Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209)
The essential requisites for a valid marriage are: (1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and (2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (Article 2)
Marriages may be solemnized by: (1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction; (2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized and registered; (3) Any ship captain or airplane chief in specific cases; (4) Any military commander during military operations without a chaplain; and (5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in accordance with the law. (Article 7)
The following marriages are void ab initio: (1) Those contracted by parties below eighteen years old; (2) Those solemnized by a person not legally authorized unless in good faith belief; (3) Those solemnized without license except certain cases; (4) Bigamous or polygamous marriages; (5) Those contracted through mistake of identity; (6) Subsequent marriages void under Article 53. (Article 35)
Marriage may be annulled on these grounds existing at the time of marriage: (1) One party aged 18-21 married without parental consent; (2) Unsoundness of mind; (3) Consent obtained by fraud; (4) Consent obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence; (5) Physical incapacity to consummate marriage; (6) Presence of serious and incurable sexually transmissible disease. (Article 45)
Effects include: (1) Spouses live separately but marriage bond not severed; (2) Absolute community or conjugal partnership dissolved and liquidated with forfeiture of net profits for offending spouse; (3) Custody of minor children awarded to innocent spouse; (4) Offending spouse disqualified to inherit and revocation of wills and donations in his favor. (Article 63)
In the absence of a marriage settlement, or when the agreed regime is void, the system of absolute community of property as established in the Family Code shall govern. (Article 75)
Excluded properties include: (1) Property acquired during marriage by gratuitous title; (2) Property for personal and exclusive use excluding jewelry; (3) Property acquired before marriage by either spouse who has legitimate descendants by a former marriage and its fruits/income. (Article 92)
Parents shall care for and rear their unemancipated children for civic consciousness and moral, mental, physical development; support, educate, and instruct them; provide love, affection, counsel; protect their health; supervise activities; represent children legally; and impose discipline as required by law. (Article 209, 220)
Adoption makes the adopted child the legitimate child of the adopters with reciprocal rights and obligations; parental authority of natural parents terminates except if adopter is spouse of natural parent, in which case it is exercised jointly; adopted shall inherit intestate from adopters and natural relatives per prescribed rules. (Articles 189, 190)
Children conceived or born through artificial insemination of the wife with sperm of the husband or donor are legitimate provided both parents authorized or ratified in writing before birth. Impugning legitimacy requires proving mistake, fraud, violence, intimidation, or undue influence in such authorization. (Articles 164, 166)