Cayetano vs Leonidas dismissed by the Lower Court on the ground of his failure to present evidence in

support of his contention.

Facts:
Cayetano, was the executor the last will and testament of Campos (father) when
he passed away.
Adoracion Campos when she died, left her father, Hermogenes Campos and her
sisters, Nenita Paguia and others as the surviving heirs. The father executed an
Affidavit of Adjudication whereby he adjudicated the entire estate to himself. The
sister of the decedent, filed a petition for a reprobate of the will of the decedent,
Issue 1: Was the will by Adoracion Campos valid?
allegedly purported in US and for her appointment as the administrator of her
estate. According to her, the decedent executed a will in accordance to the laws of
Pennsylvania, USA. She also stated that there is an urgent need for an
administrator to be appointed since the the one that was appointed declined and According to Cayetano, the will executed by the decedent Adoracion Campos was
waived his appointment. The father opposed this saying that the will was one of not valid because Campos (Father) was divested of his legitime which was reserved
forgery and the intrinsic provisions are null and void. by the law for him.

However thru his counsel, he asked for his opposition to be dismissed because
according to him, he has been able to verify the authenticity of the said will.
LC: Adoracion Campos was a citizen of USA and that her will has already been
granted probate in Philadelphia, and that her will shall be allowed probate in the
Philippines and her sister is appointed as administrator of the estate.
SC said that it is valid since she was an American Citizen and a permanent resident
of Philadelphia, Pennsylavania, USA. Under Art 16 of NCC, the intrinsic validity if
the will with respect to the order of succession and to the amount of successional
rights and the intrinsic validity of the provisions of the will shall be regulated by the
national law of the decedent. Art 1039, states that the capacity to succeed is
governed by the national law of the decedent. The law on Pennsylvania does not
provide for legitimes and that all the estate of a decedent can be given to a
complete stranger.

Later on, the father contended that will should be set aside because his former
According to Cayetano, that law should not apply because it would be contrary to
withdrawal was secured thru fraudulent means and that the lawyer who filed the
the sound and established public policy.
withdrawal was not his counsel-of-record in the proceedings. This was however
SC said that Congress has not intended the rule on public policy and good customs
to the succession of foreign nationals. This is because they have specifically chose
to leave the amount of successional rights to the decedents national law.