www.

chanr
obl
es.
com

ENBANC

G.
R.No.L-
23678June6,
1967

TESTATEESTATEOFAMOSG.BELLI
S,deceased.

PEOPLE'
SBANKandTRUSTCOMPANY,
execut
or.

MARIACRISTI
NABELLISandMIRI
AM PALMABELLI
S,opposi
tor
s-appel
l
ant
s,v
s.EDWARDA.
BELLI
S,ETAL.
,hei
rs-
appel
l
ees.

Vi
cent
eR.MacasaetandJoseD.Vi
l
lenaf
oropposi
tor
sappel
l
ant
s.

Par
edes,
Pobl
ador
,Cr
uzandNazar
enof
orhei
rs-
appel
l
eesE.A.Bel
l
is,
etal
.

Qui
j
anoandAr
roy
oforhei
rs-
appel
l
eesW.S.Bel
l
is,
etal
.

J.R.Bal
onki
taf
orappel
l
eePeopl
e'
sBank&Tr
ustCompany
.

Ozaet
a,Gi
bbsandOzaet
aforappel
l
eeA.B.Al
l
sman.

BENGZON,
J.P.
,J.
:chanr
obl
esv
irt
ual
lawl
i
brar
y

Thi
sisadi r
ectappeal
toUs,uponaquest i
onpur el
yoflaw, f
rom anorderoftheCourtofFi
rst
I
nstanceofManiladat
edApril30,1964,
approvingtheprojectofpar
ti
tionfi
l
edbyt heexecutor
i
nCivilCaseNo.37089ther
ein.chanr
obl
esvi
rtualawl
ibr
arychanrobl
esvirt
uall
awlibrar
y

Thef
act
soft
hecasear
easf
oll
ows:
chanr
obl
esv
irt
ual
lawl
i
brar
y

AmosG.Belli
s,borninTexas,was"aci
tizenoftheSt ateofTexasandoft heUnitedStates.
"By
hi
sfir
stwif
e,Mar yE.Mall
en,whom hedivorced,hehadf i
velegit
imatechil
dren:EdwardA.Bell
is,
Geor
geBelli
s(whopr e-
deceasedhimininfancy)
, HenryA.Bell
is,Al
exanderBell
i
sandAnna
Bel
li
sAll
sman; byhissecondwife,
Viol
etKennedy ,whosur v
ivedhim,hehadt hr
eel egi
ti
mate
chi
l
dren: EdwinG.Bel
li
s,WalterS.Bel
li
sandDor ot
hyBell
i
s;andf
inal
l
y,hehadt
hreei
l
legi
ti
mat
e
chi
l
dren: AmosBelli
s,Jr.
,MariaCri
sti
naBell
i
sandMi ri
am Pal
ma
Bel
li
s.chanrobl
esvi
rt
ualawli
brary
chanrobl
esvir
tuall
awli
brar
y

OnAugust5, 1952, AmosG.Bel l

isexecut edawi llint hePhili
ppines,i
nwhi chhedi rectedthat
aft
eral lt
axes, obl
igations,andexpensesofadmi nistrati
onar epaidfor,hisdi stri
butableestat
e
shouldbedi vided,intrust,i
nt hefol l
owingor derandmanner :(a)$240,000. 00t ohisfir
stwife,
MaryE.Mal l
en; (
b)P120, 000.00t ohi sthreeill
egiti
mat echil
dren,AmosBel lis,Jr.
,Mar i
aCr i
sti
na
Bell
i
s, Miri
am Pal maBel l
is,orP40, 000.00eachand( c)aftertheforegoingt woi temshav ebeen
sati
sfied,theremai ndershal lgotohi ssev ensurv i
vingchi l
drenbyhi sfirstandsecondwi v
es,
namel y:Edwar dA.Bel li
s,Henr yA.Bel l
i
s,Al exanderBel li
sandAnnaBel lisAl l
sman, Edwi nG.
Bell
i
s, WalterS.Bel l
is,andDor ot
hyE.Bel li
s, i
nequal
shares.chanroblesvirt
ualawl i
brarychanroblesv i
rtuallawl i
brary

Subsequentl
y,oronJul
y8,1958,AmosG.Bell
isdi
edar esidentofSanAntoni
o,Texas,
U.S.
A.
Hiswillwasadmitt
edtopr
obateintheCour
tofFir
stInstanceofManilaonSeptember15,
1958.chanr
oblesvi
rt
ual
awl
i
brarychanr
obl
esvir
tual
lawlibrary

ThePeopl e'sBankandTr ustCompany ,asexecutorofthewi l

l,paidallthebequest stherein
i
ncludi
ngt heamountof$240, 000.00int heform ofsharesofst ocktoMar yE.Mallenandt othe
thr
ee(3)illegit
imat echil
dren, AmosBel l
is,Jr
.,Mari
aCr i
stinaBel li
sandMi ri
am PalmaBel l
i
s,
vari
ousamount st otal
l
ingP40, 000.
00eachi nsati
sfacti
onoft heirrespecti
v el
egacies, orat ot
al
ofP120,000. 00,whichitreleasedf rom timet oti
meaccor di
ngast helowercour tapprov edand
all
owedt hev ari
ousmot i
onsorpet iti
onsf i
ledbythelatterthreer equestingparti
aladv anceson
accountoft heirrespecti
vel egacies.chanroblesv
irt
ualawlibrarychanroblesv i
rt
uallawl i
br ary

OnJanuar y8,1964, preparatoryt ocl

osingi tsadmi nistrati
on,theexecut orsubmi tt
edandf il
ed
i
ts"Execut or'
sFinalAccount ,ReportofAdmi nist
rationandPr ojectofPar ti
tion"wher einit
reported,i
nterali
a,thesat i
sfacti
onoft hel egacyofMar yE.Mal lenbyt hedel iveryt
oherof
sharesofst ockamount ingto$240, 000.00, andt helegaci esofAmosBel li
s, Jr.,
MariaCr i
sti
na
Bell
isandMi r
iam Pal maBel li
si ntheamountofP40, 000.00eachorat otalofP120, 000.00.I
n
theprojectofpar t
it
ion, theexecut or-pursuantt othe" Twelft
h"cl auseoft het estat
or'sLastWil
l
andTest ament-di videdt her esi
duaryest ateintosev enequal portionsforthebenef i
tofthe
test
ator '
ssevenlegitimat echi l
drenbyhi sfirstandsecond
mar r
iages.chanroblesv i
rtual
awl i
brarychanroblesv i
rtual lawli
br ary
OnJanuar y17,1964, Mar i
aCr i
sti
naBel li
sandMi r
iam PalmaBelli
sfi
l
edtheirr
especti
ve
opposit
ionstothepr ojectofpar t
iti
onont hegroundthattheyweredepr
ivedofthei
rlegi
ti
mesas
i
ll
egit
imatechi l
drenand, theref
ore,compul sor
yheirsofthe
deceased.chanrobl
esvirtualawl
ibrarychanrobl
esvir
tuall
awl i
brar
y

AmosBel l
is,
Jr.int
erposednoopposi
ti
ondespi
tenoti
cetohim,proofofserv
iceofwhichis
evi
dencedbyt heregi
stryr
ecei
ptsubmit
tedonApri
l27,1964bytheexecutor
.1chanr
oblesvi
rt
ual
l
awl i
brar
y

Afterthepar t
iesfi
l
edtheirrespect i
vememor andaandot herperti
nentpleadi
ngs,thelowercour t
,
onApr il30,1964,i
ssuedanor deroverr
ulingtheopposi
tionsandappr ovi
ngt heexecutor
'sfinal
account ,r
eportandadmi ni
strationandpr oj
ectofpart
it
ion.Rel
yinguponAr t.16oftheCiv i
lCode,
i
tappl i
edt henati
onallawoft hedecedent ,whichi
nthiscaseisTexasl aw,whichdidnotpr ovide
forlegit
imes.chanrobl
esvir
tualawlibr
arychanrobl
esvir
tuallawli
brary

Theirr
espect
ivemotionsforr econsider
ati
onhavi
ngbeendeniedbyt hel
owercour tonJune11,
1964,opposi
tors-
appell
antsappeal edtothi
sCourttorai
set
hei ssueofwhichlawmustapply-
TexaslaworPhi l
i
ppinelaw.chanroblesvi
rt
ual
awl
ibrary
chanr
oblesv i
rt
uall
awlibrar
y

Inthi
sr egard, thepar ti
esdonotsubmi tthecaseon, norev endi scuss, thedoct r
ineofr env oi ,
appli
edbyt hisCour tinAznarv .Chr i
stensenGar cia, L-
16749, Januar y31, 1963.Saiddoct rinei s
usuall
yper tinentwher ethedecedenti sanat ional ofonecount ry,andadomi ci
leofanot her .In
thepresentcase, i
tisnotdi sput edt hatt hedecedentwasbot hanat i
onal ofTexasanda
domicilether eofatt het i
meofhi sdeat h.2Sot hatev enassumi ngTexashasaconf lictofl aw
rul
epr ovidi
ngt hatthedomi cili
arysy stem ( l
awoft hedomi ci
le)shoul dgov ern,thesamewoul d
notresultinar eferenceback( renv oi)toPhi l
ippinel aw, butwoul dst i
llref
ert oTexasl aw.
Nonetheless, ifTexashasaconf l
ictsruleadopt i
ngt hesi tust heor y( l
exr ei sit
ae)callingf ort he
appli
cationoft helawoft hepl acewher et hepr oper ti
esar esi tuat ed,renv oi wouldarise, since
theproper t
iesher einvolvedar ef oundi nt hePhi l
ippines.I ntheabsence, howev er,
ofpr oofast o
theconf l
ictofl awr uleofTexas, i
tshoul dnotbepr esumeddi fferentf rom our s.3Appel lant s'
posit
ioni sther eforenotr estedont hedoct r
ineofr env oi
.Asst at ed, t
heynev erinvokednorev en
mentionedi ti ntheirargument s.Rat her, theyar guet hatt heircasef al
lsundert hecircumst ances
mentionedi nt het hirdparagraphofAr ticle17i nr elat i
ont oAr ticle16oft heCi vi
l
Code.chanr oblesv i
rtualawli
br arychanr obl esv i
rtual l
awl i
brary
Arti
cle16,par.2,andAr
t.1039oft heCivil
Code,renderappli
cabl
ethenati
onallawofthe
decedent,ini
ntestat
eortestamentarysuccessi
ons,withregardt
ofourit
ems:(a)theorderof
succession;(
b)theamountofsuccessi onalr
ight
s;(e)theint
ri
nsi
cvali
dit
yoftheprovi
sionsof
thewill
;and(d)thecapacit
yt osucceed.Theyprovi
dethat-

ART.16.Real
propert
yaswellasper
sonalproper
tyi
ssubjectt
othel
awoft
hecount
rywher
eit
i
ssit
uated.
chanr
oblesvi
rt
ual
awli
brar
ychanr
oblesvi
rt
uall
awl i
brar
y

However,i
ntestateandt est
ament ar
ysuccessi
ons,bothwi t
hrespecttotheorderofsuccession
andtotheamountofsuccessi onalri
ght
sandtot hei
ntrinsi
cvali
dit
yoftestamentaryprovisi
ons,
shal
lberegulatedbyt henati
onal l
awofthepersonwhosesuccessi onisunderconsiderati
on,
whatev
ermayhet henat ureofthepropert
yandregardl
essoft hecountr
ywher ei
nsaidpr opert
y
maybef ound.chanroblesvi
rt
ualawli
brar
ychanr
oblesvir
tuallawli
brary

ART.1039.Capaci
tyt
osucceedi
sgov
ernedbyt
hel
awoft
henat
ionoft
hedecedent
.

Appel
l
ant
swoul
dhowev
ercount
ert
hatAr
t.17,
par
agr
apht
hree,
oft
heCi
vi
lCode,
stat
ingt
hat-

Prohi
bit
ivel
awsconcerningpersons,t
heiractsorproper
ty,andthosewhichhavefort
heirobj
ect
publi
corder,
publi
cpoli
cyandgoodcust omsshal lnotberender
edi nef
fect
ivebyl
awsor
j
udgment spromul
gated,orbydetermi
nationsorconventi
onsagr eeduponinafor
eigncountr
y.

prevailsast heexceptiont oAr t

.16, par.2oft heCi vil
Codeaf ore-quoted.Thisisnotcorr
ect.
Precisely,Congr essdeletedt hephrase, "
not withst
andi ngthepr ov i
sionsofthisandthenext
precedi ngarticl
e"whent heyi ncorporatedAr t.11oft heol dCiv i
lCodeasAr t
.17oft henewCi vi
l
Code, whil
er eproduci
ngwi thoutsubst antialchanget hesecondpar agraphofAr t
.10oftheold
Civi
l CodeasAr t.16inthenew.I tmusthav ebeent heirpurposet omaket hesecondparagraph
ofAr t.16aspeci f
icprovisi
oni nitselfwhichmustbeappl iedint estateandintestat
esuccession.
Asf urtherindicati
onoft hislegisl
ativeint
ent ,Congressaddedanewpr ovi
sion,underArt
.1039,
whichdecr eesthatcapaci t
yt osucceedi st obegov ernedbyt henat i
onallawofthe
decedent .chanroblesv
irtualawlibr
arychanr oblesv i
rt
ual lawlibrary
I
tist her
eforeevi
dentt
hatwhat everpubl i
cpolicyorgoodcust omsmaybei nvol
vedi
nour
System oflegi
ti
mes,Congresshasnoti ntendedt oextendthesamet othesuccessi
onof
for
eignnat i
onal
s.Fori
thasspeci fical
l
ychosent oleave,i
nteral
ia,t
heamountofsuccessi
onal
ri
ghts,tothedecedent
'snati
onal law.Specifi
cpr ovi
sionsmustpr evai
lovergener
al
ones.chanrobl
esvi
rt
ual
awlibrar
y chanroblesvir
tual l
awl i
brar
y

Appel lantswoul dalsopoi ntoutt hatthedecedentexecut edtwowi lls-onet ogov ernhisTexas

estateandt heot herhisPhi l
ippi
neest ate-arguingf r
om t hi
st hathei ntendedPhi l
i
ppi nelawt o
gover nhi sPhilippineest ate.Assumi ngthatsuchwast hedecedent 'sintenti
oni nexecut inga
separ atePhi li
ppinewi l
l
,itwoul dnotal t
erthelaw, forasthisCour truledi nMi cianov .Brimo,50
Phil.867, 870, apr ovisi
oni naf oreigner'
swil
l t
ot heeffectthathi sproper ti
esshal lbedi str
ibuted
i
naccor dancewi t hPhili
ppinelawandnotwi thhi snational l
aw, i
sill
egal andv oid,f
orhi s
national l
awcannotbei gnor edinregardtothosemat tersthatAr ti
cle10-nowAr t
icl
e16-oft he
Civi
l Codest atessai dnat i
onal l
awshoul dgov ern.chanroblesvirt
ualawlibrarychanrobl esvir
tual
l
awl i
br ary

Theparti
esadmi tt
hatthedecedent ,AmosG.Bel l
is,wasaciti
zenoftheStateofTexas,U.S.
A.,
andthatunderthelawsofTexas, therearenoforcedheirsorl
egiti
mes.Accordi
ngl
y,sincethe
i
ntr
insi
cv al
i
dityoftheprovi
sionoft hewi l
landtheamountofsuccessionalr
ight
saretobe
det
erminedunderTexasl aw,thePhi l
ippi
nelawonl egi
ti
mescannotbeappl i
edtothetestacyof
AmosG.Bel l
is.
chanrobl
esvir
tualawlibrar
ychanr
oblesvir
tuall
awlibrar
y

Wherefor
e,t
heorderoft
hepr
obat
ecour
tisher
ebyaf
fi
rmedi
ntot
o,wi
thcost
sagai
nst
appel
lant
s.Soor
dered.

Concepcion,
C.J.
,Reyes,J.
B.L.
,Di
zon,
Regal
a,Makal
i
ntal
,Zal
div
ar,
SanchezandCast
ro,
JJ.
,
concur
.chanrobl
esvi
rtuall
awli
brar
y

Endnot
es:

1Helat
erfi
ledamoti
onprayi
ngthatasalegalhei
rhebeincl
udedint
hiscaseasoneofthe
opposi
tor
s-appel
l
ant
s;t
ofil
eoradopttheopposit
ionofhi
ssi
ster
stotheproj
ectofpar
ti
ti
on;t
o
submithisbr
iefaf
terpay
inghispr
oport
ionat
eshareintheexpensesi
ncurredi
nthepr
int
ingof
therecor
donappeal;ort
oallowhi
mt oadoptthebri
efsfi
ledbyhissi
ster
s-butthi
sCourt
resol
vedtodenythemotion.

2SanAnt
oni
o,Texaswashi
slegal
resi
dence.

3Li
mvs.Col
l
ect
or,
36Phi
l
.472;
Inr
eTest
ateEst
ateofSunt
ay,
95Phi
l
.500.