Revocation of Wills

Resurreccion, Sean
Solis, Ariel
Terrado, Caroline
•At any time during lifetime.
(Article 828, NCC)
ARTICLE 828.
A will may be revoked by the testator at any time
before his death. Any waiver or restriction of this
right is void.
 A. If done in the Philippines:
In accordance with the

Laws provisions of New Civil Code.

Governing B. If done outside the Philippines:

Revocation 1. Law of the place where the

Will was made;
OR
2. Law of the place in which the
Testator had his domicile at the time
 1. By implication of Law
2. By Will, codicil or other writing
3. By burning, tearing, cancelling
and obliterating the Will with
the intention of revoking it, by
Modes of TESTATOR himself.

Revocation
4. By burning, tearing, cancelling
and obliterating the Will with
the intention of revoking it, by
ANOTHER PERSON in the
presence and with express
direction by the testator.

DOCTRINE OF DEPENDENT RELATIVE REVOCATION

 • For Example:
• When an heir, legatee, or
devisee commits an act of
unworthiness under Art. 1032.
• Provisions in favor of the
Modes of offending spouse made in the
will of the innocent spouse
Revocation shall be revoked by
operation of law the moment
a decree of legal separation
is granted. (Article 63 (4),
Family Code).
Modes of Revocation

• 3. By burning, tearing, cancelling and obliterating the Will with

the intention of revoking it, by TESTATOR himself OR by ANOTHER
PERSON in the presence and with express direction by the
testator.
• A) The overt act of BURNING
• It is sufficient even if a small part of the instrument itself be burned even though
the entire writing itself be left untouched.
• B)The overt act of TEARING
• Even a slight tear is sufficient.
• C) The overt act of OBLITERATING or CANCELLING
• 1) Obliteration — renders the word illegible; Cancellation — is the drawing of lines
across a text, but the words remain legible.
• 2) Either of the two revokes a will, totally or partially.
• 3) If all parts are cancelled or obliterated, or if the signature is cancelled or
obliterated, the whole will is revoked, the reason in the case of the signature
being that the act strikes at the existence of the whole instrument.
• (4) Cancellation or obliteration of non-vital part leaves the other parts in force.
Requisites:
1) There must be an overt act specified by the law.
2) There must be an intent to revoke.
3) The testator at the time of revoking must have
capacity to make a will.
4) The revocation must be done by the testator himself,
or by some other person in his presence and by his
express direction
 • Article 831

DOCTRINE OF • Article 832

DEPENDENT
RELATIVE
REVOCATION
(ART. 831 – ART. 834)
• Article 833

• Article 834
Article 831. Subsequent wills which do not revoke the previous
ones in an express manner, annul only such dispositions in the
prior wills as are inconsistent with or contrary to those
contained in the later wills. (n)

•
•
Article 831. Subsequent wills which do not revoke the previous ones in an express manner, annul
only such dispositions in the prior wills as are inconsistent with or contrary to those contained in
the later wills. (n)

Requisites of Revocation by Subsequent will or codicil:

1. The subsequent instrument must comply with the formal
requirements of a will;
2. The testator must possess testamentary capacity;
3. The subsequent instrument must either contain a
revocatory clause or be incompatible with the prior will
(totally or partially); and
4. The revoking will must be admitted to probate.
Article 832. A revocation made in a subsequent will shall
take effect, even if the new will should become inoperative
by reason of the incapacity of the heirs, devisees or
legatees designated therein, or by their renunciation.
(740a)
The efficacy of the revocatory clause does not depend on the testamentary
dispositions of the revoking will, unless the testator so provides. Revocation is,
generally speaking, an absolute provision, independent of the acceptance or
capacity of the new heirs.

Example: X executes a will, naming A as his universal heir. Two years later, X
executes a second will revoking the first and naming B as his universal heir. X then
dies and B renounces the inheritance. The first will remains revoked.
 General Rule:
A revocation made in a subsequent will
shall take effect, even if the new will should
become inoperative by reason of the
incapacity of the heirs, devisees or
legatees designated therein, or by their
renunciation. [Art. 832, CC]

EXCEPTION:
DOCTRINE OF DEPENDENT RELATIVE REVOCATION
 Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation
• The rule that where the act of destruction is connected with the making of
another will so as to fairly raise the inference that the testator meant the
revocation of the old to depend upon the efficacy of the new disposition intended
to be substituted, the revocation will be conditional and dependent upon the
efficacy of the new disposition; and if for any reason, the new will intended to be
made as a substitute is inoperative, the revocation fails and the original will
remain in full force.
• The failure of the new testamentary disposition upon whose validity the
revocation depends is equivalent to the non-fulfillment of a suspensive condition
and hence prevents the revocation.
 Article 832. A revocation made in a subsequent will shall take effect, even if the new will should
become inoperative by reason of the incapacity of the heirs, devisees or legatees designated
therein, or by their renunciation. (740a)

Supposing the institution of heirs, legatees, or devisees in the subsequent

will is subject to a suspensive condition, is the revocation of the prior will
absolute or conditional?
The answer depends always on the testator’s intent. If the subsequent will contains a revocatory
clause which is absolute or unconditional, the revocation will be absolute, and the happening or
non-happening of the suspensive condition will be immaterial.

If, however, the testator states in the subsequent will that the revocation of the prior will is
subject to the occurrence of the suspensive condition, or if the will does not contain a revocatory
clause, the revocation will depend on whether the condition happens or not. If the suspensive
condition on which an institution depends does not occur, the institution is deemed never to have
been made and the prior institution will be efficacious. This is in accord with the juridical nature
of suspensive conditions, and is an instance of dependent relative revocation.
Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation
Is the rule of dependent relative revocation applicable if the
revocation of the will is by physical destruction?
In Molo, the Supreme Court held, in an obiter, that the physical destruction of the will
did not revoke it, on the inference, drawn by the Court, that the testator meant the
revocation to depend on the validity of a new one.
Article 832. A revocation made in a subsequent will shall take effect, even if the new
will should become inoperative by reason of the incapacity of the heirs, devisees or
legatees designated therein, or by their renunciation. (740a)

Rule if Revocation is Implied—

The rule laid down in this article will apply even if the revocation of the
prior will by the subsequent will is implied;
i. e. by incompatibility of provisions, not by a revocatory clause.
The intent of the testator to set aside the prior institutions is, in
either case, clear.
Article 833. A revocation of a will based on a false cause or an
illegal cause is null and void. (n)

• Wills are revocable ad nutum, le. at the testator’s pleasure. So

great is the law’s respect for the testator’s power to revoke.

• The testator, therefore, does not have to have a reason or a

cause for revoking. However, precisely because the law
respects the testator’s true intent, this article sets aside a
revocation that does not reflect such intent.
Article 833. A revocation of a will based on a false cause or an illegal
cause is null and void. (n)

Requisites for the application of Article 833 regarding

revocation for a false cause:
1. the cause must be concrete, factual and not purely subjective.
[If, for example, a testator were to revoke on the stated ground that he has
learned that the heir was an Ilocano and all Ilocanos are bad, the revocation would be
valid. The ground is blind and irrational prejudice (as all prejudices are) but a purely
subjective one and will not invalidate the revocation under this article].

a. it must be false;
b. the testator must not know of its falsity;
c. it must appear from the will that the testator
is revoking because of the cause which is
false.
 Article 833. A revocation of a will based on a false cause or an illegal
cause is null and void. (n)
If the revocation is by physical destruction, and the revoked will is holographic, then
though the revocation be null and void, probate will not be possible (Gan v. Yap, supra, Article 811),
unless a copy survives (Rodelas v. Aranza, supra, ibid.).

The extension of the coverage of this Article to illegal causes in effect restricts the
testator’s freedom to revoke. There is no question of mistake in such a case, which might vitiate
the testator’s autonomy of will. If the principle is that a will is revocable ad nutum, then it should
indeed be revocable at pleasure, whatever the testator’s motives or reasons might be, and
however impure or blemished they might be, as long only as he acts freely and knowingly. A
testamentary disposition is, after all, a gratuitous grant, and can be withdrawn for any reason, or
for no reason.
The rule in this article regarding nullity of revocation for an illegal cause limits this
freedom, albeit for laudable public policy considerations.
It must be noted, however, that the illegal cause should be stated in the will as the cause
of the revocation.
Article 834. The recognition of an illegitimate child does
not lose its legal effect, even though the will wherein it
was made should be revoked. (741)

That part of will which recognizes an illegitimate child is not

revocable; recognition is an irrevocable act. Therefore, even if the
will is revoked, the recognition remains effective.
Under the Family Code, admission of illegitimate filiation in a
will would constitute proof of illegitimate filiation. Vide Article 175,
Family Code. Basically, the principle laid down in Article 834
remains unaltered regarding these admissions contained in wills.
Republication and Revival of Wills
•

•
 Two Ways of Republishing Wills

1. By Reproduction - the contents of a previous will are reproduced in a subsequent will (NCC,
Art. 835)

2. By Execution of a Codicil - such codicil referring to the previous will to be republished

(NCC, Art. 836)

***There can be NO REPUBLICATION BY EXECUTION OF A CODICIL if the previous will is void as to its
form. If the previous will is void as to its form, it can only be republished by reproducing the
provisions thereof in a subsequent will.
 ART. 835 ART. 836
Void as to form [Art. 805, CC] Void as to:
1. Non-formal defect
2. Previously Revoked
How to Republish: How to Republish:
1. Execute new will 1. Execute new will or codicil
2. Copy out the provisions from 2. Simply make references to old
the original void Will Will

Reference to original Reference to original

insufficient sufficient
 Rule on Revival of Wills
1. If there is an EXPRESS REVOCATION - If after making a will, the testator
makes a second will expressly revoking the first, the revocation of the
second will does not revive the first will, which can be revived only by
another will or codicil (NCC, Art. 837).
2. If there is an IMPLIED REVOCATION - The revocation of the second will
which impliedly revoked the first will revives the latter.
 REPUBLICATION REVIVAL
Takes place by an act Takes place by
of the Testator operation of law
Corrects extrinsic and Restores a revoked will
intrinsic defects
 RULE 75
PRODUCTION OF WILL;
ALLOWANCE OF WILL NECESSARY
Sec. 1. Allowances necessary; Conclusive as to execution. - No will
shall pass either real or personal estate unless it is proved and

Allowance
allowed in the proper court. Subject to the right of appeal, such
allowance of the will shall be conclusive as to its due execution.

Sec. 2. Custodian of will to deliver. - The person who has custody of

of Wills
a will shall, within twenty (20) days after he knows of the death of
the testator, deliver the will to the court having jurisdiction, or to the
executor named in the will.

Sec. 3. Executor to present will and accept or refuse trust. - A

person named as executor in a will shall, within twenty (20) days
after he knows of the death of the testator, or within twenty (20)
days after he knows that he is named executor if he obtained such
knowledge after the death of the testator, present such will to the
court having jurisdiction, unless the will has reached the court in any
other manner, and shall, within such period, signify to the court in
writing his acceptance of the trust or his refusal to accept it.
 RULE 75
PRODUCTION OF WILL;
ALLOWANCE OF WILL NECESSARY
Allowance Sec. 4. Custodian and executor subject to fine for neglect. - A person
who neglects any of the duties required in the two last preceding

of Wills
sections without excuse satisfactory to the court shall be fined not
exceeding two thousand pesos.

Sec. 5. Person retaining will may be committed. - A person having

custody of a will after the death of the testator who neglects
without reasonable cause to deliver the same, when ordered so to
do, to the court having jurisdiction, may be committed to prison and
there kept until he delivers the will.