Artice 1027.

The following are incapable of succeeding:

1) The priest who heard the confession of the testator during his last illness, or the minister
of the gospel who extended spiritual aid to him during the same period;
2) The relatives of such priest or minister of the gospel within the fourth degree, the church,
order, chapter, community, organization, or institution to which such priest or minister may
belong;
3) A guardian with respect to testamentary dispositions given by a ward in his favor before
the final accounts of the guardianship have been approved, even if the testator should die
after the approval thereof; nevertheless, any provision made by the ward in favor of the
guardian when the latter is his ascendant, descendant, brother, sister, or spouse, shall be
valid; 4) Any attesting witness to the execution of the will, the spouse, parents, or children,
or any one claiming under such witness, spouse, parents or children;
5) Any physician, surgeon, nurse, health officer or druggist who took care of the testator
during his last illness;
6) Individuals, associations, and corporations not permitted by law to inherit.

Extent of Disqualification: The persons enumerated under this article are disqualified
because of the possibility of undue infl uence exerted by them on the testator.

The disqualifications provided in this article, except the last, apply only to testamentary
succession. They have NO application to intestate succession. The persons disqualified
under these provisions (except the last paragraph) are bot absolutely disqualified to
succeed, and in relation to particular testators. Hence, their disqualification is only relative.

The last paragraph of this article is, therefore, misplaced. It has no common basis with the
other preceding it. Individuals, associations and corporations not permitted by law to inherit
are absolutely incapacitated; they cannot succeed any person at any time or under any
circumstance by testament or by intestacy. This paragraph should have formed part of
Article 1025.

No proof necessary for undue influence: The disqualification exists without the necessity
of proving actual undue influence since its exercise is conclusively presumed. Those persons
who are disqualified under 1-5 are persons who have the opportunity to exert undue
influence on the testator and their disqualification is not premised on the actual exercise of
undue influence but purely on having an opportunity to exert that particular infl uence
subject of course to the problem in par. 4 in relation to Article 823. The presumption,
therefore, is conclusive.

Disqualification not applicable to legitime: The legitime is given not by virtue of the will,
but by operation of law. Therefore, it would be unfair to deprive the compulsory heirs their
legitimes just because they fall under the persons disqualifi ed under this article. Thus, if the
priest, or attesting witness, or physician is also a child of the testator, he would still be
entitled to the legitime.
No Beneficial Interest – The witness is disqualified to succeed only as an heir, devisee or
legatee in the sense that he receives a beneficial interest under the will. But a testamentary
disposition which does not give a beneficial interest to the witness does not disqualify him.
Thus, a provision giving to the witness a trust or power to sell does not constitute such an
interest as will render him incompetent or will avoid the testamentary disposition.