Voidable marriage

- Considered valid and produces all its civil effects until set aside by final judgment of a competent court in an
action for annulment.

Consequence
- Children are legitimate if conceived or born before the finality of the judgment of annulment
- Property relations of the spouses during the period of cohabitation is ACP, CPG or complete separation of
property

Defect/ground for Ratification Prescription of action for

annulment annulment Who may file
Free cohabitation (with Person whose
the other) by the party (a) prior to the party attaining 21
Lack of parental consent is needed
consent entitled to seek
annulment after attaining (b) if no action is filed, within 5 Person whose
age 21 years after attaining 21 consent is needed
1. insane spouse
after gaining sanity
or lucid interval
2. the sane spouse if
he or she was not
Free cohabitation (with Must be filed during the lifetime of aware of the other's
Insanity the other) by the insane the parties
after coming to reason insanity at the time
of celebration of
marriage
3. any relative or
person having legal
charge of the insane
Free cohabitation (with
Fraud the other) by the injured within 5 years from its discovery victim
party after gaining full
knowledge of fraud
Free cohabitation (with
Vitiation of consent the other) by the injured within 5 years from its discovery victim
party after the ground
disappeared

if impostency is
incurable, not subject to
impotence/affliction ratification within 5 years from the celebration
with STD if STD is serious and of marriage injured party
incurable, not subject to
ratification
 Art. 45. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at the time of
the marriage:

(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was eighteen
years of age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage was solemnized without the
consent of the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority over the
party, in that order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabited
with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;

(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason, freely
cohabited with the other as husband and wife;

(3) That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards,
with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as
husband and wife;

(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence,
unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely cohabited with
the other as husband and wife;

(5) That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other,
and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable; or

(6) That either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious
and appears to be incurable. (85a)

Art. 46. Any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in Number 3
of the preceding Article:

(1) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a crime
involving moral turpitude;

(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant
by a man other than her husband;

(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the
time of the marriage; or

(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism

existing at the time of the marriage.

No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity shall

constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage. (86a)

Grounds for annulment of voidable marriage

Lack of parental consent

- Father, mother, surviving parent or guardian or persons having legal discharge – in that order
- If below 21 is illegitimate, only the mother’s consent is required; IC under parental authority of the mother

Insanity
 - Marriage is voidable WON the sane spouse is aware of the existence of such insanity

Consent obtained thru Fraud

- What constitutes fraud
1. Non-dosclosure of previous conviction
a. Requisites
i. Previous conviction by final judgment
ii. Crime must involve moral turpitude
iii. Fact was not disclosed prior to or at least during, the celebration of marriage

2. Concealment of pregnancy by a man other than the husband

a. Requisites
i. Wife pregnant at the time of celebration of marriage
ii. Such pregnancy was by another man
iii. Same was concealed from the husband at the time of the celebration of marriage

3. Concealment of STD
a. Requisites
i. Either party was afflicted with STD at the time of the celebration of the marriage, regardless of
its nature (may or may not be incurable)
ii. Same was concealed from the other party at the time of the celebration of the marriage

4. Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, homosexuality or lesbianism

a. Requisites
i. Existence of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, homosexuality or lesbianism, regardless of its
nature, at the time of the celebration of the marriage, regardless of its nature
ii. Same was concealed from the other party at the time of the celebration of the marriage
• It is the concealment of homosexuality and not homosexuality per se that vitiates consent of the innocent
party and such concealment presupposes bad faith and intent to defraud the other party in goving consent to
the marriage
• ENUMERATION EXCLUSIVE AS TO WHAT CONSTITUTE FRAUD for the purpose of making the marriage
annullable

Consent obtained thru Force, Intimidation or Undue Influence

Requisites for Duress (Violence and Intimidation)
i. It must be the determining cause of the contract
j. It must be unjust or unlawful
k. It must be serious or grave; and
l. Must have produced a reasonable and well-grounded fear from the fact that the person who employed it
has the necessary means to inflict the threatened injury
• A threat to enforce one’s claim through competent authority, if the claim is just or legal does not vitiate
consent

Either party was Physically incapable of Consummating the Marriage (Impotence)

- Refers to inability to perform the act of sexual intercourse, not sterility or the inability to procreate
- Incapacity to consummate denotes the permanent disability on the part of the spouses to perform the
complete act of sexual intercourse
- Requisites
i. Incapacity must be existing at the time of marriage
ii. It continues up to the time of filing pettion for annulment
iii. It appears to be incurable
iv. Unknown to the injured party at the time of the marriage
- The law presumes potency. But if the wife remains a virgin after three years of cohabitation, the husband will
be presumed impotent under the doctrine of triennial cohabitation

Either party was afflicted with STD which is serious and incurable
- Requisites
i. The STD must have existed at the time of the marriage
 ii. It is unknown to the injured party
iii. The injured party himself or herself was
iv. not afflicted with the disease of the same nature
v. It must be serious or incurable

STD in 45 (6) STD in 46 (3)

Ground for annulment is the existence Ground for annulment is concealment
of STD of STD
Required to be serious Regardless of nature

Effect of Annulment Decree

- Termination of the marital bond but the former spouses must comply with the reqts of Art. 52 of the FC if any
of them wishes to remarry.
o Recording of the following in the appropriate civil registry
▪ Judgment of annulment or of absolute nullity of the marriage
▪ Partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses
▪ Delivery of the children’s presumptive legitime

Art. 52. The judgment of annulment or of absolute nullity of the marriage, the
partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses and the delivery of the
children’s presumptive legitimes shall be recorded in the appropriate civil registry
and registries of property; otherwise, the same shall not affect third persons.

o Failure to comply with Art. 52 will render the subsequent marriage void

Art. 53. Either of the former spouses may marry again after compliance with the
requirements of the immediately preceding Article; otherwise, the subsequent marriage
shall be null and void.

- Children of the terminated marriage are considered legitimate, if conceived or born prior to the finality of
judgment of annulment
o Parental authority and custody shall be exercised by the parent designated by the Court
o Child is below 7, the law presumes that the mother is the best custodian
▪ Unless the court finds compelling reason to deprive her custody

Art. 54. Children conceived or born before the judgment of annulment or absolute nullity of
the marriage under Article 36 has become final and executory shall be considered
legitimate. Children conceived or born of the subsequent marriage under Article 53 shall
likewise be legitimate

Art. 50. The effects provided for by paragraphs (2), (3), (4) and (5) of Article 43 and by Article
44 shall also apply in the proper cases to marriages which are declared ab initio or annulled
by final judgment under Articles 40 and 45.

The final judgment in such cases shall provide for the liquidation, partition and distribution
of the properties of the spouses, the custody and support of the common children, and the
delivery of third presumptive legitimes, unless such matters had been adjudicated in previous
judicial proceedings.

All creditors of the spouses as well as of the absolute community or the conjugal partnership
shall be notified of the proceedings for liquidation.
 In the partition, the conjugal dwelling and the lot on which it is situated, shall be adjudicated
in accordance with the provisions of Articles 102 and 129.

Art. 43. The termination of the subsequent marriage referred to in the preceding Article shall
produce the following effects:

XXX

(2) The absolute community of property or the conjugal partnership, as the case may be,
shall be dissolved and liquidated, but if either spouse contracted said marriage in bad faith,
his or her share of the net profits of the community property or conjugal partnership property
shall be forfeited in favor of the common children or, if there are none, the children of the
guilty spouse by a previous marriage or in default of children, the innocent spouse;

(3) Donations by reason of marriage shall remain valid, except that if the donee contracted
the marriage in bad faith, such donations made to said donee are revoked by operation of
law;

(4) The innocent spouse may revoke the designation of the other spouse who acted in bad
faith as beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if such designation be stipulated as
irrevocable; and

(5) The spouse who contracted the subsequent marriage in bad faith shall be disqualified
to inherit from the innocent spouse by testate and intestate succession. (n)

- Dissolution and liquidation of the ACP, CPG as the case may be (Art. 50 in relation to Art. 43 (2)).
o XPN: if either party contracted marriage in BF, his or her share in net profits shall be forfeited in
favor of
▪ Common children
▪ In default thereof, children of the guilty spouse by a previous marriage
▪ In default thereof, the innocent spouse

- Effect on Donation propter nuptias

o GR: donation propter nuptias shall remain valid
o XPN: if the done acted in bad faith, the donor may revoke the donation
o The donation is revocable at the instance of the donor, even in the absence of a judgment of
annulment if the marriage if voidable by reason of lack of parental consent
- Innocent spouse may revoke the designation of the other spouse who acted in bad faith as beneficiary in the
insurance policy
- The spouse who contracted the marriage in BF shall be disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse by
testate or intestate succession

Art. 48. In all cases of annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of marriage, the Court
shall order the prosecuting attorney or fiscal assigned to it to appear on behalf of the
State to take steps to prevent collusion between the parties and to take care that evidence
is not fabricated or suppressed.

In the cases referred to in the precesing paragraph, no judgment shall be based upon a
stipulation of facts or confession of judgment.
The Authority of the SolGen to intervene and take part in the proceedings for annulment and declaration of nullity of
marriages before the RTC and on appeal to higher courts is now expressly recognized.

- The Public Prosecutor is required to intervene in annulment and petition for declaration of nullity of void
marriages in order to prevent collusion between the parties and to ensure that evidence is not fabricated or
suppressed
- The court order to the prosecutor for the investigation of whether collusion exists between the parties must be
made before the trial could proceed and not after the trial on the merits had already been had.
LEGAL SEPARATION

Art. 55. A petition for legal separation may be filed on any of the following grounds:

(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner,
a common child, or a child of the petitioner;

(2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or
political affiliation;

(3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child
of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement;

(4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years,
even if pardoned;

(5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;

(6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;

(7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the

Philippines or abroad;

(8) Sexual infidelity or perversion;

(9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or

(10) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one
year.

For purposes of this Article, the term “child” shall include a child by nature or by adoption.
(9a)

Defenses in Legal Separation

• Condonation
• Consent
• Connivance
• Collusion
• Mutual guilt or recrimination or when both parties gave ground for legal separation
• Prescription

Condonation
Given after the offense is committed. It is in
the nature of conditional forgiveness of a
matrimonial offense which would be a
ground for legal separation
Consent
It is given in advance or prior to the
commission of the act which would be a
ground for legal separation

Connivance Collusion
It implies an agreement, express or implied, by both
spouses to the ground for legal separation
Implies an agreement between the parties for one of
them to commit or to appear to commit, ot to be
represented in court as having committed a
matrimonial offense or suppress evidence of a valid
defense, for the purpose of enabling the other to obtain a
legal separation