Gertrudis Abangan vs. Anastacia Abangan, et. al.

GR. No. L - 13431, November 12, 1919

Doctrine: The law requires that each and every sheet of the will be signed on the left margin by the
testator and the witnesses in order to avoid any substitution of the sheets – which would then effectively
change the testator’s dispositions. However when the entirety of the will is written in one sheet and
already contains the necessary signatures on the bottom of the said sheet, this requirement may be
disposed of.
*Hola, no more recite ready part because the case was literally just 9 paragraphs.

Facts:
- On September 19, 1917 the will of Ana Abangan, which was executed in 1916, was admitted to
probate in the CFI of Cebu. The document consisted of just two pages, the first containing all the
dispositions by the testatrix duly signed by her through Martin Montalban (basically this was a “for”
signature, where Montalban signed the will in the name and under the direction of Abangan). The
second page contained just the attestation clause which was duly signed by the three instrumental
witnesses. It is noted that neither of the pages were signed on the left margin either by the testatrix or
the witnesses, nor were the pages enumerated. This was the basis of the opponents of the will,
averring that these constituted as fatal defects to the validity of the will.
Issue:
1. WON the will follows the formalities required by law and thus valid.
Held:
- YES, the will was duly executed and is thus valid and enforceable. The Court held that in a will
consisting of just two sheets, the first of which contains all the testamentary dispositions and is signed
at the bottom by the testator and three witnesses and the second contains only the attestation clause
and is duly signed by the witnesses, is is not necessary that both sheets be further signed on the
margins or be paginated. The object of the requirement of having the testator and the witnesses sign
every page and have the whole document paginated is to prevent substitution of any page, which
would effectively alter the testator’s dispositions. In requiring signatures on the margin, the statute
took into consideration the case of a will written over a span of several pages.
- In requiring that each and every page of a will must be numbered, it is also clear that the object of Act
No. 2645 is to know whether any sheet of the will has been removed. But, when all the dispositive
parts of a will are written on one sheet only, the object of the statute disappears because the removal
of this single sheet, although unnumbered, cannot be hidden.

- This also applies to the attestation clause. Without considering whether or not this clause is an
essential part of the will, the Court held that in the one accompanying the will in question, the
signatures of the testatrix and of the three witnesses on the margin and the numbering of the pages of
the sheet are formalities not required by the statute. Moreover, the signature of the testatrix is not
needed nor required to be in attestation clause because this, as its name implies, appertains only to the
witnesses and not to the testator since the latter does not attest, but executes, the will.

- The object of the solemnities surrounding the execution of wills is to close the door against bad faith
and fraud, to avoid substitution of wills and testaments and to guaranty their truth and authenticity.
The laws on this subject should be interpreted in such a way as to attain these primordial ends. But,
on the other hand, it must also be considered that it is not the object of the law to restrain and curtail
the exercise of the right to make a will. So when an interpretation already given assures such ends,
any other interpretation that adds nothing but demands more requisites entirely unnecessary, useless
and, frustative of the testator's last will, must be disregarded.