AMALIA PLATA v. HON.

NICASIO YATCO
GR No. L-20825, December 28, 1964

TOPIC: What is excluded from CPG (c) Acquired by

Redemption/exchange, FC 109(3)

FACTS:
LUIS LIM v. ISABEL GARCIA
GR No. 2904, January 11. 1907
TOPIC: What is excluded from CPG (c) Acquired by
Redemption/exchange, FC 109(3)
FACTS:
 Hilario Lim died intestate in 1903 leaving his widow, Isabel
Garcia, 9 children and an interest in an estate valued at
P50,000.
 The trial court said that the entire estate as shown in the
inventory prepared by the administrator, Luis Lim, was
conjugal property except the following:
o house and lot on Calle Magallanes, Zamboanga and the
sum of P10,000
 both brought by the deceased to the marriage
o P700 which is the purchase price paid by the deceased
for a certain lot
 had been brought into his marriage and was sold in
the course of the administration of his estate together
with the improvements made during the period of
coverture
 Petitioner and children of deceased contend that the
properties should not be treated as the property of conjugal
partnership
o REASON: deceased brought to the marriage property
worth more than double the amount of the intestate
estate and the widow brought nothing to the conjugal
partnership either at the time of marriage and any time
after
 Trial court upheld its opinion because the evidence was not
sufficient to overcome the presumption established I Art
1407 of the CC: “all the estate of the married couple will be
considered as conjugal partnership property (bienes
gananciales) unless and until it is proven that it is a part of
the separate estate of the husband or the wife”
ISSUE: W/N the properties left by the deceased are separate
property of the husband.
DECISION: Properties left by the deceased are conjugal
property.
RATIO:
 The Court agrees with the trial court that evidence was not
sufficient to support the contention against Art. 1407.
 The records shows that costs to construct the buildings in
the lot purchased were derived from the conjugal partnership
funds and was in accordance to Art 1404: “the buildings
erected during coverture on land belonging to one of the
married couple will be considered as conjugal partnership
property, after allowing the owner of the land the value
thereof."
 Out of all the errors raised by Luis Lim, the Court discussed
the error by the trial court regarding the three parcels of land
in the name of Isabel Garcia which is part of her separate
estate.
o Evidence shows that the lands in question were
conveyed to her by a third party in exchange of the
property she inherited from her father during the
coverture thus it is part of her separate property under
Article 1396: “property acquired by exchange for other
property belonging separately to one of the married
couple is the separate property of the owner of the
property for which it is exchanged.”
o The trial court speaks of the property as dowry but such
was not shown in the record. Nevertheless, the court
excluded the three parcels of land from the inventory of
the property of the deceased which was to be distributed
among his legitimate heirs.