Short answer. Yes, potentially. Rule 130, Section 40 allows a declaration made by someone now deceased to be used as evidence if, when he made it, the statement was so contrary to his own interest that a reasonable person would not have said it unless he believed it true; it may then be used even against his successors and against outsiders.
What the law says
The declaration made by a person deceased or unable to testify against the interest of the declarant, if the fact asserted in the declaration was at the time it was made so far contrary to the declarant's own interest that a reasonable person in his or her position would not have made the declaration unless he or she believed it to be true, may be received in evidence against himself or herself or his or her successors in interest and against third persons.
Rule 130, Section 40 — Declaration against interest. Read the full provision →
What the law says
A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement.
Rule 130, Section 40 — Declaration against interest. Read the full provision →
Why the law trusts a statement against one's own interest
This exception exists because a person rarely admits something that hurts them financially or legally unless it is true. The rule requires that the statement be so far contrary to the declarant's own interest that a reasonable person in his or her position would not have made the declaration unless he or she believed it to be true — so an admission of owing money, where the person had nothing to gain and something real to lose by saying it, is the kind of statement this section is built for.
It applies because he can no longer testify
The section is triggered specifically because the declarant is deceased or unable to testify. That condition is what makes an out-of-court statement admissible at all here — if your father were still alive and available, the ordinary route would be to call him to the stand rather than rely on this exception for a prior declaration made outside of court.
Who it can be used against
The rule is broad about who the statement can bind: it may be received in evidence against himself or herself or his or her successors in interest and against third persons. That means the admission is not limited to disputes he personally would have faced — it can be used against you as an heir settling his estate, and even against people outside the family who are involved in the same debt or property.
A separate caution for statements admitting a crime
The section carves out one added safeguard: a statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. In other words, where the declaration is being used to clear someone else of a crime by pinning it on the deceased, the rule demands more than the statement alone — independent circumstances have to back it up before it can be relied on.
Related provisions
- Rule 130, Section 39 — Statement of decedent or person of unsound mind
- Rule 130, Section 41 — Act or declaration about pedigree