Void, Voidable Marriage and Legal Separation.pptx

Void, Voidable Marriage and Legal Separation.pptx

1. Void and Voidable Marriage, and Legal Separation Reporters: Caceres, Clinton Esperon Elopre, Catherine Tawagon Israel, France Sweden Enciso Huelgas, Cherish Mesoga

2. Legal Separation is a legal remedy for couples suffering from a problematic marriage. In legal separation, the couple is allowed to live apart and separately own assets. However, legally separated couples are not permitted to remarry, since their marriage is still considered valid and subsisting.

3. LEGAL SEPARATION 2 Kinds of Divorces Absolute Divorce – marriage is dissolved Relative Divorce / Legal Separation – marriage is not dissolved but merely separated from bed and board.

4. RULES FOR ABSOLUTE DIVORCE UNDER THE CIVIL CODE AND THE FAMILY CODE NOTE: absolute divorce has already been abolished under the New Civil Code IF THE ACTION IS BROUGHT HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES Between Filipinos – will NOT prosper Between foreigners – will NOT prosper Between a Filipino and foreigner – will NOT prosper

5. IF THE ACTION IS BROUGHT IN A FOREIGN COURT Between Filipinos – will NOT be recognized here even if allowed by said foreign court and even if the ground be either adultery on the part of the wife or concubinage on the part of the husband. Between foreigners – foreign decree will be RECOGNIZED here only if these two conditions concur: Foreign court has jurisdiction to grant the absolute divorce If said divorce is valid according to their national law or law of their domicile Between a Filipino and a Foreigner – if obtained by a foreigner and valid according to his national/personal law, it is valid for both foreigner and Filipino

6. DIVORCE MUSLIM CODE – the only law in the Philippines that allows domestic divorce - the Muslim code recognizes divorce in marriages between Muslims, and mixed marriages wherein only the male party is a Muslim and the marriage is solemnized in accordance with the Muslim law.

7. LEGAL SEPARATION – the couple is allowed to live apart separately with their own assets. - However, legally separated couples are not permitted to remarry since their marriage is still considered valid and subsistin g.

8. LEGAL SEPARATION vs. SEPARATION OF PROPERTY

9. ARTICLE 55 – GROUNDS FOR LEGAL SEPARATION Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation; 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; Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if pardoned; Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;

10. ARTICLE 55 – GROUNDS FOR LEGAL SEPARATION Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent; Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad; Sexual Infidelity or perversion; Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year.

11. NOTE! For purposes of this Article, the term child shall include a child by nature or by adoption. Mere preponderance of evidence, not guilt beyond reasonable doubt, will suffice to prove the existence of any of the grounds. Sexual Infidelity includes adultery and concubinage

12. Effect of Institution of a Criminal Action. Ex. A and B are husband and wife respectively. B, the wife sues for legal separation on the ground of concubinage and during the pendency of the suit, she files a criminal charge of concubinage. What will happen to the civil action? The civil action should be SUSPENDED until after final judgment is rendered in the criminal case inasmuch as her cause of action for legal separation arises from the crime of concubinage.

13. GANDIONCO, petitioner, vs. PEÑARANDA ISSUE : Whether or not a civil case for legal separation can proceed pending the resolution of the criminal case for concubinage? FACTS : Private respondent, the legal wife of the petitioner, filed a complaint against petitioner for legal separation, on the ground of concubinage, with a petition for support and payment of damages. Private respondent also filed a complaint against petitioner for concubinage. In this recourse, petitioner contends that the civil action for legal separation and the incidents consequent thereto, such as, application for support pendente lite, should be suspended in view of the criminal case for concubinage filed against him the private respondent.

14. RULING : YES. In view of the amendment under the 1985 Rules of Criminal Procedure, a civil action for legal separation arising from concubinage, may proceed ahead of, or simultaneously with the criminal action because such civil action is not one “to enforce the civil liability arising from the offense even if both civil and criminal actions arises from the same offense. Such civil action is intended to obtain the right to live separately with the legal consequences thereof, such as the dissolution of conjugal property of gains, custody of offsprings, support and disqualification from inheriting from the innocent spouse. DOCTRINE : A decree of legal separation may be issued upon proof by preponderance of evidence. No criminal proceeding or conviction is necessary.

15. Duty of the Court o It is the court’s duty to take the necessary steps toward the reconciliation of the spouses before granting the legal separation. NOTE: The court should be fully satisfied that such reconciliation is highly improbable.

16. ACTION IS PERSONAL IN NATURE An action for legal separation between spouses is purely personal. Being personal in nature, it follows that the death of one party causes the death of the action itself. · CONVICTION IS NOT NECESSARY BEFORE LEGAL SEPARATION MAY PROSPER A decree on legal separation on the ground of concubinage may be issued upon a proof of preponderance of evidence. No criminal proceedings or convictions is necessary.

17. Sy vs. Eufemio ISSUE : Whether or not the death of the plaintiff before final decree, in an action for legal separation, abate the action? FACTS : Carmen O. Lapuz Sy filed a petition for legal separation against Eufemio S. Eufemio, when her husband abandoned her and that she discovered her husband cohabiting with a Chinese woman named Go Hiok, thus she prayed for the issuance of a decree of legal separation. But before the trial could be completed petitioner Carmen O. Lapuz Sy died in a vehicular accident. Respondent Eufemio moved to dismiss the "petition for legal separation"1 on two (2) grounds, namely: that the petition for legal separation was filed beyond the one-year period provided for in Article 102 of the Civil Code; and that the death of Carmen abated the action for legal separation. The counsel for deceased petitioner moved to substitute the deceased Carmen by her father, Macario Lapuz in which the counsel for Eufemio opposed.

18. RULING: YES. An action for legal separation which involves nothing more than the bed-and-board separation of the spouses (there being no absolute divorce in this jurisdiction) is purely personal. The Civil Code of the Philippines recognizes this in its Article 100, by allowing only the innocent spouse (and no one else) to claim legal separation; and in its Article 108, by providing that the spouses can, by their reconciliation, stop or abate the proceedings and even rescind a decree of legal separation already rendered. Being personal in character, it follows that the death of one party to the action causes the death of the action itself. A further reason why an action for legal separation is abated by the death of the plaintiff, even if property rights are involved, is that these rights are mere effects of decree of separation, their source being the decree itself; without the decree such rights do not come into existence, so that before the finality of a decree, these claims are merely rights in expectation. If death supervenes during the pendency of the action, no decree can be forthcoming, death producing a more radical and definitive separation; and the expected consequential rights and claims would necessarily remain unborn.

19. ARTICLE 56 – GROUNDS FOR THE DENIAL OF PETITION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION Where the aggrieved party has condoned the offense or act complained of; Where the aggrieved party has consented to the commission of the offense or act complained of; Where there is connivance between the parties in the commission of the offense or act constituting the ground for legal separation; Where both parties have given ground for legal separation; Where the collusion between the parties to obtain the decree of legal separation; or Where the action is barred by prescription.

20. DEFENSE IN LEGAL SEPARATION CONDONATION – It means forgiveness, express or implied. • Ex. Sleeping together after full knowledge of the offense is condonation. -It comes after, not before the offense. -Implied condonation may come in the form of voluntary sexual intercourse after knowledge of the cause. -

21. NOTE! Each sexual intercourse of the wife outside marriage is a separate act of adultery. Therefore, condonation of one act does not necessarily imply condonation of the others. Where the wife left the conjugal home after the adulterous acts were discovered, the fact that the husband did not actively search for her is not condonation. It was not the duty of the husband to search for the wife under the circumstances. On the contrary, hers was the duty to return to the conjugal home.

22. BUGAYONG vs. GINEZ ISSUE : Whether or not adultery was condoned by the husband? FACTS : Plaintiff Benjamin Bugayong, a serviceman for the US Navy, was married to defendant Leonila Ginez however, a two years after their marriage, Bugayong received letters informing him of his wife’s infidelity. He went home to look for his wife and slept with her for 2 nights and 1 day as husband and wife. He then asked his wife if those accusations of marital infidelity are true, but then she left without answering the question leaving Bugayong with the assumption that those accusations were true. Bugayong then filed for legal separation but it was dismissed based on the grounds of condonation.

23. RULING : YES. Article 100 of the civil code states that “legal separation may be claimed only by the innocent spouse, provided there has been no condonation of or consent to the adultery or concubinage. The act of the husband in persuading her to come along with him, and the fact that she went with him and consented to be brought to the house of his cousin Pedro Bugayong and together they slept as husband and wife for 2 night and 1 day, all these facts have no other meaning in the opinion of this court than that a reconciliation between them was effected and that there was a condonation of the wife by the husband. The reconciliation occurred almost ten months after he came to know of the acts of infidelity amounting to adultery. Although no acts of infidelity might have been committed by the wife, the SC agrees with the trial judge that the conduct of the husband, despite his belief that his wife was unfaithful, deprives him, as alleged the offended spouse, of any action for legal separation against the offending wife, because his said conduct comes within the restriction of Article 100 of the Civil Code.

24. CONSENT - this may be express or implied Sample case: A and B are husband and wife. Later on, B abandoned A and lived with C. A did nothing to interfere with the relations between his wife and her paramour. He even went to Hawaii and abandoned his wife for 7 years. Later on, A returned and charged B and C with adultery. Is B guilty of adultery? NO, B should be acquitted because A’s action implies an implied consent by not doing anything.

25. Sample Case: A and B had a mutual agreement that they could live with another person and have carnal knowledge of them without interference from each other. Due to this agreement, the husband lived with another woman and was prosecuted for concubinage. Is he guilty? NO, he is not guilty in view of the consent of his wife.

26. 1. The court does not legalize the agreement between the spouses, the agreement between them is still null and void because it is against the law and contrary to public morals. However, since the woman consented to such an agreement, she is undeserving of our sympathy. 2. Consent and condonation are not the same. Consent is used as an alternative to condonation. CONSENT is PRIOR to the act, CONDONATION comes AFTER. condonation

27. Consent must be distinguished from entrapment .

28. MUTUAL GUILT -Both parties being in “pari delicto”( in equal fault) -There is no offended spouse who deserves to bring an action -There is no pari delicto if one of the spouses can prove that he/she did not desecrate the home.

29. COLLUSION -This is an agreement whereby one will have to pretend to have committed the ground relied upon. A legal separation obtained through collusion is VOID. Ex. A and B were legally married however, they are already tired of each other. They agreed to have A pretend to have committed sexual infidelity OR admit that A is gay, in order to acquire legal separation.

30. ARTICLE 57 – AN ACTION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION SHALL BE FILED WITHIN 5 YEARS FROM THE TIME OF THE OCCURRENCE OF THE CAUSE. ARTICLE 58 – AN ACTION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION SHALL IN NO CASE BE TRIED BEFORE SIX MONTHS SHALL HAVE ELAPSED SINCE THE FILING OF THE PETITION.

31. Illustration: A decided to file a legal separation case against his wife B. If the case was filed around June, the trial will only start around December, which is 6 months after the filing of the case. The reason behind this is to enable the parties to cool-off for a possible reconciliation.

32. NOTE : Even if there is a cooling off period of 6 months, it does not remove / overrule other provisions such as custody, alimony and support. Article 58 is inapplicable in cases under RA 9262 (VAWC)

33. SAMOSA-RAMOS vs. VAMENTA Jr. ISSUE : Whether or not Article 103 bars the issuance of a writ for preliminary mandatory injunction over properties? FACTS Petitioner Lucy filed civil case against respondent Clemente Ramos for legal separation, on the grounds of concubinage on the respondent's part and an attempt by him against her life being alleged. She likewise sought the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction to reclaim what is supposedly her exclusive property which is presently managed by his husband Clemente Ramos. However, such motion cannot be heard since it will be a violation of Article 103 of the Civil Code which states the prohibition of any action before the lapse of six months. Further, the respondent judge added that if he will hear the motion, the prospect of reconciliation between the spouses will become even more dim, thus this petition for certiorari.

34. RULING NO. Article 103 does not bar the court from hearing questions regarding property management between spouses. Article 103 provides that the husband shall continue to manage the conjugal partnership property but if the court deems it proper, it may appoint another to manage said property. This is enough basis for allowing the court to resolves issues regarding management of property even before the six-month period has been lifted. DOCTRINE The six-month cooling off period from the filing of the legal separation does not bar resolution of issues regarding management of properties.

35. ARTICLE 59 – NO LEGAL SEPARATION MAY BE DECREED UNLESS THE COURT HAS TAKEN STEPS TOWARD THE RECONCILIATION OF THE SPOUSES AND IS FULLY SATISFIED, DESPITE SUCH EFFORTS, THAT RECONCILIATION IS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE.

36. ARTICLE 60 – NO DECREE OF LEGAL SEPARATION SHALL BE BASED UPON A STIPULATION OF FACTS OR A CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT. IN ANY CASE, THE COURT SHALL ORDER THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY OR FISCAL ASSIGNED TO IT TO TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT COLLUSION BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND TO TAKE CARE THAT THE EVIDENCE IS NOT FABRICATED OR SUPPRESSED

37. The law requires proof, not mere stipulation of facts or a confession of judgment. The proof may either be direct or circumstantial evidence. The case may still prosper even if the defendant does not appear.

38. ARTICLE 61 – AFTER THE FILING OF THE PETITION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION, THE SPOUSES SHALL BE ENTITLED TO LIVE SEPARATELY FROM EACH OTHER. THE COURT, IN THE ABSENCE OF A WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SPOUSES, SHALL DESIGNATE EITHER OF THEM OR A THIRD PARTY TO ADMINISTER THE ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OR CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP PROPERTY. THE ADMINISTRATOR APPOINTED BY THE COURT SHALL HAVE THE SAME POWERS AND DUTIES AS THOSE OF A GUARDIAN UNDER THE RULES OF COURT. Note: The spouses can live separately after the filing of the petition for legal separation, but they are not required to do so.

39. ARTICLE 62 – DURING THE PENDENCY OF THE ACTION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION, THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 49 SHALL LIKEWISE APPLY TO THE SUPPORT OF THE SPOUSES AND THE CUSTODY AND SUPPORT OF THE COMMON CHILDREN. NOTE: Just like in annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage, Article 49 shall likewise apply to support and custody

40. Art. 49. During the pendency of the action and in the absence of adequate provisions in a written agreement between the spouses, the Court shall provide for the support of the spouses and the custody and support of their common children. The Court shall give paramount consideration to the moral and material welfare of said children and their choice of the parent with whom they wish to remain as provided to in Title IX. It shall also provide for appropriate visitation rights of the other parent

41. • ARTICLE 63 – THE DECREE OF LEGAL SEPARATION SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING EFFECTS: 1. The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but the marriage bonds shall not be severed; 2. The absolute community or the conjugal partnership shall be dissolved and liquidated but the offending spouse shall have no right to any share of the net profits earned by the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, which shall be forfeited in accordance with the provisions of Article 43;

42. 3.) The custody of the minor children shall be awarded to the innocent spouse, subject to the provisions of Article 213 of this code, and 4.) The offending spouse shall be disqualified from inheriting from the innocent spouse by intestate succession. Moreover, provisions in favor of the offending spouse made in the will of the innocent spouse shall be revoked by operation of law.

43. Explanation: Continued existence of marriage a.) Neither party can have a paramour b.) The married couple CANNOT INSIST on sexual intercourse with each other. C.) Even if the wife be the one guilty, she may continue using her maiden name

44. Custody of the Minor Children a.) Is generally given to the innocent spouse Disqualification from Testate and Intestate Succession a.) The guilty spouse cannot inherit from the innocent spouse

45. ARTICLE 64 – AFTER THE FINALITY OF THE DECREE OF LEGAL SEPARATION, THE INNOCENT SPOUSE MAY REVOKE THE DONATIONS MADE BY HIM OR BY HER IN FAVOR OF THE OFFENDING SPOUSE, AS WELL AS THE DESIGNATION OF THE LATTER AS A BENEFICIARY IN ANY INSURANCE POLICY, EVEN IF SUCH DESIGNATION BE STIPULATED AS IRREVOCABLE. THE REVOCATION OF THE DONATIONS SHALL BE RECORDED IN THE REGISTRIES OF PROPERTY IN THE PLACES WHERE THE PROPERTIES ARE LOCATED. ALIENATIONS, LIENS, AND ENCUMBRANCES REGISTERED IN GOOD FAITH BEFORE THE RECORDING OF THE COMPLAINT FOR THE REVOCATION IN THE REGISTRIES OF PROPERTY SHALL BE RESPECTED. THE REVOCATION OR OF CHANGE IN THE DESIGNATION OF THE INSURANCE BENEFICIARY SHALL TAKE EFFECT UPON WRITTEN NOTIFICATION THEREOF TO THE INSURED. THE ACTION TO REVOKE THE DONATION UNDER THIS ARTICLE MUST BE BROUGHT WITHIN FIVE YEARS FROM THE TIME THE DECREE OF LEGAL SEPARATION HAS BECOME FINAL.

46. Article 65 If the spouses should reconcile, a corresponding joint manifestation under oath duly signed by them shall be filed with the court in the same proceeding for legal separation. Article 66 The reconciliation referred to in the preceding Articles shall have the following consequences: (1) The legal separation proceedings, if still pending, shall thereby be terminated at whatever stage; and (2) The final decree of legal separation shall be set aside, but the separation of property and any forfeiture of the share of the guilty spouse already effected shall subsist, unless the spouses agree to revive their former property regime. The court's order containing the foregoing shall be recorded in the proper civil registries.

47. Article 67 The agreement to revive the former property regime referred to in the preceding Article shall be executed under oath and shall specify: (1) The properties to be contributed anew to the restored regime; (2) Those to be retained as separated properties of each spouse; and (3) The names of all their known creditors, their addresses and the amounts owing to each.

48. The agreement of revival and the motion for its approval shall be filed with the court in the same proceeding for legal separation, with copies of both furnished to the creditors named therein. After due hearing, the court shall, in its order, take measure to protect the interest of creditors and such order shall be recorded in the proper registries of properties. The recording of the ordering in the registries of property shall not prejudice any creditor not listed or not notified, unless the debtor-spouse has sufficient separate properties to satisfy the creditor's claim.

49. Thank you very much!