FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
TITLE IV : PROPERTY
RELATIONS BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
Chapter 1. General Provisions
Article 78.
A minor who according to law may contract marriage may also execute his or her
marriage settlements, but they shall be valid only if the persons designated in
Article 14 to give consent to the marriage are made parties to the agreement,
subject to the provisions of Title IX of this Code. (120a)
ü The
phrase “a minor who according to law may contract marriage” has been impliedly
repealed considering that no minor can contract a valid marriage.
ü This is due
to the reduction of the age of majority to 18 years under R.A. 6809, therefore,
the rule under Article 78 may no longer be applicable.
ü The LAW is deemed repealed by R.A. 6809.
R.A. 6809
“An act
lowering the age of majority from twenty-one to eighteen years, amending for
the purpose executive order numbered two hundred nine, and for other purposes.”
ü It is
also ruled by Article 35, Paragraph one of the Family Code of the Philippines
were marriages shall be void ab initio for those contracted by any party below
18 years of age even with the consent of parents or guardian.
Article 79.
For the validity of any marriage settlement executed by a person upon whom a
sentence of civil interdiction has been pronounced or who is subject to any
other disability, it shall be indispensable for the guardian appointed by a
competent court to be made a party thereto. (123a)
ü Persons
who have been sentenced with civil interdiction having been pronounced or
subject to other disabilities, the law requires that a guardian be appointed
for them by a court of competent jurisdiction.
ü This rule
is so because a person under civil interdiction cannot execute a document inter vivos, although he can do so mortis causa.
ü Civil
interdiction is merely a restriction on capacity to act (Article 38 of the New
Civil Code).
ü “Civil
interdiction shall deprive the offender during the time of his sentence of the
rights of parental authority or guardianship, either as to the person or
property of any ward, or marital authority, of the right to dispose of such
property by an act or any conveyance inter
vivos.”(Capsitrano, Civil Code of the Philippines, 1950 ed., p. 127).
Article 80.
In the absence of a contrary stipulation in a marriage settlement, the property
relations of the spouses shall be governed by Philippine laws, regardless of
the place of celebration of the marriage and their residence.
This
rule shall not apply:
1. Where
both spouses are aliens;
2. With
respect to the extrinsic validity of contracts affecting property not situated
in the Philippines and executed in the country where the property is located;
and
3. With
respect to the extrinsic validity of contracts entered into in the Philippines
but affecting property stipulated in a foreign country whose laws require
different formalities for its extrinsic validity. (124a)
LAW THAT GOVERNS PROPERTY RELATIONS;
RULES.
With respect to the extrinsic validity
of contracts affecting property:
a.
not situated in the Philippines and
executed in the country where the property is located
ü This is an application of the national
law principle regardless of the place of celebration of the marriage.
ü The law applies if the spouses are
living in the Philippines or abroad, or even if they have properties located in
the Philippines or abroad.
ü Their national law follows them
wherever they are.
ü If the spouses are aliens, their
national law shall govern their property relationship.
ü Thus, this is an application of the
national law principle.
b.
stipulated in a foreign country whose
laws require different formalities
for its extrinsic validity
ü This is an application of the principle
of lex situs.
ü The law of the place where the property
is situated will govern
ü LEX SITUS – law of the place where
property is situated; the general rule is that lands and other immovable are
governed by the law of the state where they are situated
EXCEPTIONS: The two (2) exceptions under
paragraphs 2 and 3 are applications of the principle of lex situs.
Illustration:
- X
and Y, both Filipinos, were married in the United States
- With
marriage settlement, shall be governed by Philippine law
- Without
marriage settlement, shall be governed by the principle that their
property relationship is one of absolute community
- If
the agreement is void, it shall be absolute community of property
Definition
of Terms:
* STIPULATION – an agreement or concession made by
parties in a judicial proceeding (or by their attorneys) relating to the
business before the court
* MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT – an ante-nuptial agreement
entered into by a man and a woman planning to marry by fixing the property regime
that will govern their present and future properties during the marriage.
* COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY – all the property owned
by the spouses at the time of the celebration of their marriage or acquired
thereafter (Articles 88 and 91, Family Code of the Philippines)
* PROPERTY REGIME – the set of rules agreed
upon by the parties, before getting married, which would govern their property
relations during the course of their married life
* LEX SITUS – law of the place where property is
situated; the general rule is that lands and other immovable are governed by
the law of the state where they are situated
Article 81.
Everything stipulated in the settlements or contracts referred to in the
preceding articles in the consideration of a future marriage, including
donations between the prospective spouses made therein, shall be rendered void
if the marriage does not take place. However, stipulations that do not depend
upon the celebration of the marriage shall be valid.
ü The
reason for the law is clear. If the marriage does not take place; all
stipulations in the marriage do not take place, all stipulations in the
marriage settlement would be void because if it were otherwise, there would be
unjust enrichment of the parties.
ü Furthermore,
under Article 88 of the Family Code, the absolute community of property between
the spouses shall commence at the precise moment that the marriage is
celebrated.
ü However,
there may be stipulations in the marriage settlement which remain valid even if
the marriage is not celebrated. An example is a stipulation where a natural
child may be recognized.
ü This
remains valid even if the marriage is not celebrated because this stipulation
does not depend upon the celebration of the marriage for its validity. If at
all, the document would be considered as an authentic writing.
Efficacy
of Marriage Settlement
ü The consideration of a marriage
settlement is the marriage itself. If the marriage does not take place, the
marriage settlement is generally rendered void.
ü Provisions in a marriage settlement,
however, are separable in that if there are provisions which are invalid but do
not affect the rest of the provisions stipulated in the marriage settlement,
only the said invalid provisions will be rendered ineffectual while the rest
will continue to remain enforced.
ü Stipulations that do not depend upon
the celebration of the marriage shall be valid.
ü For instance, a provision to support
the common child of the contracting parties for a particular amount is clearly
independent of the fact of the marriage. This will be valid regardless of
whether or not the marriage has been celebrated because a parent is obliged to
support his child, whether legitimate or illegitimate.
ü Therefore, if the marriage does not
push through, everything that was stipulated in the settlements shall be
rendered void. But there is a stipulation that is independent upon the
celebration of the marriage. That is supporting his or her child, whether
legitimate or illegitimate, because it is an obligation of the parent.
References:
Judge Albano, Ed Vincent S. (2017). Family Code of the Philippines
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