#1 Testacy is preferred.

(matter of reasoning)
The Civil Code provides that succession may be: testamentary, intestate, and mixed.
Testamentary succession is that which results from the designation of an heir, made in a will
executed in the form prescribed by law. Legal or intestate succession is that which is
effected by operation of law in default of a will. If the testator makes a will which does not
dispose all of his property, the result is what is known as mixed succession.
The most fundamental distinction between testamentary and intestate succession consists in
the fact that, while in the first, it is the expressed will of the testator manifested in his last will
and testament which is the supreme law in the succession (this is the first point), in the
second, it is his presumed will as provided by the law itself which governs.
If man has the right to own private property, he has the power to dispose of such property
freely, imposing such licit terms and conditions as he might deem convenient. Consequently,
he may distribute them by means of a testament. (second point)
But because of mans tendency to make a will only when death approaches and because
death sometimes strikes without any warning, even when a person intends to make a will,
yet he dies without one. Even when a will exists, it may be void or defective; the instituted
heirs may die before the testator, or be incapacitated to inherit from such testator, or even
repudiate their inheritance; the condition attached may or may not be fulfilled resulting either
in the prevention of the birth of a right or in its extinguishment depending upon the nature of
the condition. In order to cope with any of these possibilities, the Civil Code has provided for
what is known as legal or intestate succession by designating the person or persons who
shall succeed the decedent.
Reference is "Comments and Jurisprudence on Succession" by Jurado
2 Q- In the interpretation of wills, what are the kinds of ambiguity and how are they resolve?
Answer- Kinds of Ambiguity:
a. Patent, apparent.-- that w/c appears in the face of the will, e.g., "I give 1/2 of my estate to
one of my brothers." Who among the brothers? This is patently ambiguous.
b. Latent, hidden.-- perfectly unclear on its face. The ambiguity does not appear until you
apply the provisions of the will, e.g., "I give to Ann the prop. intersecting Sta. Maria and
Tumaga.
The ambiguity is determined only when the will is probated. That is, when it appears that I
am the owner of all the 4 corners of the lot. Now, w/c of those lots?
Q: How will are they resolve?
A: You can admit any kind of evidence as long as relevant and admissible according to the
Rules of Court. This includes written declarations.
Except: Oral declarations of the testator. Why? Because they cannot be questioned by the
deceased. Also, because they are easy to fabricate.

If in spite of evidence you still cannot cure ambiguity, then annul the will. If the ambiguity is
patent, disregard the will. If latent, look into the evidences allowed by law.

#3 What is a CODICIL ?
Art. 825. A codicil is a supplement or addition to a will made
after the execution of a will and annexed to be taken as a part
thereof, by which any disposition made in the original will is
explained, added to, or altered.
#4 What are the requisites for a codicil to be valid?
Art. 826. In order that a codicil may be effective, it shall
be executed as in the case of a will. Notarial Will: (1) The will must be in writing;
(2) The will must be written in a language or dialect known
to the testator;
(3) The will must be subscribed at the end thereof by the
testator himself or by the testators name written by some other
person in his presence and by his express direction;
(4) The will must be attested and subscribed by three or
more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one
another;
(5) The testator or the person requested by him to write his
name and the instrumental witnesses of the will, shall also sign
each and every page thereof, except the last, on the left margin;
(6) All the pages of the will shall be numbered correlatively
in letters placed on the upper part of each page;
(7) The will must contain an attestation clause; and (8) The will must be acknowledged
before a notary public by
the testator and the witnesses. Holographic Will: Art. 810. A person may execute a
holographic will which must
be entirely written, dated, and signed by the hand of the testator
himself. It is subject to no other form, and may be made in or out
of the Philippines, and need not be witnessed
5. Will may be revoked by the ff:
1) By implication of law; or
(2) By some will, codicil, or other writing executed as provided in case of wills; or
(3) By burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating the will with the intention of revoking it, by
the testator himself, or by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction. If
burned, torn, cancelled, or obliterated by some other person, without the express direction of
the testator, the will may still be established, and the estate distributed in accordance
therewith, if its contents, and due execution, and the fact of its unauthorized destruction,
cancellation, or obliteration are established according to the Rules of Court.

Revocation of Will - revocation as applied to wills may be defined as an act of the mind,
terminating the potential capacity of the will to operate at the death of the testator,
manifested by some outward or visible act or sign, symbolic thereof (c) Jurado book.
7. answer. in both cases,
there was no revocation. the intent to revoke is essential to a revocation by act of the
testator. in order that an act shall have the effect of revoking a will, the intention to revoke
must appear clearly and unequivocally; a will is not revoked by any act of destruction not
deliberately done animo revocandi. in both cases, there was no showing of an intention to
revoke thus the will was not revoked.
#9. Institution of heir is an act by virtue of which a testator designates in his will the person or
persons who are to succeed him in his property and transmissible rights and obligations. (Art
840, NCC) The will of the testator is the supreme law which succession is governed, thus,
the beneficiaries under the will must be designated with clearness so that there can be no
doubt as to who are intended by the testator.
Since the institution of heirs and the designation of legatees and devisees spring exclusively
from the will of the testator, only the portion of the inheritance that is subject to the disposal
of the testator would be affected by such institution or designation. It cannot affect the
portion known as the legitime. (ref: scribd)