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PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[G.R. No. L-2920. January 23, 1951. ]

IN THE TESTATE ESTATE OF DON ISIDRO ARAGON, deceased. JOSEFA A. VDA. DE CLAUDIO, RAMON DIOKNO and MENANDRO QUIOGUE, claimants-appellants, v. CRISANTO ARAGON, administrator-appellee.

Jose W. Diokno, for Appellants.

Pedro Valdes Liongson, for Appellee.

SYLLABUS


1. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION; WILLS; LEGITIME. — The only portion of the estate that cannot be impaired by the testator is the ligitime. This is the part of the property which the testator cannot dispose of because the law has reversed it for certain heirs called forced heirs (art. 806, Civil Code). Among these heirs are the legitime children and descendants with respect to their legitime parents and ascendants (art. 807, id.) . The legitime of these heirs consists of two-thirds of the estate, one-half of which the testator may dispose of as a betterment to a legitime child or descendant (art. 808, id.) . The testator cannot deprive his forced heirs of this legitime except in cases specifically determined by law (art. 813, id.) . And while a person may make donations, no one can give more than that which he can give by will, otherwise the excess shall be inofficious and shall be reduced accordingly (art. 636, 654, id.) . And as a rule, testamentary dispositions which impair the legitime shall be reduced on petition of the heirs insofar as they are inofficious or excessive (art. 817, id.) . In other words, all testamentary dispositions are deemed valid if they do not exceed the one-third reserved by law for the free disposal of the testator. Any excess shall be reduced as inofficious.

2. ID.; ID.; ID.; —If the legacies are not inofficious, can they be reduced on same other ground? Held: This would depend upon the desire of the testator clearly expressed in his will. There is nothing that would prevent the testator from doing so if such is his true desire. But this indent must appear clearly in his will. This cannot be left to a mere conjecture. This is necessary in order that the will of the testator may not be thwarted or defeated, more do if the legacies have been made for some onerous consideration.

3. ID.; ID.; ID.; — The testator burdens his soap factory, with the land, equipment and furniture belonging thereto, with the payment of the legacies and directs that it be sold to pay the legacies at a price of not less than P116,500. The testator does not say that if the property is not sold at that price, the legacies will be reduced accordingly. Held: The mere fact that the testator has fixed the price at which the property shall be sold, is not indicative of an intention to reduce the legacies if the property is sold at a lesser price. It is merely a statement of his desire to have the property sold at such price in the hope of obtaining greater profit for the benefit of the heirs. It cannot be presumed that the testator wanted to have that price serve as a basis for the payment of the legacies considering the fact that he must be presumed to know that material values are fluctuating in nature. This is a contingency which he is presumed to have in mind when he decided to make the legacies. If notwithstanding his knowledge of this contingency, that is, his knowledge that the price may go down, he did not impose any condition or limitation on the amount of the legacies to be paid, it must be because of his desire that they be paid in full even if the property charged with their payment be sold at a lesser price. A different interpretation would be capricious and arbitrary. (See decision of the Supreme Court of Spain of June 28, 1881, Gacs. de la Sala 1.a., t. II, pag. 150, 21 Enciclopedia Juridica Española, 188.)


D E C I S I O N


BAUTISTA ANGELO, J.:


Isidro Aragon died on November 26, 1944, in the city of Manila, leaving a will. In paragraph 7 of the will, the deceased made certain legacies in favor of the following persons: Josefa Aragon Vda. de Claudio, P10,000; Ramon Diokno, P8,000; Menandro Quiogue, P4,000.

Instead of taking steps to have the will probated in accordance with law, the heirs made and executed a document wherein they agreed to distribute among them the properties of the deceased in accordance with the terms and conditions ordained by him in his will, including money and shares of stock not mentioned therein. And the reference to the factory of soap which was burdened with the payment of legacies, the following was agreed upon:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

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