Case Digest (G.R. No. 41278)
Facts:
People Bank and Trust Co. v. The Register of Deeds for the City of Manila, G.R. No. 41278, May 25, 1934, the Supreme Court, Imperial, J., writing for the Court (Malcolm, Villa-Real, Hull, and Goddard, JJ., concur).
The petitioner-appellant, People Bank and Trust Co., sought registration of an instrument titled "Agreement and Declaration of Trust" executed on October 26, 1933 by Dominga Angeles (the grantor), who was married to Manuel Sandoval but living separate and apart from him. The trust conveyed three parcels of paraphernal land (TCT No. 21661), including two buildings in Manila, to the bank as trustee for purposes of subdivision and sale; the trustee was authorized to redeem an existing mortgage by granting a P10,000 loan and to collect rents from the property while lots remained unsold.
The instrument was presented to the Register of Deeds for the City of Manila for registration and was refused. The People Bank and Trust Co. brought the matter in consulta before the Court of First Instance of Manila, which on January 5, 1934, sustained the register of deeds' refusal and denied registration. The trial court reasoned that, under Arts. 1385 and 1401(3) of the Civil Code, the fruits of the paraphernal property belonged to the conjugal partnership, whose management fell to the husband under Art. 1412; because the husband did not consent to the trust, the instrument was void and not registrable.
On appeal to this Court, the bank argued (inter alia) that amendment under Act No. 3922 to Art. 1387 of the Civil Code removed the need for marital consent in this context. The Court of First Instance's judgment was brought to the S...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the trustee's authority to collect rents under the "Agreement and Declaration of Trust" convert the grantor-wife's administrative act into a disposition of conjugal partnership property requiring the husband's consent and thus justify denial of registration?
- Does the absence of the husband's marital consent render the instrument null and void such that it cannot be registered, or is it merely voidable and therefore registrable ab...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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