Family Code of the Philippines: Marriage and Family Law

Law Summary

Essential Requisites of Marriage

Legal capacity of contracting parties, who must be a male and a female.
Consent freely given in presence of the solemnizing officer.

Formal Requisites of Marriage

Authority of the solemnizing officer.
Valid marriage license, except in specified cases.
Marriage ceremony with personal appearance, personal declaration before at least two witnesses.

Validity of Marriage

Absence of essential or formal requisites renders marriage void ab initio (from the beginning), except specific circumstances.
Defects in essential requisites render marriage voidable.
Irregularities in formal requisites do not affect validity but responsible parties are liable.

Age and Capacity to Marry

Parties must be at least 18 years old and free from impediments.

Marriage Solemnization

Marriage need not follow prescribed form or religious rite but must include personal appearance and declaration before two witnesses.
Special provisions for marriages in articulo mortis (point of death).

Authorized Solemnizing Officers

Judiciary members, authorized religious ministers registered civil servants, ship captains, airplane pilots, military commanders under specific conditions, and Philippine consuls abroad.

Place of Solemnization

Public solemnization in designated places like court chambers, churches, consular offices, or other place upon joint written request.

Marriage License Procedures

Issuance by local civil registrar where either party resides.
Application requirements include personal information, civil status, family background.
Presentation of birth or baptismal certificates or alternatives in case of unavailability.
Particulars on dissolutions of prior marriages needed if applicable.
Parental consent and advice requirements for parties aged 18 to 25.
Mandatory counseling certificates to be attached in cases requiring parental consent or advice.
Public notice of marriage license applications for 10 days and mechanisms for reporting impediments.
No fee except legally prescribed; license valid 120 days.
Special regulations for foreign nationals and Filipinos abroad.

Marriage Certificate and Registration

Certificate to include detailed information like ages, citizenship, license details, consent, advice compliance, and settlements.
Solemnizing officer to transmit duplicates to local registrar within 15 days.
Registrar maintains registry and administers oaths.

Validity of Foreign Marriages

Marriages validly celebrated abroad under foreign laws valid in the Philippines except prohibited cases.
Filipino spouses of foreign nationals who obtained divorce abroad may remarry.

Marriages Exempted from License

Marriages in articulo mortis, in remote areas without transportation, Muslims or ethnic cultural marriages according to custom, or cohabitants living as husband and wife for at least 5 years may wed without license under specific protocols and affidavits.

Void and Voidable Marriages

Void marriages include underage parties, unauthorized solemnization (with good faith exception), lack of license except exemptions, polygamous/bigamous marriages, identity mistake, and prohibited subsequent marriages.
Psychological incapacity renders marriage void.
Incestuous marriages void from beginning.
Specific void marriages void for public policy violations.
Actions for nullity have no prescriptive period; annulment actions have specified prescription periods.
Grounds for annulment include lack of consent, unsound mind, fraud, force, incapacity to consummate, or serious transmissible disease.
Legal remedies include actions for nullity, annulment with duties to prevent collusion, and custody/support arrangements during litigation.

Legal Separation Grounds and Effects

Grounds include physical violence, coercion, corruption attempts, imprisonment, addiction, homosexuality, bigamy, infidelity, attempts on life, abandonment.
Petitions denied under condonation, consent, connivance, or prescription reasons.
Effects include dissolution of conjugal partnership, separate living, custody to innocent spouse, and disinheritance rights.
Reconciliation terminates separation proceedings but property separation may persist unless revived.

Rights and Obligations Between Husband and Wife

Obligations to live together, mutual love, respect, fidelity, help, and support.
Joint responsibility for family support, with expenses charged to community or separate properties.
Household management duties shared.
Right to exercise profession without consent but objections valid on serious grounds.

Property Relations Between Spouses

Governed by marriage settlements, then this Code, then local customs.
Possible regimes: absolute community, conjugal partnership of gains, complete separation, or others as agreed.
Modifications must be before marriage.
Donations by reason of marriage defined and regulated.
Absolute community: community property includes all acquired during marriage except specific exclusions.
Community liable for family support, debts benefiting family, taxes, preservation of properties, education expenses, and litigation expenses.
Losses in gambling not chargeable to community.
Administration of community property joint but husband's decision prevails in disagreement subject to wife's legal remedy.
Disposition without consent or court authority is void but may become binding upon acceptance.
Community dissolved on death, legal separation, annulment, or judicial separation of property with liquidation procedures outlined.
Conjugal partnership of gains: common fund of earned or acquired property with equal division of net gains unless agreed otherwise.
Rules similar to absolute community for administration and dissolution.
Separation of property may be judicially ordered or voluntary; causes include civil interdiction, absence, abuse, abandonment, or separation in fact.
Property regimes formalities include registration and respect to creditors.

Property of Unions without Marriage

Property acquired thereby owned in common shares unless evidence shows otherwise.
Presumptions on contributions and consequences on disposition.
Forfeiture of bad faith party's share under certain conditions.

Family as Social Institution

Family protected as basic social institution; customs or agreements destructive of family disallowed.
Family relations include those between spouses, parents and children, ascendants and descendants, and siblings.
Requirement to attempt compromise in suits between family members.

Family Home Provisions

Defined as dwelling and land where family resides.
Deemed constituted when occupied and exempt from execution except in specified cases.
Beneficiaries include spouse, unmarried head of family, and dependent relatives residing therein.
Limit on value for exemption from execution.
Sale or encumbrance requires consent of majority of adult beneficiaries.
Continued protection post death of spouses for specified periods.

Paternity and Filiation

Legitimate children are those conceived/born in wedlock, including authorized artificial insemination.
Illegitimate children defined and rights specified.
Proof of filiation, causes to impugn legitimacy, and effects.
Legitimation by subsequent valid marriage with retroactive effects.

Adoption

Adopter must have capacity and means; minors generally adopted.
Restrictions on adopters include convictions, guardians pending account, and nationality under conditions.
Consent rules for adoption specified.
Effects include legitimation, transfer of parental authority, and inheritance.
Grounds and procedure for judicial rescission of adoption are stated.

Support Obligations

Support includes sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical, education, transportation.
Obligors include spouses, ascendants, descendants, siblings.
Proportional liability and priority of support defined.
Support during legal separation or annulment proceeds from community/conjugal properties.
Legal remedies for unjust refusal.

Parental Authority

Jointly exercised by both parents; father prevails in disagreement unless court orders otherwise.
Authority includes upbringing, protection, representation, discipline, and property management.
Substitute parental authority rules specified.
Suspension, deprivation, and termination grounds defined.
Courts may impose disciplinary measures.

Emancipation and Age of Majority

Majority at 21 years generally; emancipation also by marriage or recorded agreement.
Emancipation terminates parental authority.
Annulment of marriage or recorded agreement revives parental authority.

Summary Judicial Proceedings

Summary proceedings for family law matters set for expeditious resolution without technicalities.
Procedures for separation in fact and parental authority cases detailed.
Jurisdiction and notification requirements specified.

Final Provisions

Repeals conflicting laws and provisions.
Invalid provisions do not affect validity of other parts.
Retroactive effect without prejudice to vested rights.
Effective one year after publication.