reading cases
for Wills and Succession; and the 4 th witness, a notary public, was paying close attention
to the testator’s act of signing the will. Is the will valid? (10 pts.)
5. Robert Downey, Jr. is a US citizen residing in Ireland. He is a very popular actor in the US
who opted to live in Ireland as he found the place so serene. It was a place where he
could be himself, away from the prying eye of the American media. After the pandemic,
he decided to visit Tibet to do some soul-searching. After spending 3 months in Tibet, he
decided to go to Bali, Indonesia to find an Asian to love. Not having found anyone in
Indonesia, he decided to go to Thailand, the only country in Asia that was never
colonized. He just wanted to enjoy the culture and its food. Afterwards, he found
himself in Singapore, a melting pot of cultures in Southeast Asia. There he decided to
make his will. Finally, he landed in the Philippines to shoot a film that was supposed to
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be a sequel of Iron Man. He chose the Philippines to have his will probated. What
countries’ laws can he use to determine the external validity of his will assuming that his
will is inconsistent with Philippine laws? (10 pts.)
6. The late Prof. B was a faculty of a law school where he taught for more than five (5)
decades. He was a respected professor and was loved by all. He died a widower. While
a widow, he fell in love with a secretary in the law school, Miles, and offered her
marriage. She, however, declined the marriage proposal. After his death a month ago,
she learned that he left her half of his properties.
a) Oppositors claim that the will is invalid as donation to a paramour renders the will
intrinsically invalid, and hence, rendering the entire will void. Miles, however, claims
that the will does not suffer from any infirmity, hence, the will is valid. Who is
correct and why? Discuss. (10 pts.)
b) Assuming that the there was no evidence to show that Miles was the paramour of
Prof. B, but that the legacy impaired the legitime of the children, the compulsory
heirs, is the will valid? Decide. (10 pts.)
7. Sarah and Mateo were married in December of 2015. A year after, Sarah gave birth to a
lovely baby they named SarMat. Because of the overwhelming love that they have for
SarMat, they executed a will while the entire family was in France, giving all that they
currently owned and will own to SarMat. Their will was in accordance with the laws of
France. Upon coming home, they decided to have the will probated. The will was
denied probate by the lower court. The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals and
the decision of the trial court was affirmed. The case in now pending the Supreme Court
and you are one of the justices assigned to the case. How will you rule on the matter?
(10 pts.) Discuss.