THE PHILIPPINES April 28, 2008 CARTS, Teachers Camp, Baguio City Marriage and its Requisites Definition of Marriage (Article 1) Marriage is a special contract. It is a permanent union. The union is between a man and a woman. The union must be entered into in accordance with law. The purposes of marriage is the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is not only a contract but also a status. Marriage vs. Ordinary Contracts Only a man and a woman can enter into marriage Permanent unless annulled or declared null and void Rights and duties of parties are fixed by law except in the marriage settlement. Breach of contract may give rise to a criminal action. Rights and obligations are fixed by the parties themselves. May be entered into by anyone who is legally capacitated. Breach of contract gives rise to an action for damages. Essential Requisites (Art. 2) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be male and female Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. Formal Requisites (Art 3) Authority of the solemnizing officer A valid marriage license A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before a solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age Article 4 Absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio. A defect in any of the essential requisites shall render the marriage voidable. An irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable. Article 26 All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where solemnized and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country. Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. Article 26contn A foreign marriage although valid in the country of celebration, will still be void in the Philippines if: Either or both parties did not have the legal capacity to get married. The marriage is immoral for being bigamous or polygamous. Consent of one party is lacking because of mistake as to the identity of the other. One of the parties was psychologically incapacitated at the time of the marriage to comply with the essential marital obligations. The marriage is incestuous. The marriage is void by reason of public policy. Void Marriages (Art. 35) Those contracted by any party below 18 years of age even with the consent of the parents or guardians; Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so; Those solemnized without a license; Those bigamous or polygamous marriages; Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other; and, Other marriages subsequently contracted. Psychological Incapacity (Art 36) A marriage contracted by any party, who at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriages shall likewise be void even if such capacity shall become manifest only after its solemnization. Guidelines in proving psychological incapacity The burden of proof belongs to the plaintiff; The root cause of the psychological incapacity must be medically or clinically identified; alleged in the complaint; sufficiently proven by experts and clearly explained in the decision. The incapacity must be proven to be existing at the time of the celebration of the marriage. Interpretations given by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, while not controlling or decisive should be given great respect by the courts. The trial court must order the prosecuting attorney and the solicitor general to appear as counsels for the state. Article 40 The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely of a final judgment declaring such previous marriage void. Declaration of Presumptive Death ( Art. 41) The prior spouse has been absent for four consecutive years; The spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse is already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of two years shall be sufficient. The spouse present must institute a summary proceeding for the declaration of presumptive death, without prejudice to the effect of reappearance of the absent spouse. Grounds for Annulment of Marriage (Art. 45) Lack of parental consent Insanity of one of the parties Fraud Force, intimidation or undue influence Impotency Affliction of sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and which appears incurable
Article 46 (Badges of fraud) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the party of a crime involving moral turpitude Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man other than her husband Concealment of sexually-transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the marriage Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage
Article 47 (prescription for the filing of action for annulment) Ground for annulment Who can file action Period of prescription Convalidation or ratification Lack of consent Party under age Parents or guardians Within 5 years after reaching 21 Before child reaches 21 Free cohabitation after reaching 21 Insanity of one party The same spouse Guardian of the insane spouse Insane spouse Before death of the other party During lucid interval Free cohabitation after insane regains sanity Fraud The injured party Within five years from the discovery of the fraud Free cohabitation after knowledge of the fraud Force, intimidation or undue influence The injured party Within 5 years from cessation of cause Free cohabitation after cause has disappeared Impotence of one party The potent party Within five years after the marriage Cannot be ratified but action prescribes Serious- sexually transmitted disease The healthy party Within five years after marriage Cannot be ratified but action prescribes Legal Separation vs Annulment In legal separation, the marriage is not defective; in annulment, the marriage is defective. In legal separation, the grounds arise after the marriage; in annulment, the grounds must exist at the time of or before the marriage. In legal separation, the parties are still married to each other and cannot remarry; in annulment, the marriage is set aside and the parties can marry again. Grounds for legal separation ( Art 55) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child or a child of the petitioner; Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation; Attempt to corrupt the petitioner or child to engage in prostitution; Final judgment sentencing respondent to more than six years of imprisonment; Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism Lesbianism or homosexuality Contracting of one spouse of another marriage Sexual infidelity or perversion Attempt by one spouse against the life of the other Abandonment of one spouse by the other for more than one year
Article 56 (Defenses in legal separation) Condonation Consent Connivance Mutual guilt Collusion Prescription Note : An action for legal separation shall be filed within five years from the time of the occurrence of the cause. (Article 57)
Article 63 (Effects of Legal Separation) The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but the marriage bonds shall not be severed; The absolute community or the conjugal partnership shall be dissolved and liquidated but the offending spouse shall have no right to any share of the net profits earned by the absolute community or the conjugal partnership; The custody of the minor children shall be awarded to the innocent spouse; and, The offending spouse shall be disqualified from inheriting from the innocent spouse by intestate succession. Article 65 (Effects of reconciliation) Reconciliation means resumption of cohabitation and marital relations; It is a bilateral act requiring the common consent of the spouses, express or implied; Mere friendly relations between the spouses, without actual living together as before, is not sufficient to constitute reconciliation; and, After reconciliation, if one of the spouses commits another act constituting a ground for legal separation, the innocent spouse can file another action for legal separation based on the new ground. Article 68 , 69, 71 and 72 (Rights and obligations between husband and wife) To live together To observe mutual love, respect and fidelity To render mutual help and support The spouses are jointly responsible for the support of the family. The management of the household shall be the right and duty of both spouses. When one of the spouses neglects his or her duties to the conjugal union or commits acts which tend to bring danger, dishonor or injury to the other or the family, the aggrieved party may apply to the court for relief.
Article 149 The family is the foundation of the nation. Being the foundation of the nation, the family is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family relations are governed by law. No custom, practice or agreement destructive of the family shall be recognized or given effect. Article 150 Family relations include those: Between husband and wife; Between parents and children; Among other ascendants and descendants; Among brother and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood. Article 151 No suit between members of the same family shall prosper unless it should appear from the verified complaint or petition that earnest efforts toward a compromise have been made but that the same have failed. If it is shown that no such efforts were in fact made, the case must be dismissed. Paternity and filiation Paternity is the civil status of the father with respect to the child. Maternity is the civil status of the mother with respect to the child. Filiation is the status of the child in relation to the father or the mother. Sometimes, it is used to indicate paternity or maternity as well.
Kinds of paternity or filiation Natural- the relation between parent and child arising from nature or from the childs birth. Artificial- the relation that arises between parent and child by fiction of law or in imitation of nature, as in adoption. Kinds of children Legitimate- one conceived or born during a valid marriage of the parents or within lawful wedlock. Illegitimate- one conceived and born outside a valid marriage or outside lawful wedlock. Legitimated- one who is originally illegitimate but later considered legitimate by legal fiction because of the subsequent marriage of the parents who at the time of the childs conception had no legal impediment to marry each other. Article 164 (children by artificial insemination) The artificial insemination is made on the wife, not on another woman. The artificial insemination of the wife is done with the sperm of the husband or of a donor or both. The artificial insemination has been authorized or ratified by the spouses in a written instrument executed and signed by them before the birth of the child. The written instrument is recorded in the civil registry together with the birth certificate of the child. Article 172 (Proof of filiation) The record of the birth appearing in the civil register or a final judgment; An admission of legitimate filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument and signed by the parent concerned; The open and continuous possession of the status of a legitimate child; and, Any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws. Article 174 (Rights of legitimate children) To bear the surname of the father and the mother; To receive support from their parents, the ascendants and in proper cases from the brothers and sisters; To be entitled to the legitime and other successional rights granted to them by the Civil Code. Article 176 Illegitimate children shall have the following rights: To use the surname of their mother or of their father with the consent of the latter; To support in conformity with the Family Code; To the legitime,which of that of a legitimate child and other successional rights Article 194 (Concept of support) Support consists of everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation in keeping with financial capacity of the family. Education includes schooling or training for some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation includes expenses in going to and from school or to and from ones place of work. Kinds of support Natural- limited to what is absolutely indispensable for subsistence or the bare necessities Civil- that which accords with the social position or standing of the family Legal- that which is required to be given by law Judicial- that which is required to given by court order Voluntary or conventional by way of contract or will Characteristics of support Purely personal, as it is founded on personal necessity; Instransmissible or non-assignable as it is personal and needed for survival; Not subject to attachment or execution by creditors; Never fixed as it is subject to adjustment depending on the means of the giver and the needs of the recipient; Reciprocal on the part of those who are by law bound to support each other; Demandable from the time it is needed, although payable only from the time of demand, extrajudicial or judicial; Demandable even if the recipient is beyond the age of majority, as long as it is needed and the obligor has the capacity to give support; and, Demandable even if the recipient is already married, as long as it is needed and the obligor is in a position to give support.