Castaneda v. Alemany
Castaneda v. Alemany
ALEMANY,
defendant-appellant.
G.R. No. 1439 | 1904-03-19
DECISION
WILLARD, J.:
(1) The evidence in this case shows to our satisfaction that the
will of Dona Juana Moreno was duly signed by herself in the
presence of three witnesses, who signed it as witnesses in the
presence of the testatrix and of each other. It was therefore
executed in conformity with law.
There is nothing in the language of section 618 of the Code of
Civil Procedure which supports the claim of the appellants that
the will must be written by the testator himself or by someone
else in his presence and under his express direction. That section
requires (1) that the will be in writing and (2) either that the
testator sign it himself or, if he does not sign it, that it be signed
by some one in his presence and by his express direction. Who
does the mechanical work of writing the will is a matter of
indifference. The fact, therefore, that in this case the will was
typewritten in the office of the lawyer for the testatrix is of no
consequence. The English text of section 618 is very plain. The
mistakes in translation found in the first Spanish edition of the
code have been corrected in the second.
(2) To establish conclusively as against everyone, and once for
all, the facts that a will was executed with the formalities required
by law and that the testator was in a condition to make a will, is
the only purpose of the proceedings under the new code for the