1. What is Family home and how is it constituted?

It is the dwelling house where the husband and wife and their family reside, and the land
on which it is situated. It is constituted jointly by the husband and the wife or by an unmarried
head of a family (Art 152)
The FH shall continue despite the death of one or both spouses or of the unmarried head
of the family for a period of 10 years or for as long as there is a minor beneficiary and the heirs
cannot partition the same unless the court finds compelling reasons therefor. This rule shall apply
regardless of whoever owns the property or constituted the FH (FC, Art. 159). (2010 BAR)
Constitution of Family Home (FH)
The FH is deemed constituted on a house and lot from the time it is occupied as a family
residence FC, (Art. 153).

Guidelines in the constitution of the Family Home

1. FH is deemed constituted from the time of actual occupation as a family residence;
2. Only 1 FH may be constituted;
3. Must be owned by the person constituting it;
4. Must be permanent;
5. Same rule applies to both valid and voidable marriages and even to common law spouses; (FC,
Arts. 147 and 148)
6. It continues despite death of one, both spouses, or an unmarried head of the family for 10
years or as long as there is a minor beneficiary (FC, Art 159).

Limitations on Family Home

1. Each family can have only one FH. After one FH has been constituted, no other FH can be
established without first dissolving the existing one.
2. FH can be constituted only on the dwelling place, and therefore in the locality where the
family has its domicile.
3. The value of the FH must not exceed the limit fixed by law (Tolentino, 2013).

2. Rules on the use of Surname

Rule with regard to the use of surname by a SURNAME TO BE USED

child who is (1) legitimate, (2) legitimated,
(3) adopted and (4) illegitimate CHILD
CONCERNED
Legitimate Father’s
Legitimated
Natural child acknowledged by both parents
Natural children by legal fiction
Natural child acknowledged by only one Recognizing Parent
parent
Adopted Adopter’s
Illegitimate Mother’s or Father’s if requisites of R.A. 9255 are
complied with
NOTE: An illegitimate child shall have the "option"
to use the surname of the father in the following
instances:
1. If his/her filiation has been expressly recognized
by the father through the record of birth appearing
in the civil register; or
2. When an admission of paternity is made by the
father in a public document or private handwritten
instrument (Art. 176, FC, as amended by RA 9255).

Under the amendatory provisions of RA 9255, the

use of the illegitimate father's surname is
PERMISSIVE and not obligatory (Rabuya, 2009).

Conceived prior to annulment of marriage Father

Conceived after to annulment of marriage Mother

Rule with regard to the use of surname of a SURNAME TO BE USED

married woman FACTUAL
CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE WIFE
Valid marriage (before husband dies)
NCC, Art. 370 1. First name and maiden name (Her maiden first
name and surname (FC, Art. 370).) + husband’s
surname
2. First name + husband’s surname
3. Husband’s full name + prefix indicating that
she is his wife (e.g. Mrs.)
4. Retain the use of her maiden name

*Use of husband’s surname is not a duty but

merely an option for the wife
Marriage is Annulled Wife is the guilty Shall resume using her maiden name
(NCC, Art. 371) party

Wife is the innocent party Choices:

1. Resume using her maiden name
2. Continue using husband’s surname

Unless:
a. Court decrees otherwise;
b. She or the former husband is married again to
another person
Legally Separated Wife shall continue using the name and surname
(NCC, Art. 372) employed by her prior to the legal separation.

Widowed Spouse She may use the deceased’s husband’s surname as

(NCC, Art. 373) though he is still living.

Divorced (at least if they allow it later or for Choices same as widowed spouse.
those who got divorced during the Japanese
occupation)

Grounds for change of name which have been held valid

1. One has Continuously used and been known since childhood by a Filipino name and was
unaware of alien parentage;
2. The change results as a Legal consequence, as in legitimation;
3. There is a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of former alienage, all in good
faith and without prejudicing anyone;
4. The change will avoid confusion;
5. The new first name or surname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner
and is publicly known by that first name or nickname (Pineda, 2010).
6. The name is:
a. Ridiculous,
b. Extremely difficult to write or pronounce,
c. Dishonorable.
3. Rules on funeral

General Guidelines:
1. Duty and right to make arrangements in funerals in accordance with Art. 199, FC:
a. Spouse;
b. Descendants in the nearest degree;
c. Ascendants in the nearest degree;
d. Brothers and sisters.

NOTE: In case of descendants of the same degree, or of brothers and sisters, the oldest shall be
preferred.
In case of ascendants, the paternal shall have a better right (NCC, Art. 305).
2. Funeral shall be:
a. In keeping with the social position of the deceased;
b. In accordance with the expressed wishes of the deceased;
c. In absence of the expressed wishes, his religious beliefs or affiliation shall determine;
d. In case of doubt, the form of funeral is to be decided upon by the person obliged to make
arrangements for the same, after consulting the other members of the family (NCC, Art. 307).

3. Any person who:

a. Shows disrespect to the dead, or
b. Wrongfully interferes with a funeral shall be liable to the family of the deceased for damages,
material and moral (NCC, Art. 309).
4. Funeral expenses are chargeable against the property of the deceased. However, if the
deceased is one of the spouses, they are chargeable against the conjugal partnership property
(NCC, Art. 310).
4. Distinguish inter country adoption and domestic adoption (Tabular) See page 85 of
Notes

Dictinction Between Domestic Adoption Act INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION ACT (R.A.

and Inter-country Adoption Act DOMESTIC 8043)
ADOPTION ACT (R.A. 8552)
Governing body DSWD Inter-country Adoption Board
(ICAB)
When may adoption be Adoption need not be the last Adoption only as last resort:
resorted to resort No child shall be matched to
a foreign adoptive family
unless it is satisfactorily
shown that the child cannot
be adopted locally (Sec. 11).
Who may adopt
1. Any FILIPINO CITIZEN 1. FILIPINO CITIZEN
(regardless of where residing) permanently residing abroad
may file an application for
a. Of legal age; inter-country adoption of a
Filipino child if he/she:
b. At least sixteen (16) years
older than the adoptee, (may a. Is at least twenty-seven
be waived when the adopter (27) years of age;
is the biological parent of the
adoptee, or is the spouse of b. At least sixteen (16) years
the adoptee’s parent; older than the child to be
adopted, at the time of
c. In possession of full civil application unless the adopter
capacity and legal rights; is the parent by nature of the
child to be adopted or the
d. Of good moral character, spouse of such parent
has not been convicted of any
crime involving moral c. Has the capacity to act and
turpitude, emotionally and assume all rights and
psychologically capable of responsibilities of parental
caring for children; and authority under his national
laws, and has undergone the
e. Who is in a position to appropriate counseling from
support and care for his/her an accredited counselor in
children in keeping with the his/her country;
means of the family.
d. Has not been convicted of
2. Any ALIEN possessing the a crime involving moral
same qualifications as above turpitude;
stated for Filipino nationals,
Provided;
a. That he/she has been living
in the Philippine for at least
three (3) continuous years
prior to the filing of the
application for adoption and
maintains such residence
until the adoption decree is
entered;
b. That his/her country has
diplomatic relations with the
Republic of the Philippines;
c. He/she has been certified
by his/her diplomatic or
consular office or any
appropriate government
agency that he/she has the
legal capacity to adopt in
his/her country;
d. That his/her government
allows the adoptee to enter
his/her country as his/her
adopted son/daughter; and
e. That the requirements on
residency and certification to
adopt in his/her country may
be WAIVED for the
following:
i. A former Filipino citizen
who seeks to adopt a relative
within the fourth (4th) degree
of consanguinity or affinity;
or
ii. One who seeks to adopt
the legitimate son/daughter of
his/her Filipino spouse; or
e. Is in a position to provide
the proper care and support to
give the necessary moral
values and example to all his
children including the child
to be adopted;
f. If married, his/her spouse
must jointly file for the
adoption;
g. Is eligible to adopt under
his/her national law;
h. Agrees to uphold the basic
rights of the child as
embodied under Philippine
laws, the U.N. Convention on
the Rights of the Child and to
abide by the rules and
regulations issued to
implement the provisions of
this Act;
i. Comes from a country with
whom the Philippines has
diplomatic relations and
whose government maintains
a similarly authorized and
accredited agency and that
adoption is allowed under
his/her national laws; and
j. Possesses all the
qualifications and none of the
disqualifications provided
herein and in other applicable
Philippine laws.
2. ALIEN with above
qualifications
 iii. One who is married to a
Filipino citizen and seeks to
adopt jointly with his/her
spouse a relative within the
fourth (4th) degree of
consanguinity or affinity of
the Filipino spouse.

3. The GUARDIAN with

respect to the ward after the
termination of the
guardianship and clearance of
his/her financial
accountabilities (Sec. 7).

Who may be adopted

a. Any person below eighteen
(18) years of age who has
been administratively or
judicially declared available
for adoption;
b. The legitimate
son/daughter of one spouse
by the other spouse;
c. An illegitimate
son/daughter by a qualified
adopter to improve his/her
status to that of legitimacy;
d. A person of legal age if,
prior to the adoption, said
person has been consistently
considered and treated by the
adopter(s) as his/her own
child since minority;
e. A child whose adoption
has been previously
rescinded; or
f. A child whose biological or
adoptive parent(s) has died:
Provided, That no
proceedings shall be initiated
within six (6) months from
the time of death of said
parent(s)(Sec. 8).
a. Filipino children [Sec.
3(a)];
b. Below 15 years of age
[Sec. 3(b)]; and
c. Who are legally free,
meaning children who have
been voluntarily or
involuntarily committed to
the DSWD [Sec. 3(f) and
Sec. 8)].
NOTE:IRR of 2004 adds
that: Any child who has been
voluntarily or involuntarily
committed to the Department
as dependent, abandoned or
neglected pursuant to the
provisions of the Child and
Youth Welfare Code may be
the subject of Inter-Country
Adoption xxx (Sec. 26).
Venue Petition for adoption shall be
filed with Family Court of
the province or city where the
prospective adoptive parents
reside (Rule on Adoption,
Sec. 6).
Trial Custody Takes place in the
Philippines
Either with the Philippine
RTC having jurisdiction over
the child, or with the Inter-
country Board through an
intermediate agency, in the
country of the adoptive
parents (Sec. 10).
IRR of 2004 provides that:
Application shall be filed
with the Board or the Central
Authority or the Foreign
Adoption Agency in the
country where the applicant
resides. In case of foreign
nationals who file petition for
adoption under RA 8552 or
Domestic Adoption Law, the
Court after finding petition to
be sufficient in form and
substance and proper case for
inter-country adoption shall
immediately transmit the
petition to the board for
appropriate action (Sec. 30).
Where adoptive parents
reside
Rescission Only upon petition of No provision limiting act of
adoptee, never by adopters rescission only to adoptee. In
(Sec.19). IRR, the procedure is
provided for when adoption
process is terminated:
SECTION 47. DISRUPTION
AND TERMINATION OF
PLACEMENT. - In the event
of serious damage in the
relationship between the
child and the applicant/s
where the continued
placement of the child is not
in his/her best interests, the
Central Authority and/or the
FAA shall take the necessary
measures to protect the child,
in particular, to cause the
child to be withdrawn from
the applicant/s and to arrange
for his/her temporary care.
The Central Authority and/or
FAA shall exhaust all means
to remove the cause of the
unsatisfactory relationship
which impedes or prevents
the creation of a mutually
satisfactory adoptive
relationship. A complete
report should be immediately
forwarded to the Board with
actions taken as well as
recommendations and
appropriate plans. Based on
the report, the Board may
terminate the pre-adoptive
relationship.
SEC. 48. NEW
PLACEMENT FOR CHILD.
In the event of termination of
the pre-adoptive relationship,
the Board shall identify from
the Roster of Approved
Applicants a suitable family
with whom to place the child.
The Central Authority and/or
 the FAA may also propose a
replacement family whose
application shall be filed for
the approval of the Board. No
adoption shall take place until
after the Board has approved
the application of such
replacement family.

5. Provide: Purpose, entries and probative values of civil register – See Act no. 3753

Purpose:
Section 1. Civil Register. – A civil register is established for recording the civil status of
persons, in which shall be entered: (a) births; (b) deaths; (c) marriages; (d) annulments of
marriages; (e) divorces; (f) legitimations; (g) adoptions; (h) acknowledgment of natural children;
(i) naturalization; and (j) changes of name.

Entries:
Section 4. Civil Register Books. – The local registrars shall keep and preserve in their
offices the following books, in which they shall, respectively make the proper entries concerning
the civil status of persons:
1. Birth and death register;
2. Marriage register, in which shall be entered not only the marriages solemnized but also
divorces and dissolved marriages.
3. Legitimation, acknowledgment, adoption, change of name and naturalization register.
Section 5. Registration and Certification of Birth. – The declaration of the physician or midwife
in attendance at the birth or, in default thereof, the declaration of either parent of the newborn
child, shall be sufficient for the registration of a birth in the civil register. Such declaration shall
be exempt from the documentary stamp tax and shall be sent to the local civil registrar not later
than thirty days after the birth, by the physician, or midwife in attendance at the birth or by either
parent of the newly born child.
In such declaration, the persons above mentioned shall certify to the following facts: (a) date and
hour of birth; (b) sex and nationality of infant; (c) names, citizenship, and religion of parents or,
in case the father is not known, of the mother alone; (d) civil status of parents; (e) place where
the infant was born; (f) and such other data may be required in the regulation to be issued.
In the case of an exposed child, the person who found the same shall report to the local civil
registrar the place, date and hour of finding and other attendant circumstances.
In case of an illegitimate child, the birth certificate shall be signed and sworn to jointly by the
parents of the infant or only the mother if the father refuses. In the latter case, it shall not be
permissible to state or reveal in the document the name of the father who refuses to acknowledge
the child, or to give therein any information by which such father could be identified.
Any fetus having human features which dies after twenty four hours of existence completely
disengaged from the maternal womb shall be entered in the proper registers as having been born
and having died.
Probative Value
Section 13. Documents registered are public documents. – The books making up the civil
register and all documents relating thereto shall be considered public documents and be prima
facie evidence of the truth of the facts therein contained. They shall be open to the public during
office hours and shall be kept in a suitable safe which shall be furnished to the local civil
registrar at the expense of the general fund of the municipality concerned. The local registrar
shall not under any circumstances permit any document entrusted to his care to be removed from
his office, except by order of a court, in which case the proper receipt shall be taken. The local
civil registrar may issue certified copies of any document filed, upon payment of the proper fees
required in this Act.