In the matter of the Intestate Estate of Edward Christensen, deceased,

Adolfo Aznar,executor-appellee
v.
Maria Lucy Christensen Duncan et al.

No. l-24365 30 June 1966

MAKALINTAL, J.:
Facts of the Case:
Edward Christensen, whose estate is the subject of the present case, is
a Californian citizen domiciled in the Philippines, died leaving a will. The
will was admitted for probate by the Davao CFI where it has also declared
that Maria Helen Christensen Garcia was a natural child of the deceased. As
to the partition of the deceaseds estate, the Court of Appeals, upon appeal of
Helen, ruled that the validity of the provisions of the will should be
governed by the Philippine law, and returned the case to the lower court with
instructions that the partition be made as provided by the said law.

A project of partition was submitted by the executor which was

approved by the CFI, wherein the properties of estate were divided equally
between Maria Lucy Christensen, whom the testator had expressly
recognized in his will as his daughter, and Maria Helen Christensen Garcia,
who had been judicially declared as such after his death. The said order was
based on the proposition that since Helen Garcia had been preterited in the
will, the institution of Lucy Duncan as heir was annulled, and hence, the
properties passed to both of them as if he died intestate.

Issues of the Case:

1. Was Helen preterited?
2. Should the estate pertain to her and to Helen in equal shares after
deducting the legacies, or whether the inheritance of Lucy as
instituted heir should be merely reduced to the extent necessary to
cover the legitime of Helen equivalent to of the entire estate?

Rulings of the Case:

1. No, Helen is not preterited. Preterition is the omission of the heir in
the will at all or, while mentioning him as father, son, etc., but not
instituting him at all as heir without disinheriting him expressly,
nor assigning to him some part of the testators estate. Whether the
testator gave a legacy to a person whom he characterized as not
related to him, but later this person was judicially declared to be
his acknowledged natural child, the case is not a case of preterition
but a case of completion of legitime. The institution in the will
would not be annulled, consequently, intestacy should not follow.

2. The inheritance of Lucy as instituted heir should be merely

reduced to the extent necessary to cover the legitime of Helen. In
order that the rights of a forced heir may be limited to the
completion of his legitime (instead of annulment of the institution
of heirs). It is not necessary that what has been left to him in the
will by any title, as by legacy, be granted to her in his capacity as
heir. As successional rights are vested as of the moment of death,
the forced heir is entitled to the fruits and increments of his
legitime from the testators death.