Under Article 783 of Republic Act No. 386, or otherwise known as the Civil Code of the Philippines (“Civil Code”), a will has been defined as an act whereby a person is permitted, with the formalities prescribed by law, to control to a certain degree the disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death.
To understand more fully, here are the terms you need to understand:
Will – is a legal document which tells how a person wants to distribute his estate upon his death. It must be written in a language or dialect that is known to him.
Testator – The person creating the will.
Heirs – individuals are the recipients of the wealth.
Executor – the person named in the will who is assigned to implement the provisions of the will.
In the Philippines, Wills should be written (and cannot be in any other form, i.e., audio or video recording). Moreover, any person 18 years old and above, with a sound mind, can prepare a will without the aid of a lawyer.
There are 2 types of Last Will and Testament according to the Civil code.
1. Notarial Will
This type of will requires:
– at least three credible witnesses
– Acknowledged by a notary public that it was made by the testator
– many other legal requirements
2. Holographic Will
This type of will requires:
– No witness required. This should be entirely handwritten, dated and signed by the testator.
– No need for notary.
– A much simpler and with less legal formalities and requirements.
From the two above, I like Holographic Will much better, because, I can make my Will much more like a love letter I can leave behind. I can put emotional words, love notes, and last advices for my loved ones.
But there is a warning for this, if you will be using a holographic will, you should also know the proper division for your heirs. Should this violate the minimum of what one heir should receive, this will invalidate the entire will. So, even if you will be using holographic will, you should still ask for advice from any financial consultant or lawyer that is knowledgeable in Estate planning.
Let me give you an example of different Wills:
NOTARIAL WILL TEMPLATE
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:
I, [name of testator], Filipino citizen, of legal age, single/married to [name of spouse if any], born on the [date], a resident of [address], being of sound and disposing mind and memory, and not acting under undue influence or intimidation from anyone, do hereby declare and proclaim this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament, in English, the language which I am well conversant. And I hereby declare that:
I. I desire that should I die, it is my wish to be buried according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church and interred at our family mausoleum in Antipolo;
II. To my wife, [name], I give the following property to wit: [asset];
III. To my children, [name] and [name], I give the following properties to wit: [asset] in equal shares;
IV. To my brother, [name], I give the following properties to wit: [asset].
V. To my loyal assistant, [name], I give the following properties to wit: [asset].
VI. I hereby designate [name] as the executor and administrator of this Last Will and Testament, and in his incapacity, I name and designate [name] as his substitute.
VII. I hereby direct that the executor and administrator of this Last Will and Testament or his substitute need not present any bond;
HOLOGRAPHIC WILL SAMPLE
(NOTE: This must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed by Testator)
My dearest Pia, Joshua and Patricia,
I am writing this Will for the following purposes:
I desire that should I die, I wish to be cremated and my urn be placed in St. Therese Columbarium in Newport Blvd., Barangay 183 Zone 20, Villamor Pasay City.
As to my personal possessions, and chattels, which I will leave behind in the wake of my death, I here and now, declare my intent as to their disposition:
As to my legal interest in our Makati home, I want it to go to my wife, Pia Dela Cruz.
As to the funds in my BPI, BDO, and Citibank Savings and Checking accounts, I want them to be divided equally to my wife Pia Dela Cruz, my son Joshua Dela Cruz and my daughter Patricia Dela Cruz.
As to my Ayala Shares and PLDT stocks, I want them to be divided equally to my only son Joshua Dela Cruz and my only daughter Patricia Dela Cruz.
As to our Ford Everest Car, I want them to go to my wife Pia Dela Cruz; the Mitsubishi Pajero be given to my son Joshua Dela Cruz and the Honda Jazz to my daughter Patricia Dela Cruz.
As to my Arturo Luz painting and coin collection, I want them to go to my son Joshua Dela Cruz.
As to the jewelry that I inherited from my mother Jane whish is under the custody of my wife Pia Dela Cruz, I want them to go to my daughter Patricia Dela Cruz.
As to the proceeds of all my Life Insurance policies, in which I designated my wife Pia Dela Cruz and my children as irrevocable beneficiaries, these must be first applied to pay the taxes due on my estate. From the remaining amount, I want to give PhP100,000 to our faithful helper Yaya Trining.
I have asked Atty. Joaquin Martinez to be the executor of this Will to serve without bond. The day after my mortal remains shall been laid to rest, call him for the immediate disposition of my estate. In the event that he dies ahead of me or for any reason cannot perform the functions of an executor, kindly seek the help of Neil Saison who is a dear friend. He knows of about his designation and will also serve without bond.
Since it is hard to perform the responsibilities of being an executor, I want to give PhP250,000 as compensation to whoever will serve as one and this will take from the proceeds of my life insurance policies.
Thank you Pia, Joshua and Patricia for loving me and always being there for me. The three of you are God’s greatest blessings to me. I love you all very much.
(orig. signed)
Juan Dela Cruz
November 1, 2020
There you go. I hope this article was able to help you in some way. If you need help on this, you can contact me here, we are ready to help in any way we can.
Helping you be ready,
Read More:
- The Essential Guide to Estate tax under TRAIN law
- 7 Things You Need To Know About The Coming Estate Tax Amnesty. This will make you cry…
- What is Estate Tax and How it can hurt you even After Death?
- Estate Tax Settlement Options: What to do to Protect your Wealth?
Sources: Atty. Nicasio C. Cabaniero; Marichelle F. Buitizon, REP
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