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Solis v. Ascuenta
Solis v. Ascuenta
Ascuenta
September 4, 1926.
FACTS
Maria Solla died leaving a will in accordance with the laws then in force but was not probated. Maria
then instituted grandson Leandro Serrano as universal heir, with the obligation that the latter shall “give
or deliver to the parish priest of this town a sufficient sum of money necessary for a yearly novena” and
shall “insist that his heirs comply with the same”. The Trial Court ruled that the order mentioned by
Maria Solla that Leandro shall “insist that his heirs comply with the same” pertains to both the
distribution of the legacies and the pious bequests.
ISSUE
Whether or not the phrase “insist that his heirs comply with the same” pertains to both the distribution
of the legacies and the pious bequests.
RULING
NO. In order to determine the testator’s intention, the court should place itself as near as possible in his
position, and hence, where the language of the will is ambiguous or doubtful, should take into
consideration the situation of the testator and the facts and circumstances surrounding him at the time
the will executed. In the present case, it appearing that it was Mari Solla’s intention, in ordering her
universal heir Leandro Serrano in her will at the hour of his death, to insist upon the compliance of her
orders by his heirs, that the latter should comply with her pious orders and that she did not mean her
orders concerning her legacies.