1. True or False. The day after John and Marsha got married, John told her that he was impotent. Marsha continued to live with John for 2 years. Marsha is now estopped from filing an annulment case against John.
FALSE. Marsha is not estopped from filing an annulment case against John on the ground of his impotence, because she learned of his impotence after the celebration of the marriage and not before. Physical incapacity to consummate is a valid ground for the annulment of marriage if such incapacity was existing at the time of the marriage, continues, and appears to be incurable. The marriage may be annulled on this ground within five years from its celebration. (Art. 45 [5], Family Code)
2.) Emmanuel and Margarita, American citizens and employees of the U.S. State Department, got married in the African state of Kenya where sterility is a ground for annulment of marriage. Thereafter, the spouses were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Manila. On the first year of the spouses’ tour of duty in the Philippines, Margarita filed an annulment case against Emmanuel before a Philippine court on the ground of her husband’s sterility at the time of the celebration of the marriage. Assume Emmanuel and Margarita are both Filipinos. After their wedding in Kenya, they come back and take up residence in the Philippines. Can their marriage be annulled n the ground of Emmanuel’s sterility?
No, the marriage cannot be annulled under the Philippine law. Sterility is not a ground for annulment of marriage under Art. 45 of theFC.
3.) Yvette was found to be positive for HIV virus, considered sexually transmissible, serious and incurable. Her boyfriend Joseph was aware of her condition and yet married her. After two (2) years of cohabiting with Yvette, and in his belief that she would probably never be able to bear him a healthy child, Joseph now wants to have his marriage with Yvette annulled. Yvette opposes the suit contending that Joseph is estopped from seeking annulment of their marriage since he knew even before their marriage that she was afflicted with HIV virus. Can the action of Joseph for annulment of his marriage with Yvette prosper? Discuss fully.
No, Joseph knew that Yvette was HIV positive at the time of the marriage. He is, therefore, not an injured party. The FC gives the right to annul the marriage only to an injured party. [Art. 47 (5), FC]
4.) State whether the following marital unions are valid, void, or voidable, and give the corresponding justifications for your answer: (a) Ador and Becky’s marriage wherein Ador was afflicted with AIDS prior to the marriage. (b) Carlos’ marriage to Dina which took place after Dina had poisoned her previous husband Edu in order to free herself from any impediment in order to live with Carlos. (c) Eli and Fely’s marriage solemnized seven years after the disappearance of Chona, Eli’s previous spouse, after the plane she had boarded crashed in the West Philippine Sea. (d) David who married Lina immediately the day after obtaining a judicial decree annulling his prior marriage to Elisa. (e) Marriage of Zoren and Carmina who did not secure a marriage license prior to their wedding, but lived together as husband and wife for 10 years without any legal impediment to marry.
a. The marriage is voidable, because Ador was afflicted with a serious and incurable sexually-transmitted disease at the time of marriage. For a marriage to be annulled under Article 45(6), the sexually-transmissible disease must be:
1. Existing at the time of marriage;
2. Found to be serious and incurable; and
3. Unknown to the other party. Since Ador was afflicted with AIDS, which is a serious and incurable disease, and the condition existed at the time of marriage, the marriage is voidable, provided that such illness was not known to Becky.
b. The marriage of Carlos to Dina is void for reasons of public policy. Article 38(9) of the Family Code provides that marriage between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person’s spouse or his or her own spouse is void from the beginning for reasons of public policy.
c. The marriage is void under Article 35(4) in relation to Article 41 of the Family Code. The requisites of a valid marriage under Article 41 are as follows:
1) the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years, except when the disappearance is in danger of death which only requires two years;
2) the present spouse had a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead; and
3) the spouse present must institute a summary proceeding for declaration of presumptive death. There is nothing in the facts that suggest that Eli instituted a summary proceeding for declaration of presumptive death of her previous spouse and this cannot be presumed. Thus, the exception under Article 35(4) is inapplicable and the subsequent marriage is void.
d. The marriage is valid as there were no facts showing that David and Lina have properties and children, which would render the marriage void under Article 53 of the Family Code in relation to Article 52. In addition, David and Lina have no impediment to marry.
e. If Zoren and Carmina lived together as husband and wife for 10 years prior to their marriage, then the marriage is valid, despite the absence of the marriage license. An exception to the rule that a marriage shall be void if solemnized without license under Article 35(3) is that provided for under Article 34 of the Family Code. When a man and a woman have lived together as husband and wife for at least 5 years and without any legal impediment to marry each other, they may celebrate the marriage without securing a marriage license.
5.) Bert and Baby were married to each other on December 23, 1988. Six months later, she discovered that he was a drug addict. Efforts to have him rehabilitated were unsuccessful. Can Baby as for annulment of marriage, or legal separation? Explain.
No, Baby cannot ask for annulment of her marriage or for legal separation because both these actions had already prescribed.
While concealment of dug addition existing at the time of marriage constitutes fraud under Art. 46 of the FC which makes the marriage voidable under Art. 45 of the FC, the action must, however, be brought within 5 years from the discovery thereof under Art. 47(3), FC. Since the drug addiction of Bert was discovered by Baby in June 1989, the action had already prescribed in June of 1994.
Although drug addiction is a ground for legal separation under Art. 55(5) and Art. 57 of the FC requires that the action must be brought within 5 years from the occurrence of the cause. Since Bert had been a drug addict from the time of the celebration of the marriage, the action for legal separation must have been brought not later than 23 December 1993. Hence, Baby cannot, now, bring the action for legal separation.
6.) Under what conditions, respectively, may drug addiction be a ground, if at all: a. for a declaration of nullity ofmarriage b. for an annulment of the marriage contract, and c. for legal separation between the spouses?
(A) Declaration of nullity of marriage:
1. The drug addiction must amount to psychological incapacity to comply with the essential obligations of marriage;
2. It must be antecedent (existing at the time of marriage), grave and incurable;
3. The case must be filed before August 1, 1988. Because if they got married before August 3, 1998, it must be filed before August 1, 1998.
(B) Annulment of the Marriage Contract:
1. The drug addiction must be concealed;
2. It must exist at the time of marriage;
3. There should be no cohabitation with full knowledge of the drugaddiction;
4. The case is filed within five (5) years from discovery.
(C) Legal Separation:
1. There should be no condonation or consent to the drug addiction;
2. The action must be filed within five (5) years from the occurrence of the cause;
3. Drug addiction arises during the marriage and not at the time of marriage.
7.) B and G, age 20 and 19, respectively, and both single, eloped and got married to each other without parental consent in the case of G, a teenaged student of exclusive college for girls. Three years later, her parents wanted to seek judicial annulment on that ground. You were consulted and asked to prepare the proper complaint. What advice would you give G’s parents? Explain your answer.
G himself should file the complaint under Art. 45 of the Family Code, and no longer the parents, because G is already 22 years of age.
8.) Is there any law which allows the delivery to compulsory heirs of their presumptive legitimes during the lifetime of their parents? If so, in what instances?
Yes, under Arts. 51 and 52 of the New Family Code, in case of legal separation, annulment of marriage, declaration of nullity of marriage and the automatic termination of a subsequent marriage by the reappearance of the absent spouse, the common or community property of the spouses shall be dissolved and liquidated.
Art. 51. In said partition, the value of the presumptive legitimes of all common children, computed as of the date of the final judgment of the trial court, shall be delivered in cash, property or sound securities, unless the parties, by mutual agreement, judicially approved, had already provided for such matters.
The guardian of their children, or the trustee of their property, may ask for the enforcement of the judgment.
They delivery of the presumptive legitimes herein prescribed shall in no way prejudice the ultimate successional rights of the children accruing upon the death of either or both of the parents; but the value of the properties already received under the decree of annulment or absolute nullity shall be considered as advances on their 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.
9.) The marriage of H and W was annulled by the competent court. Upon finality of the judgment of nullity, H began looking for his prospective second mate. He fell in love with a sexy woman S who wanted to be married as soon as possible i.e., after a few months of courtship. As a young lawyer you were consulted by H. a) How soon can H be joined in lawful wedlock to his girlfriend S? Under exisiting laws, are there certain requisites that must be complied with before he can remarry? What advice would you give H? b) Suppose that children were born from the union of H and W, what would be the status of said children? Explain your answer. c) If the subsequent marriage of H to S was contracted before compliance with the statutory condition for its validity, what are the rights of the children of the first marriage (i.e., of H and W) and of the children of the subsequent marriage (of H and S)?
a) H or either spouse for that matter, can marry again after complying with the provisions of Art. 52 of the Family Code, namely, there must be a partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses, and the delivery of the children’s presumptive legitimes, which should be recorded in the appropriate civil registry and registries of property. H should be so advised.
b) The children born from the union of H and W would be legitimate children if conceived or born before the decree of annulment of the marriage (under Art. 45 of the Family Code) has become final and executory. (Art. 54, Family Code)
c) The children of the first marriage shall be considered legitimate children if conceived or born before the judgment of annulment of the marriage of H and W has become final and executory. Children conceived or born of the subsequent marriage shall likewise be legitimate even if the marriage of H and S be null and void for failure to comply with the requisites of Article 52 of the Family Code. (Art. 53, Family Code)
As legitimate children, they have the following rights:
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 legitime and other successional rights granted to them by the Civil Code. (Art. 174, Family Code)
10.) The spouses Peter and Paula had three (3) children. Paula later obtained a judgment of nullity of marriage. Their absolute community of property having been dissolved, they delivered P1 million to each of their 3 children as their presumptive legitimes. Peter later re- married and had two (2) children by his second wife Marie. Peter and Marie, having successfully engaged in business, acquired real properties. Peter later died intestate. Who are Peter’s legal heirs and how will his estate be divided among them?
The legal heirs of Peter are his children by the first and second marriages and his surviving second wife.
Their shares in the estate of Peter will depend, however, on the cause of the nullity of the first marriage. If the nullity of the first marriage was psychological incapacity of one or both spouses, the three children of that void marriage are legitimate and all of the legal heirs shall share the estate of Peter in equal shares. If the judgment of nullity was for other causes, the three children are illegitimate and the estate shall be distributed such that an illegitimate child of the first marriage shall receive half of the share of a legitimate child of the second marriage, and the second wife will inherit a share equal to that of a legitimate child. In no case may the two legitimate children of the second marriage receive a share less than one- half of the estate which is their legitime. When the estate is not sufficient to pay all the legitimes of the compulsory heirs, the legitime of the spouse is preferred and the illegitimate children suffer the reduction.
Computation:
-
If the ground of nullity is psychological incapacity:
3 children by first marriage |
1/6 of the estate for each |
2 children by second marriage |
1/6 of the estate for each |
Surviving second spouse |
1/6 of the estate |
-
If the ground of nullity is not psychological capacity:
2 legitimate children |
1/4 of the estate for each of second marriage |
Surviving second spouse |
1⁄4 of the estate |
3 illegitimate children |
1/12 of estate for each of first marriage |