IN TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION, IS THE TESTATOR PRESUMED TO BE OF SOUND MIND?

It is incumbent upon those who oppose the probate of a will to clearly establish that the decedent was not of sound and disposing mind at the time of the execution of said will. Otherwise, the state is duty-bound to give full effect to the wishes of the testator to distribute his estate in the manner provided in his will so long as it is legally tenable.

Pursuant to Article 800 of the New Civil Code, every person is presumed to be of sound mind, in the absence of proof to the contrary. The burden of proof that the testator was not of sound mind at the time of making his dispositions is on the person who opposes the probate of the will; but if the testator, one month, or less, before making his will was publicly known to be insane, the person who maintains the validity of the will must prove that the testator made it during a lucid interval. 

Here, there was no showing that Paciencia was publicly known to be insane one month or less before the making of the Will.  Clearly, thus, the burden to prove that Paciencia was of unsound mind lies upon the shoulders of petitioners.  However and as earlier mentioned, no substantial evidence was presented by them to prove the same, thereby warranting the CA’s finding that petitioners failed to discharge such burden.

Courts are tasked to determine nothing more than the extrinsic validity of a Will in probate proceedings.

xxx Here, a careful examination of the face of the Will shows faithful compliance with the formalities laid down by law.  The signatures of the testatrix, Paciencia, her instrumental witnesses and the notary public, are all present and evident on the Will.  Further, the attestation clause explicitly states the critical requirement that the testatrix and her instrumental witnesses signed the Will in the presence of one another and that the witnesses attested and subscribed to the Will in the presence of the testator and of one another.  In fact, even the petitioners acceded that the signature of Paciencia in the Will may be authentic although they question her state of mind when she signed the same as well as the voluntary nature of said act. xxx (BALTAZAR vs. LAXA, G.R. No.174489, April 11, 2012)