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A: No. The probate court acquires jurisdiction over the proceeding from the moment the petition for
settlement is filed with said courts. It cannot be divested of such jurisdiction by the subsequent acts
Q: What are the cases covered by special proceedings? of the interested parties such as by entering into an extrajudicial partition of the estate or by filing
A: 1) Settlement of estate of deceased person another petition for the settlement in a proper court of concurrent venue.
2) Escheat
3) Guardianship Q: Will an action for recovery of a debt of the conjugal partnership prosper against the surviving
4) Change of name spouse?
5) Habeas corpus A: No. Upon the death of a spouse, no action can be maintained against the surviving spouse for the
6) Hospitalization of insane persons recovery of a debt chargeable against the conjugal partnership, as the claim should be filed in the
7) Adoption settlement proceeding of the estate of the deceased spouse.
8) Rescission and revocation of adoption
9) Trustees Q: As a general rule, the probate court cannot determine title to property. In what instances may it
10) Voluntary dissolution of corporations pass upon the question of title to property?
11) Judicial approval of voluntary recognition of minor natural children A: a) Where the interested parties who are all heirs of the deceased consent thereto and the interests
12) Constitution of family home of third parties are not prejudiced;
13) Declaration of absence and death b) In a provisional manner, to determine whether said property should be included in or excluded
14) Cancellation or correction of entries in the civil registry from the inventory, without prejudice to the final determination of title in a separate action;
c) If the question is one of collation or advancement;
Q: Distinguish special proceedings from ordinary proceedings.
A: A special proceeding is an application to establish the status or right of a party or a particular fact. Q: What are the matters that the probate court has the power to determine?
An ordinary proceeding concerns the prevention or redress of a wrong or the enforcement or A: a) Who are the heirs of the decedent;
protection of a right. b) The recognition of a natural child;
c) The validity of disinheritance effected by the testator;
A special proceeding is not adversarial while an ordinary proceeding is. Courts that hear special d) The status of a woman who claims to be the lawful wife of the decedent;
proceedings are of limited jurisdiction. In ordinary proceedings courts are of general jurisdiction. e) Validity of a waiver of hereditary rights;
f) Whether the property in the inventory is conjugal or exclusive property of the deceased spouse.
Q: Is the question of residence determinative of jurisdiction of the court?
A: No. It is determinative only of the venue. Hence, the institution of the proceeding in the province Q: As a general rule, the probate courts cannot issue writs of execution. What are the exceptions?
wherein the decedent neither had residence nor estate does not vitiate the action of the probate A: a) To satisfy the contributive shares of the devisees, legatees, and heirs in possession of the
court. As venue may be waived, the submission of all affected parties to said proceeding is a waiver of decedent’s assets;
objection to this error. b) To enforce payment of the expenses of partition;
c) To satisfy the costs when a person is cited for examination in probate proceedings.
However, if objection to venue is seasonably raised, the petition should be dismissed and the
proceedings should be instituted in the proper court. These exceptions are EXCLUSIVE.
Q: What if the proceedings were instituted in two courts and the question of venue is seasonably RULE 74
raised?
A: The court in which the proceeding was first filed has exclusive jurisdiction to resolve the issue. Q: What are the distinctions between extrajudicial settlement and summary settlement?
A: a. Extrajudicial settlement does not require court intervention while summary settlement involves
Q: Can the probate court be divested of jurisdiction? judicial adjudication although in a summary proceeding.
b. In the first, the value of the estate is immaterial, while the second applies only where the gross
estate does not exceed P10,000. An heir who has assigned or renounced his hereditary rights has no legal interest as would authorize
him to initiate such proceedings.
c. Extrajudicial settlement is allowed only in intestate succession, while summary settlement is
allowed in both testate and intestate estates. Q: Which of the following statements is true?
a) The probate of a will is a proceeding in rem and the publication provided for by Rule 76 is a
d. The first is proper only where there are no outstanding debts of the estate at the time of jurisdictional requirement.
settlement, while the second is available even if there are debts, as the court will make provisions for b) The personal service of notice upon the heirs is a jurisdictional requirement.
the payment thereof. c) There should be a lapse of 21 days between the first publication and date of hearing.
d) If the testator asks for the allowance of his own will, notice must be sent to his compulsory heirs,
e. Extrajudicial settlement can be resorted to only at the instance and by agreement of all the heirs, legatees and devisees.
while summary settlement proceedings may be instituted by any interested party and even by a
creditor of the estate, without the consent of all the heirs. ANSWER: A
Q: Does the doctrine of estoppel apply in probate proceedings? Q: What must be established to prove a lost or destroyed notarial will?
A: No. The presentation and probate of a will are required by public policy and they involve public A: 1. The due execution and formal validity of the will;
interest. 2. The existence of the will at the time of the death of the testator or its fraudulent or accidental
destruction in the lifetime of the testator without his knowledge;
Q: As a general rule, the probate court can only pass upon the extrinsic validity of the will. The 3. The provisions of said will, to be testified to by at least two credible witnesses.
exception is when the defect is apparent on its face. Give examples of apparent defect of a will.
A: 1) Complete preterition of the heirs RULE 77
2) The will stated that the devisee was the paramour of the testator
Q: What must the proponent prove at the proceedings for the re-probate of the will in the
RULE 76 Philippines?
A: a) That the testator was domiciled in a foreign country;
Q: What are the jurisdictional facts required to be alleged in the petition for probate: b) That the will has been admitted to probate in such country;
A: a) That a person died leaving a will; c) That the foreign court was, under the laws of said foreign country, a probate court with jurisdiction
b) In the case of a resident, that he died in his residence within the territorial jurisdiction of the over the proceedings;
court, or, in case of a nonresident, that he left an estate within such territorial jurisdiction. d) The law on probate procedure in said foreign country and proof of compliance therewith; and
c) That the will has been delivered to the court. e) The legal requirements in said foreign country for the valid execution of the will.
Q: What is a preliminary citation? Q: Who is affected by the grant of the change of name?
A: Where the person is detained under governmental authority and the illegality of his detention is A: A change of name granted by the court affects only the petitioner. A separate petition for change of
not patent from the petition for the writ, the court may issue a citation to the government officer name must be filed for his wife and children.
having the person in his custody to show cause why the writ of habeas corpus should not issue.
RULE 108
Q: What is a peremptory writ?
A: It is issued when the cause of the detention appears to be patently illegal and the non-compliance Q: Can substantial errors in the registry be corrected under this rule?
therewith is punishable. A: Yes, provided the parties avail themselves of the appropriate adversary proceeding; and that the
proceeding under Rule 108 ceases to be summary in nature and takes on the character of an
Q: Discuss the burden of proof after the writ has been returned. appropriate adversary proceeding when all the procedural requirements therein are complied with.
A: If the detention is by reason of public authority, the return is considered prima facie evidence of
the validity of the restraint and the petitioner has the burden of proof to show that the restraint is
illegal. On the other hand, if the detention is by reason of private authority, the return is considered
only a plea of facts asserted therein and the person responsible for the detention has the burden of
proof to establish that the detention is legal and justified.
Q: Can the person released by virtue of the writ avail of the privilege again?
A: Yes. When the person so released continues to be denied one or more of his constitutional
freedoms, where there is present a denial of due process, or where the restraints are not merely
involuntary but appear to be unnecessary, the person
Rule 103