Law, Life, and Love

Article 394. Without prejudice to the provision of the preceding article, upon the opening of a succession to which an absentee is called, his share shall accrue to his coheirs, unless he has heirs, assigns, or a representative. They shall all, as the case may be, make an inventory of the property. (196a) Article 395. The provisions of the preceding article are understood to be without prejudice to the action of petition for inheritance or other rights which are vested in the absentee, his representatives or successors in interest. These rights shall not be extinguished save by lapse of time fixed for prescription. In the record that is made in the Registry of the real estate which accrues to the co-heirs, the circustance of its being subject to the provisions of this article shall be stated. These Articles are related to the rules on succession. As a rule, if an absentee is called upon to inherit, his share shall accrue to his co-heirs. An example in Article 394 is: If a man, ...

Chapter 2 DECLARATION OF ABSENCE Article 384. Two years having elapsed without any news about the absentee or since the receipt of the last news, and five years in case the absentee has left a person in charge of the administration of his property, his absence may be declared.  Under this Article, the absence of a person may be declared under the following circumstances: a.) Two years have elapsed without any news about the absentee; b.)  Two years have elapsed since the receipt of the last news about the absentee; c.) Five years in case the absentee has left a person in charge of the administration of his property.  There is a distinction in the kinds of absence, as follows: a. Absence without administrator; and b. Absence with administrator For the former, only two (2) years' time would be sufficient to elapse before a declaration of absence can be made. In the latter, the period is five (5) years. The reason for the lo...

The change of name under judicial authorization is governed by Rule 103 of the Rules of Court. Section 1 of the said Rule provides that "A person desiring to change his name shall present the petition that the petition to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of the province in which he resides, or in the City of Manila, to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court." The State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification. The change of one's name or surname is not a matter of right but is a privilege; therefor, before a person can be authorized to change his or her name that may have been given to him either in his birth or civil registry, he must show proper or reasonable cause, or any compelling reason which may justify such change. Otherwise it shall be denied. In oder to be able to change his or her surname, the same must be with judicial authority. There must be sufficient grounds to one's surname or name, like: 1. ...

Chapter 3. Incidents Involving Parental Authority Art. 249. Petitions filed under Articles 223, 225 and 235 of this Code involving parental authority shall be verified. (n) We note that verification is required here. Art. 250. Such petitions shall be verified and filed in the proper court of the place where the child resides. (n) Verified petitions falling under Articles 223, 225, and 235 are filed in the RTC of the place where the child resides. As already adverted to, Article 235 has been repealed by RA 6809.  Art. 251. Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall notify the parents or, in their absence or incapacity, the individuals, entities or institutions exercising parental authority over the child. (n) The parents, or in their absence or incapacity, individuals, entities, or institutions exercising parental authority over the child be notified by the court upon filing the petition. Art. 252. The rules in Chapter 2 hereof shall also gov...

Chapter 2. Substitute and Special Parental Authority Art. 216. In default of parents or a judicially appointed guardian, the following person shall exercise substitute parental authority over the child in the order indicated: (1) The surviving grandparent, as provided in Art. 214; (2) The oldest brother or sister, over twenty-one years of age, unless unfit or disqualified; and (3) The child's actual custodian, over twenty-one years of age, unless unfit or disqualified. Whenever the appointment or a judicial guardian over the property of the child becomes necessary, the same order of preference shall be observed. (349a, 351a, 354a) The persons  enumerated above,  in that order, may exercise substitute parental authority over the minor child.  Parents are never deprived of the care and custody of their children except for a cause. The law leans toward the authority of parents over their children and raises a strong presumption that the welfare of the chil...

TITLE IX: PARENTAL AUTHORITY Chapter 1. General Provisions Art. 209. Pursuant to the natural right and duty of parents over the person and property of their unemancipated children, parental authority and responsibility shall include the caring for and rearing them for civic consciousness and efficiency and the development of their moral, mental and physical character and well-being. (n) Parental authority is otherwise known as 'patria potestas' and is the sum total of the rights of parents over the person and property of their children until their majority age or emancipation and even after this certain circumstances. (2 Manresa 8) Under the present concept of parental authority, the right of the parents to the company and custody of their children is but ancillary to the proper discharge of duties to provide the children with adequate support, education, moral, intellectual, and civic training and development. Thus, while our law recognizes the rights of a parent t...

(1) The spouse; (2) The descendants in the nearest degree; (3) The ascendants in the nearest degree; and (4) The brothers and sisters. (294a) This speaks of the order of liability in matters of support.  Since the obligation to support certain rests primarily upon the requirements of human nature and the ties created by family relations, it is only logical that the obligation should first be imposed upon those who are closely related to the recipient and it is only in default of those nearer based on the degree of relationship that those who are more remote are called upon to discharge the obligation. Thus, a rich brother/sister will not be obliged to give support if he proves that the father has enough means to give support. References: Civil Code of  the Phils . Annotated 16th Edition by Edgardo Paras Family Code of  the Phils . 2017th Edition by Ed Vincent S. Albano

(1) Legitimate and illegitimate children and descendants and the surviving spouse of the adopted shall inherit from the adopted, in accordance with the ordinary rules of legal or intestate succession;(2) When the parents, legitimate or illegitimate, or the legitimate ascendants of the adopted concur with the adopter, they shall divide the entire estate, one-half to be inherited by the parents or ascendants and the other half, by the adopters; (3) When the surviving spouse or the illegitimate children of the adopted concur with the adopters, they shall divide the entire estate into equal shares, one-half to be inherited by the spouse or the illegitimate children of the adopted and the other half, by the adopters. (4) When the adopters concur with the illegitimate children and the surviving spouse of the adopted, they shall divide the entire estate into equal shares, one-third to be inherited by the illegitimate children, one-third by the surviving spouse, and one-third by the adopt...

Article 182. Legitimation may be impugned only by those who are prejudiced in their rights, within five (5) years from the time their cause of action accrues. (275a) This is done by those prejudiced in their rights within 5 years from the time their cause of action accrues. The term 'rights' generally  refers to successional rights. The persons who can be prejudiced in their rights by the process of conferring someone all rights of a legitimate child are the legal heirs of the parents. The cause of action to impugn the legitimation accrues only upon the death of the parents of the legitimated child because it is only at that time when the successional rights to the legitime will be vested. Even an adopted child can be a prejudiced heir not only of his/her adopter but also of his/her parents in case a child of the said parents is legitimated. Again, why would the legitimate children be considered as the 'prejudiced' in their rights? As an illegitimate ch...

Art. 174. Legitimate children shall have the right: (1) To bear the surnames of the father and the mother, in conformity with the provisions of the Civil Code on Surnames;(2) To receive support from their parents, their ascendants, and in proper cases, their brothers and sisters, in conformity with the provisions of this Code on Support; and (3) To be entitled to the legitimate and other successional rights granted to them by the  Civil Code . (264a) In the law of surnames, it is provided that "legitimate and legitimated children shall principally use the surname of the father" (Art. 364) but the mother's surname may also be used (Art. 174, FC), and it would not be improper to include the surnames of grandparents and other ascendants. This is so because the law uses the phrase "shall have the right" to bear the surname of the father. It is more of a right, but is not a duty on his part to bear the surname of the father. Before the Civil Code, if a fathe...

Art. 96. The administration and enjoyment of the community property shall belong to both spouses jointly. In case of disagreement, the husband’s decision shall prevail, subject to recourse to the court by the wife for proper remedy, which must be availed of within five years from the date of the contract implementing such decision. In the event that one spouse is incapacitated or otherwise unable to participate in the administration of the common properties, the other spouse may assume sole powers of administration. These powers do not include disposition or encumbrance without authority of the court or the written consent of the other spouse. In the absence of such authority or consent, the disposition or encumbrance shall be void. However, the transaction shall be construed as a continuing offer on the part of the consenting spouse and the third person and may be perfected as a binding contract upon the acceptance by the other spouse or authorization by the court before the offer ...

TITLE VI PATERNITY AND FILIATION CHAPTER 1. LEGITIMATE CHILDREN Art. 163. The filiation of children may be by nature or by adoption. Natural filiation may be legitimate or illegitimate. (n) Art. 164. Children conceived or born during the marriage of the parents are legitimate. Children conceived as a result of artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of the husband or that of a donor or both are likewise legitimate children of the husband and his wife, provided, that both of them authorized or ratified such insemination in a written instrument executed and signed by them before the birth of the child. The instrument shall be recorded in the civil registry together with the birth certificate of the child. (55a, 258a) While paternity is the civil status relationship of the father [mother] to the child, filiation is the civil status or relationship of the child to the father or mother. There are two (2) classifications of  filiation which is filiation by nat...

Art. 160. When a creditor whose claims is not among those mentioned in Article 155 obtains a judgment in his favor, and he has reasonable grounds to believe that the family home is actually worth more than the maximum amount fixed in Article 157, he may apply to the court which rendered the judgment for an order directing the sale of the property under execution. The court shall so order if it finds that the actual value of the family home exceeds the maximum amount allowed by law as of the time of its constitution. If the increased actual value exceeds the maximum allowed in Article 157 and results from subsequent voluntary improvements introduced by the person or persons constituting the family home, by the owner or owners of the property, or by any of the beneficiaries, the same rule and procedure shall apply. At the execution sale, no bid below the value allowed for a family home shall be considered. The proceeds shall be applied first to the amount mentioned in Article 157, a...

Section 4. Ownership, Administrative, ENJOYMENT AND DISPOSITION OF THE COMMUNITY PROPERTY Art. 96 . The administration and enjoyment of the community property shall belong to both spouses jointly. In case of disagreement, the husband’s decision shall prevail, subject to recourse to the court by the wife for proper remedy, which must be availed of within five years from the date of the contract implementing such decision. In the event that one spouse is incapacitated or otherwise unable to participate in the administration of the common properties, the other spouse may assume sole powers of administration. These powers do not include disposition or encumbrance without authority of the court or the written consent of the other spouse. In the absence of such authority or consent, the disposition or encumbrance shall be void. However, the transaction shall be construed as a continuing offer on the part of the consenting spouse and the third person and may be perfected as a binding ...

Art. 148. In cases of cohabitation not falling under the preceding Article, only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions. In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to be equal. The same rule and presumption shall apply to joint deposits of money and evidence of credit. If one of the parties is validly married to another, his or her share in the co-ownership shall accrue to the absolute community or conjugal partnership existing in such a valid marriage. If the party who acted in bad faith is not validly married to another, his or hers shall be forfeited in the manner provided in the last paragraph of the preceding Article. The foregoing rules on forfeiture shall likewise apply even if both parties are in bad faith. (144a)  If any of the requirements under Articl...