Grounds Prescriptive Period Effects on Filiation/Children Effects on Property Relation Significant Doctrine

Pertinent Provisions of Law Status of children born/conceived Property Relations Goitia vs. Campos-Rueda
(ARTICLE 45 FAMILY CODE) before termination –
1) ACP or CP shall be Marriage is an institution, the
Notes: LEGITIMATE dissolved and liquidated. maintenance of which in its purity
1. Unlike void marriages 2) If either spouse the public is deeply interested. It
which is invalid from the contracted marriage in is a relationship for life and the
beginning, VOIDABLE bad faith, he or she has parties cannot terminate it at any
MARRIAGES are no right to any share of shorter period by virtue of any
considered VALID UNTIL net profits earned by contract they make.
ANNULLED ACP or CP
2. Grounds are EXCLUSIVE 3) Net profits shall be Balogbog vs. CA
3. They must exist at the forfeited in favor of
time of the celebration common children, or if Under the Rules of Court, the
of the Marriage none, children of guilty presumption is that a man and a
spouse by previous woman conducting themselves as
marriage, or in default husband and wife are legally
thereof, the innocent married. This presumption may
spouse be rebutted only by cogent proof
4) All creditors of spouses to the contrary. The law favors
and of ACP or CP shall the validity of marriage, because
be notified of the the State is interested in the
proceedings for preservation of the family and
liquidation the sanctity of the family is a
5) Conjugal dwelling and matter of constitutional concern.
lot on which it is
situated shall be
adjudicated pursuant to
Art. 102 and 129.

Note: In both instances under

Articles 40 and 45, the marriages
are governed either by absolute
community of property or
conjugal partnership of gains
unless the parties agree to a
complete separation of property
in a marriage settlement entered
into before the marriage. Since
the property relations of the
parties is governed by absolute
community of property or
conjugal partnership of gains,
there is a need to liquidate,
partition and distribute the
property before a decree of
annulment could be issued. That
is not the case for annulment of

1. Non-Consent (PAR. 1)
-Absence of consent to
contract marriage from the
parents, guardian or person
exercising substitute
parental authority (in that
order) over one or both of
the parties is over 18 but
below 21.
2. Unsoundness of Mind
(PAR. 2)
- The true test is
whether the party
concerned could
intelligently consent
that is, that he knew
what contract he was
entering into (Hoadley
Party to File the Suit
a. Parent or Guardian having
Legal Charge of “non-
consent party”
“No-Consent Party”
a. Sane Spouse without
knowledge of insanity
b. Relative, guardian or person
having legal charge of insane
b. Insane spouse
Prescriptive Period
a. Anytime before “no-consent
party” reaches age of
Twenty-one”
b. Within Five years after
attaining Twenty-one
a. At any time before death of
either party
b. At any time before death of
either party
During lucid interval or after
regaining sanity
marriage under Article 36 of FC,
because the marriage is governed
by ordinary rules of co-ownership
(Dino v Dino, January 19, 2011)
Custody of Children – Presumptive Legitime
During Pendency 1) Delivery of presumptive
1) Written legitime of all common
2) Absence thereof – court children computed as of
decides based on date of final judgment
interest of child and may without prejudice to
award it in the following ultimate successional
order of preference: rights of children
a. Both parents jointly accruing upon death of
b. Either parent, may either or both parents
consider choice of 2) Shall be considered as
child over 7 years advances on common
unless parents children’s legitime.
chosen is unfit
c. Surviving
grandparent, if
several then choice
of child over 7 years
unless grandparent
chosen is unfit /
disqualified
d. Eldest brother/sister
over 21 unless unfit
/ disqualified
e. Any other person
deemed suitable by
court
After Decree
To the innocent spouse but no
child under 7 shall be separated
from the mother unless there are
compelling reasons
Child Support Donation Propter Nuptias
During Pendency: 1) Shall remain valid,
1) Written agreement unless done contracted
2) No Written agreement, marriage in bad faith, in
from properties of ACP which case, donation is
or CP revoked by operation of
law
After Decree: 2) No conflict with Art.
 v Hoadley, 244 N.Y.
424)
- Intoxication which
results in lack of
mental capacity to give
consent is equivalent to
unsoundness of mind
(Mcknee v Mcknee, 49
Nev. 90)
So is somnambulism at the
time of wedding (15
Sanchez Roman 528)
3. Fraud (as defined in Art. c.
46, Family Code)
Any of the following shall
constitute fraud:
a. Non-disclosure of a
previous conviction by
final judgment of the
other party of a crime
involving moral
turpitude
b. Concealment by the
wife of the fact that at
the time of the
marriage, she was
pregnant by a man
other than her husband
c. Concealment of a
sexually-transmissible
disease, regardless of
its nature, existing at
the time of the
marriage;
d. Concealment of drug
addiction, habitual
alcoholism,
homosexuality or
lesbianism, existing at
the time of the
marriage
NOTE: The enumeration of
possible grounds is EXCLUSIVE:
No other kind of fraud is ground
for the annulment of the
Injured party c. Within five years after
discovery of Fraud
Either parent/both may be
ordered by court to give an
amount necessary for support in
proportion to resources/means of
giver and necessities of recipient
Spousal Support
During Pendency
1) Written Agreement
2) In absence of WA, from
properties of ACP or CP,
considered as advance
to be deducted from
share during liquidation
3) Restitution if after final
judgment court finds
that person providing
support pendent lite is
not liable
86(2) as such does not
require that marriage be
annulled first before
donor may revoke
donation – donor has 5
years from time he had
knowledge of lack of
consent; cannot revoke
if there was knowledge
before the marriage.
3) Conflict with Art 86(3)
but Art 43(3) prevails –
more in harmony with
general purpose / intent
of act.
Insurance Policy Buccat vs. Buccat
Innocent spouse has the choice Even assuming that the
of revoking or maintaining as annulment is based on the fact
beneficiary in the insurance policy that at the time of the marriage,
the other spouse who acted in defendant was pregnant by a
bad faith. If the innocent spouse man other than her husband,
opts to revoke, he/she can do so there would still be no ground
even if the designation is because the law is explicit. There
irrevocable. should have been a concealment
Art 50; Art 43 (4) of such fact. If the defendant was
already about 6 months pregnant
at the time of marriage, there
can be no possibility of
concealment. At such an
advanced stage of pregnancy,
concealment would be
impossible.
Aquino vs. Delizo
Concealment of the wife the fact
that at the time of the marriage
she was pregnant by a man other
than his husband constitutes
fraud and is a ground for
annulment of marriage.
marriage.
-
4. The consent of either party a. Injured Party a. Within Five years from time
was obtained by Force, ( aggrieved spouse NOT the force, intimidation or undue
intimidation, or undue parents) influence disappeared or
influence (PAR. 4) a. ceased
Unless: The same having
disappeared or ceased, such
party thereafter freely cohabited
with the other as husband and
wife

a. FORCE- there is violence

when in order to wrest
consent, serious or
irresistible force is
employed.
b. INTIMIDATION- there is
intimidation when one of
the contracting parties is
compelled by a reasonable
and well-grounded fear of
an imminent and grave evil
upon his person or
property, or upon the
person or property of his
spouse, descendants, to
give his consent”
UNDUE INFLUENCE- control
over one’s will.
5. Impotence- physical Injured party Within Five Years after the Jimenez vs. Caňizares
incapability of marriage ceremony
consummating the marriage - The presumption is in favor of
with the other potency. The lone testimony of
Provided: such incapacity the husband that his wife is
continues and appears to be physically incapable of sexual
incurable intercourse is insufficient to tear
asunder the ties that have bound
NOTE: Refer to lack of power of them together as husband and
copulation and not to mere wife.
sterility - Whether the wife is really
c. impotent cannot be deemed to
have been satisfactorily
established, because from the
commencement of the
proceedings until the entry of the
decree she had abstained from
taking part therein. Although her
refusal to be examined or failure
 to appear in court show
indifference on her part, yet from
such attitude the presumption
arising out of the suppression of
evidence could not arise or be
inferred, because women of this
country are by nature coy,
bashful and shy and would not
submit to a physical examination
unless compelled to by
competent authority.

6. Sexually-Transmitted
diseases (serious and
appears to be incurable)
a. a. Succession
1) Spouse in bad faith
disqualified to inherent
from innocent spouse
2) If both spouses of
subsequent marriage
acted in bad faith,
testamentary
dispositions made by
one in favor of the other
are revoked by
operation of law

Some Applicable Jurisprudence:

Succession: Van Dorn vs. Romillo

An American husband granted absolute divorce in his country is estopped from asserting his rights over property allegedly held in the Philippines as conjugal property by him and his former wife. To maintain, as the
husband does, that under our laws, the wife has to be considered still married to him and still subject to a wife's obligation under the Civil Code cannot be just. Petitioner wife should not be obliged to live together
with, observe respect and fidelity, and render support to her husband. The husband should not continue to be one of her heirs with possible rights to conjugal property. SHE SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED
AGAINST IN HER OWN COUNTRY IF THE ENDS OF JUSTICE ARE TO BE SERVED.

Ground: Anaya vs. Paraloan

The non-disclosure by the husband of a premarital relationship with another woman is NOT a ground for the annulment of the marriage.