If you have already made your last will and testament and decided to make some changes, do you need to follow the same requirements as the old will? In most cases, creating a new will can still be considered invalid if it does not meet the conditions under Article 830. Creating a new will does not automatically revoke the old will.
The old will can be still be considered operative if there is no valid revocation of a will by a subsequent will. This means that the subsequent will should comply with the formal requirements in terms of executing it. The maker of the will must have testamentary capacity and the subsequent will should contain express revocatory clause which shows incompatibility with the old will.
You must clearly express your intention to replace your old will. It should also specify your intention to revoke it. The subsequent will must also be probated by Court as this is still part of the requirement.
SUBSECTION 6. - Revocation of Wills and Testamentary Dispositions
Art. 828. A will may be revoked by the testator at any time before his death. Any waiver or restriction of this right is void. (737a)
Art. 829. A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person who does not have his domicile in this country, is valid when it is done according to the law of the place where the will was made, or according to the law of the place in which the testator had his domicile at the time; and if the revocation takes place in this country, when it is in accordance with the provisions of this Code. (n)
Art. 830. No will shall be revoked except in the following cases:
(1) By implication of law; or
(2) By some will, codicil, or other writing executed as provided in case of wills; or
(3) By burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating the will with the intention of revoking it, by the testator himself, or by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction. If burned, torn, cancelled, or obliterated by some other person, without the express direction of the testator, the will may still be established, and the estate distributed in accordance therewith, if its contents, and due execution, and the fact of its unauthorized destruction, cancellation, or obliteration are established according to the Rules of Court. (n)
Art. 831. Subsequent wills which do not revoke the previous ones in an express manner, annul only such dispositions in the prior wills as are inconsistent with or contrary to those contained in the latter wills. (n)
Art. 832. A revocation made in a subsequent will shall take effect, even if the new will should become inoperative by reason of the incapacity of the heirs, devisees or legatees designated therein, or by their renunciation. (740a)
Art. 833. A revocation of a will based on a false cause or an illegal cause is null and void. (n)
Art. 834. The recognition of an illegitimate child does not lose its legal effect, even though the will wherein it was made should be revoked.
