What is marriage?

What are the two essential requisites of a valid marriage?

What are the three formal requisites of a valid marriage?
What are void and voidable marriages?
What are the essential obligation of a husband and wife?
What is the Doctrine of Triennial Cohabitation?

1. A and B married. B filed an action of annulment of marriage on the ground that her
consent was obtained with force and intimidation. Later on A divulge to B (wife) , that he
had pre-marital sex with his close relative. According to B, the non-divulgement of the
pre-marital secret constitutes fraud in obtaining her consent. If you are the judge how will
you decide the case base on the principles of law? (Art 46 family Code)

2. A and B married on November 26, 1938. B gave birth on February 23, 1939. The
plaintiff A and defendant B (wife) separated on March 20, 1939. A claimed that he
married B because of the assurance that she was a virgin. Is concealment on the above
case tenable? (Art4 and 45 Family Code)

3. A and B married. A (husband) filed a petition for annulment of marriage on the ground
of vitiated consent. A ,claimed that he was forced to marry B , who was then pregnant,
because there was a threat in his life as three men claiming to be members of the NPA,
hired by B(wife),visits him after school, and accompanied him to B’s home province to
marry her. How will you argue the facts stated by the petitioner? - Art 45 FC.

4. A and B married. A (wife) filed a disbarment case against B (husband) alleging that B
deceived her into marrying him despite his prior marriage, with C. A averred that B,
claimed to be a bachelor when he was courting her. They eventually got married on two
occasions. Though B admitted that he was married to C, he succeeded in convincing B
and her family, and friends that his previous marriage was void.
A, the complainant, further averred that B entered into a third marriage with D, and he
abandoned the complainant, and her children. Did B, committed gross misconduct? Can
he be disbarred on the grounds above-mentioned?

5. A and B married. They lived together as couple for five days. After which they went to
Manila to live separately. A few days after respondent husband B, went to Riyadh without
any communication to his wife A. A, the petitioner tried and failed to communicate to her
husband. After one and half year, the respondent B came back to the Philippines, but he
never made an effort to communicate to A. And so, A filed a complaint for annulment of
marriage, on the ground of psychological incapacity. Will the case prosper? What are the
grounds for psychological incapacity under the Family Code? (Article 36, and
Article45paragragh5 FC).

6.A and B married. A, (husband) filed a petition for annulment of marriage with B(wife)
on the ground that , the orifice of her genitals was too small to allow penetration of a
male organ for copulation. It has existed at the time of the marriage and continues to
exist. And so, A, leave the conjugal home. B, was ask to undergo physical examination,
but did not comply. How will you decide the case applying principles of law?

7. A and B married. B(wife) went to Singapore and never returned. A tried and failed to
find his wife. Several years later, A, was informed that his wife was already living with a
Singaporean husband. A filed a petition for declaration of presumptive death of his wife,
for his desire to remarry. The court of appeals dismissed the petition. What is the
principle of law under Article 41 of the Family Code regarding cases like this?

8. A and B married. They lived together as husband and wife for one month. A left to
work as seaman, while B went to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper. From then,
there was no communication. A tried and failed to find his wife, despite all efforts. He
then filed a petition for declaration of presumptive death, so he could contract another
marriage.RTC decided in favor of A. RTC found that B, had disappeared for more than
four years, reason enough for A to conclude that B, his wife was indeed already dead.
What are the rules on presumptive death?

Marriage - is a special contract of union, between a man and a woman, entered into in
accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.

The essential requisites of marriage are:

1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties, who must be a male and a female.( 18 years
old and above)
2. Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer

The formal requisites of marriage are:

1. Authority of solemnizing officer
2. Valid marriage license
3. Marriage ceremony, contracting parties appear before solemnizing officer.

Article 35 The following marriages are void from the beginning:

1. Those contracted by any party below 18 yrs. of age, even with consent of parents or
guardian.
2. Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages, unless
such marriage was contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the
solemnizing officer has the authority to do so.
3. Those solemnize without a license, except those covered by the preceding chapter.
4. Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under Article 41.
5. Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the
other,
6. Those subsequent marriages that are void under article 53.
 Art 37 Marriages of the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether
relationship by the parties is legitimate or illegitimate:
1. Between ascendants and descendants of any degree.
2. Between brothers or sisters whether of half or full blood.

Art 38 The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public
policy
1. Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth
civil degree;
2. Between step-parents and step-children;
3. Between parents- in- law and children-in-law
4. Between adopting parent and adopted child;
5. Between surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
6. Between surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
7. Between the adopted child and the legitimate child of the adopter;
8. Between the adopted children of the same adopter;
9. Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other
person’s spouse or his or her own spouse.

DOCTRINE OF TRIENNIAL COHABITATION- is a doctrine of common law, which

declares the presumption that the husband is impotent, should the wife remain virgin,
after living together with the husband for three years.

Art 46 The following constitute fraud:

1. Non-disclosure of previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of the crime
involving moral turpitude;
2. Concealment of the wife of the fact that at the time of marriage she was pregnant by a
man other than her husband;
3. Concealment of sexually transmitted disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the
time of marriage;
4. Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, or homosexuality or lesbianism
existing at the time of the marriage.
No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health or rank, fortune or chastity
shall constitute such fraud as will give ground for action for the annulment of marriage.