NOTES: Persons and Family relations

As of September 23 - Friday

Unions without Marriage

Article 147
Unions contemplated:
1. The man and the woman must have capacity to marry each other.
2. The man and the woman cohabit.
3. The cohabitation is exclusive.
4. The man and the woman are not married to each other or are married to each other but the marriage is
void.
Forfeiture Occurs only after the termination of cohabitation.
Valdez v RTC
Presumption properties acquired during the cohabitation are prima facie presumed to have been
acquired through their joint efforts, work or industry.
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Party who did not participate in the acquisition by the other party of any property shall be deemed to
have contributed jointly in the acquisition thereof if the forgers efforts consisted in the care and
maintenance of the family and of the household.

If the partner did not acquire the property directly, that partner's efforts must consist of the care and
maintenance of the family and of the household in order for such party to own 1/2 of the acquired
property.

Ocampo v Ocampo
Properties acquired during marriage are automatically presumed to be conjugal property unless judicially
proven and declared otherwise.
Burden of proof that the property is not a conjugal property falls on the party that claims it is not.

Unions not within Article 147

Article 148
Unions contemplated:
1. A man and a woman living together as husband and wife, without the benefit of marriage, and are
not capacitated to marry.
2. An adulterous relationship.
3. A bigamous or polygamous marriage.
4. An incestuous void marriage (under Article 37 of the Family Code).

5. Void marriages by reason of public policy (under Article 38 of the Family Code).

Only properties acquired by the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property or
industry shall be owned in common in proportion to their respective contributions.
Contributions and share of the parties to the properties acquired during the cohabitation are
equal.
Carino v Carino
The marriage of Yee and Cario falls under the Article 148 of the Family Code, which refers to the
property regime of bigamous or polygamous marriages, adulterous or concubinage relationships.
Yee cannot claim the benefits earned by the SPO4 as a police officer as her marriage to the deceased is
void due to bigamy. She is only entitled to the properties acquired with the deceased through their actual
joint contribution.
Wages and salaries earned by each party belong to him or her exclusively. Hence, they are not owned in
common by Yee and the deceased, but belong to the deceased alone and Yee has no right whatsoever to
claim the same. By intestate succession, the said death benefits of the deceased shall pass to his legal
heirs. And, Yee, not being the legal wife, is not one of them.
As regards to the first marriage, the marriage between Nicdao and SPO4 is null and void due to absence
of a valid marriage license. Nicdao can claim the death benefits by the deceased even if she did not
contribute thereto. Article 147 creates a co-ownership in respect thereto, entitling Nicdao to share onehalf of the benefits. As there is no allegation of bad faith in the first marriage, she can claim one-half of
the disputed death benefits and the other half to the deceased' to his legal heirs, by intestate succession.
Mercado v Mercado
SC held that any second marriage contracted shall be bigamous if contracted during the subsistence of a
first marriage that has not been judicially nullified.

Family as an Institution
Article 151
No suit between members of the same family shall prosper unless earnest efforts be made for
compromise, but the same has failed.
Once a stranger becomes party to a suit, the law no longer requires the precedent condition of earnest
efforts to compromise between members of the same family. (Hiyas savings and loans Bank v Acuna)
Magbaleta v Gonong
"Efforts to compromise" are not a jurisdictional prerequisite for the maintenance of an action whenever a
stranger to the family is a party thereto, whether as necessary or indispensable one.

An alien to the family may not be willing to suffer the inconvenience of, much less relish, the delay and
the complications that wrangling between and among relatives more often than not entail.

Esquivias v CA
Atty. Salvador S. Esquivias is not included in the enumeration of who are members of the same family,
as he is only a brother-in-law of respondents Jose and Elena by virtue of his marriage to their sister Alicia.
His relationship with respondents is based on affinity and not on consanguinity. Consequently,
insofar as he is concerned, he is a stranger with respect to the family of his wife and, as such, the
mandatory requirement of "earnest effort toward a compromise" does not apply to him.

Family home
Article 152-153
1. Each family can have only one family home. No other family home can be established without
first dissolving the existing one.
2. The family home can be constituted only on the dwelling place and therefore in the locality where
the family has its domicile.
3. The value of the family home must not exceed the limit fixed by law.
The family home shall be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment as long as any of its
beneficiaries actually reside therein.
The occupancy of the family home by its beneficiaries must be actual occupancy, that which actual is
something real or actually existing. (Manacop v CA)
Olivia de Mesa v Acero Jr.
The constitution of the family home is now automatic under the new Family Code as of the date August
3, 1988. There is no longer need to judicially constitute the Family Home prior to such date.
To constitute the family home, there must be actual occupancy with the intention of dedicating
the premises for such purpose. Cannot be constituted upon premises permanently used for business
purposes.
Exception:
Family residences built before August 3, 1988 however must have judicial declaration to be family homes to have
exceptions.

Cabang v Basay
Two sets of rules are applicable:
1. If the family home was constructed before the effectivity of the Family Code or before August 3, 1988
a. Constituted either judicially or extra-judicially as provided under Articles 225, 229-231 and 233
of the Civil Code.
b. Judicial constitution of the family home requires the filing of a verified petition before the courts
and the registration of the courts order with the Registry of Deeds of the area where the property
is located.
c. Extrajudicial constitution is governed by Articles 240 to 242 of the Civil Code and involves the
execution of a public instrument which must also be registered with the Registry of Property.
d. Failure to comply with either one of these two modes of constitution will bar a judgment debtor
from availing of the privilege.
2. Family homes constructed after the effectivity of the Family Code on August 3, 1988
a. There is no need to constitute extra judicially or judicially, and the exemption is effective from
the time it was constituted and lasts as long as any of its beneficiaries under Art. 154 actually
resides therein.
b. The family home should belong to the absolute community or conjugal partnership, or if
exclusively by one spouse, its constitution must have been with consent of the other, and its value
must not exceed certain amounts depending upon the area where it is located.

c. The debts incurred for which the exemption does not apply as provided under Art. 155 for which
the family home is made answerable must have been incurred after August 3, 1988.

There can be no question that a family home is generally exempt from execution, provided it was
dully constituted as such.
Family homes must be constituted on property owned by the persons constituting it.
It cannot be established on property owned by third persons.

Must be part of the properties of:

a. Absolute community property
b. Conjugal partnership of gains
c. Exclusive properties of either spouse with the latters consent

Beneficiaries of the Family Home

Article 154
Patricio v Dario
To be a beneficiary of the family home, three requisites must concur:

1. they must be among the relationships enumerated in Art. 154 of the Family Code
2. they live in the family home
3. and they are dependent for legal support upon the head of the family.
Article 155
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Annulment of marriage dissolves the family home.

The family home depends on the Husband and Wife, or the Single head of the family.

Article 158
Family home may be sold, alienated, donated, assigned, or encumbered by the owners.
Requirements:
1. the written consent of the person constituting it,
2. his/her spouse, and
3. majority of the beneficiaries of legal age.
4. If there is a conflict, the Court will decide.

Guide how to study:

What are the different property regimes?

What is the difference between Articles 147 and 148?
Who are members of the family? (Relate to Rule 16, Rules of Court)
What is a family home?
Who are the beneficiaries of the family home?
What are the exemptions to the execution of the family home?