30. Advincula v.
Teodoro executor therein, if he is competent, accepts the trusts, and
Topic: Revocation of Administration, Death, Resignation, and
Removal of Executors and Administrators - Rule 82
Doctrine:
Discovery of a will after the appointment of an executor will not
automatically nullify the letters of administration until the will is
proven or allowed in court
Facts:
1. Petitioner, Emilio Advincula, was appointed, special
administrator of the estate of deceased wife, Josefa Lacson
Advincula and later as regular administrator of said estate
2. Later, the brother of deceased submitted a document
purporting to be Josefa’s will and that respondent, Enrique
Lacson, should be appointed administrator to the proceeding
3. Emilio opposed the will stating
a. No signature of the deceased
b. It was secured through fraud and duress
c. instrument was not executed with the required
formalities
4. Respondent Lacson submit an amended motion for change
of administrator stating:
“That the present administrator is incompetent,
incapable and unsuitable to the discharge of the trust, he being
foreign to the estate, and without changing or removing him as
such would be disastrous to the estate and to the heirs named in
the will of the decedent."
5. Respondent LC held: granted the motion revoking Emilio’s
appointment as administrator.
Issue:
Held:
1. The appointment of Lacson in the will can’t be enforced until
the will is allowed for probate as stated in Rule 79 Sec 4:
"When a will has been proved and allowed, the court
shall issue letters testamentary thereon to the person named as
gives bond as required by these rules.”
2. A discovery of a will and testament of a deceased, after the
appointment of an administrator of the estate, with the
assumption that he or she had died intestate, does not
automatically nullify the letters of administration already
issued. Rule 83 Sec 1 requires first the will to be proved and
allowed in court:
"If after letters of administration have been granted on
the estate of a decedent as if he had died intestate, his will is
proved and allowed by the court, the letters of administration
shall be revoked and all powers thereunder cease, and the
administrator shall forthwith surrender the letters to the
court…”
3. The motion to change of administrator was justified on
grounds that he is "incompetent, incapable and unsuitable to
the discharge of the trust, because he is foreign to the
estate”of the deceased but It is untenable from the
viewpoint of logic and experience, because a stranger to a
deceased may also be competent, capable and fit to
administer her estate, the same way as a member of her
immediate family. Either ways, he is not a stranger because
he is her surviving spouse hence is one of the heirs to her
estate
4. Lastly, Advincula has not been found guilty of any of the legal
grounds under Rule 83, section 2, of the Rules of Court, for
the removal of an executor or administrator.
Rulling: Wherefore the orders of respondent Judge are reversed,
and the writ of preliminary injunction issued in this case hereby
made permanent, with costs against respondent Enrique A. Lacson