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This article was originally published on June 1, 2022 and has been updated to reflect recent legal developments.
The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of a lawyer or you may directly contact and consult Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices to address your specific legal concerns, if there is any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
Certain dispositions in a will that has already been executed may be made through a codicil. A codicil is a supplement or addition to a will, made after the execution of a will and annexed to be taken as a part thereof, by which any disposition made in the original will is explained, added to, or altered.
A person who has the legal capacity to make a will may later wish to further elaborate on, clarify, or modify the provisions of a will after it has been validly executed. The question then arises: is this legally possible?
Under the New Civil Code, the answer is yes. A person who already has a valid will may supplement or add to it. Such a supplement or addition is taken and annexed as part of the will itself. The law specifically refers to this supplement or addition as a codicil.
A codicil defined as a supplement or addition to a will, made after the execution of a will and annexed to be part thereof, by which any disposition made in the original will is explained, added to, or altered. (Article 825, New Civil Code)
Through a codicil, the dispositions in the original will may be explained, supplemented, or even altered.
In order that a codicil may be effective, it shall be executed as in the case of a will. (Article 826, New Civil Code)
As to the incorporation of documents by reference, Article 827 of the New Civil Code provides that if a will, executed as required by the Code, incorporates into itself by reference any document or paper, such document or paper shall not be considered a part of the will unless the following requisites are present:
- The document or paper referred to in the will must be in existence at the time of the execution of the will;
- The will must clearly describe and identify the same, stating among other things the number of pages thereof;
- It must be identified by clear and satisfactory proof as the document or paper referred to therein; and
- It must be signed by the testator and the witnesses on each and every page, except in case of voluminous books of account or inventories.
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 09175772207/ 09778050020.
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