04/10/2024
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is the Regional Trial Court (RTC) that has jurisdiction over wills proved as valid and allowed in proceedings abroad.
In a Decision written by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, the Supreme Court’s Second Division clarified that for reprobate proceedings, a special proceeding to establish the validity of a will proved and allowed in a foreign country, it is the RTC that has jurisdiction regardless of the value.
For probate proceedings, on the other hand, the jurisdiction of the court is based on the value of the estate. If PHP 2,000,000 and below, the first-level courts have jurisdiction; if over PHP 2,000,000, the RTC has jurisdiction.
The Cebu City RTC, Branch 17 dismissed a petition to allow a will probated in Hawaii which covers land in Cebu City worth PHP 896,000. The RTC held it does not have jurisdiction because under Batas Pambansa 129 or the Judiciary Reorganization Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 11576, probate of wills which involve property or estate worth PHP 2,000,000 and below belongs to the first-level courts.
The Supreme Court ruled that the amendments in RA 11576 did not change Rule 77, Section 1 of the Rules of Court which states it is the RTC that has jurisdiction over reprobate proceedings.
Read the full text of the press release: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-rtc-has-jurisdiction-over-wills-proved-in-another-country/
Read the full text of the Decision: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-rtc-has-jurisdiction-over-wills-proved-in-another-country/
