Short answer. By reading it himself if he can. Article 807 requires a deaf or deaf-mute testator to personally read the will if able; if he cannot, he must designate two persons to read it and communicate its contents to him in some practicable manner before he signs.
What the law says
If the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he must personally read the will, if able to do so; otherwise, he shall designate two persons to read it and communicate to him, in some practicable manner, the contents thereof.
Civil Code, Article 807 — If the Testator Is Deaf or a Deaf-Mute. Read the full provision →
What Article 807 requires
Article 807 provides that if the testator be deaf, or a deaf-mute, he must personally read the will, if able to do so; otherwise, he shall designate two persons to read it and communicate to him, in some practicable manner, the contents thereof. The concern is comprehension. A will must express what the testator actually wants, and a testator who cannot hear it read aloud needs another route to the same understanding. The article supplies two, in order of preference: he reads it himself, or two people he chooses convey its contents to him.
Personal reading comes first
The primary rule is that the testator reads the will himself. Deafness does not affect the ability to read, so a literate deaf testator simply reads the document before signing, and nothing more is needed on this point. This keeps the understanding directly with the testator, which is exactly what the law prefers. The second method is a fallback for the testator who cannot read the will himself — because he is illiterate, or his sight fails, or for any reason he cannot get the contents from the page unaided. Only then do the two designated persons come in.
The two designated persons
Where personal reading is not possible, the testator designates two persons who read the will and communicate its contents to him in some practicable manner. The law does not prescribe the method — sign language, writing, or any means that genuinely conveys the meaning will serve — because what matters is that the testator actually grasps what he is signing. Note that he designates them; they are not imposed on him. This is a safeguard for the testator, ensuring the document he executes is the one he understands, not a control placed over him. Their role is comprehension, distinct from the attesting witnesses.
How this fits the rest of the will's formalities
Article 807 is a requirement in addition to the ordinary formalities, not a replacement for them. A notarial will must still be subscribed by the testator and attested by the required witnesses, and if the testator is also unable to sign, the usual rules on signing by another apply. So a deaf testator's will has to satisfy both the general form and this comprehension step. When preparing such a will, record how the requirement was met — that he read it, or who the two persons were and how they communicated it — so the will's validity is not later contested for want of proof that he understood it.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Alejandra Arado, et al. vs. Anacleto Alcoran and Elenette Sunjaco, G.R. No. 163362, July 8, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →