GR L 6095; (April, 1954) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-6095 April 12, 1954
Testamentaria de Margarita David. Gonzalo D. David, appellant, vs. Carlos Sison, administrator y otro, appellees.
FACTS
The case involves the estate of Margarita David. On December 20, 1938, she executed her last will and testament, naming her grandnieces Narcisa de la Fuente de Teodoro and Priscila de la Fuente de Sison as residuary heirs (herederos universales). The will contained a clause stipulating that if either of them died without descendants, her share would go to the survivor, and if both died without descendants, the inherited properties would be divided equally between the heirs of Margarita David’s father and the heirs of her mother. On November 21, 1939, Margarita David formally adopted the same two grandnieces. Subsequently, on September 6, 1940, she executed a deed of donation in favor of her adopted daughters, covering practically the same properties disposed of in the will. Margarita David died on February 24, 1941, less than six months after the donation. The appellant, Gonzalo D. David, filed a motion on October 4, 1951, requesting that the aforementioned clause from the 1938 will be annotated on all titles of the properties left by the deceased. The lower court denied this petition on June 14, 1952.
ISSUE
Whether the appellant has the right to have the clause from the 1938 last will and testament annotated on the titles of the properties donated by Margarita David to her adopted daughters.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the appellant’s petition and affirmed the lower court’s order. The Court held that the appellant has no right to the requested annotation because the subsequent donation of the properties placed them beyond the reach of the earlier will. Furthermore, the adoption of Narcisa and Priscila, which occurred after the execution of the will, made them legal heirs of Margarita David under the Rules of Court (Rule 100, Article 5), thereby annulling the clause sought to be annotated pursuant to the Old Civil Code (Article 813). The donation effectively superseded the testamentary disposition for those properties.