Requisites of Marriage

Essential Requisites
a. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male
and a female
a.1 18years of age or over
a.2 Not under any impediments mentioned in Articles
37 and 38
b. Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing
officer
2. Formal Requisites
a. Authority of the solemnizing officer
b. Valid marriage license XPT
b.1 In ariculo mortis Airplane, ship, military
b.2 Remote place
b.3 Muslims and members of ethnic community
PROVIDED accrdg to their customs, rites and
practices
b.4 Man and woman cohabitating as husband and wife
for at least 5years and without the benefit of
marriage and not under any legal impediment to do
so affidavit
c. Marriage ceremony where contracting parties appear before
the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration before
a solemnizing officer that they take each other as husband
and wife in the presence of at least 2 witnesses of legal age
(Art6 Marriage Contract)
1.

Who May Solemnize Marriages?

1. Incumbent member or the judiciary within the courts jurisdiction
2. Any priest, rabbi, imam or minister of any church or religious sect
authorized to solemnize marriage by his church or religious sect and
registered with the civil registrar general PROVIDED that one of the
contracting parties believed in good faith that he has the authority to
solemnize marriages
3. Airplane chief or ship captain
a. In articulo mortis
b. Between passengers or crew members
c. At sea, in flight, stopovers or at ports of call
4. Military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned but is
absent
a. Military commander must be a commissioned officer
b. Within zone of military operations
c. In articulo mortis
d. Between members or civilians
5. Consul-general, consul or vice consul
a. Assigned at a foreign country

b. Between Filipino citizens abroad only

6. Mayors (LGC)
Marriage Ceremony
*No prescribed form (Art6)
GR: Done publicly in the judges chambers and in open court or at the
church, chapel or temple
XPN: Both parties request in writing and under oath that the marriage be
solemnized elsewhere
Void Marriages
Either of contracting parties is under 18years of age even if with
parental consent
2. Solemnized by any person not legally authorized to solemnize
marriages XPT Good faith marriage
3. Solemnized without Marriage License XPT (4)
4. Subsequent bigamous marriage contracted by present spouse
without judicial declaration of presumptive absence
5. Contracted through mistake of one as to the identity of the other
6. Subsequent marriage contracted without registration of:
a. Judgment of annulment or nullity
b. Partition and distribution of properties
c. Delivery of presumptive legitimes
7. Psychological incapacity
a. Gravity
b. Juridical Antecedence
c. Incurability
8. Incestuous
a. Bet. ascendants and descendants of any degree
b. Bet. bros and sisters, full or half blood
9. Void for Public Policy
a. Collateral blood relatives up to 4th civil degree of
consanguinity
b. Step-parent and Step-children
c. Parent in law and children in law
d. Adopting parent and adopted
e. Spouse of adopter and adopted child
f. Spouse of adopted and adopter
g. Adopted and legitimate children of adopter
h. Adopted children of same adopter
i. One, with the intention of marrying the other, kills the
others spouse OR his / her own spouse
10. Subsequent marriage contracted without judicial declaration of
nullity
*Art43, 54
1.

VOIDABLE MARRIAGES
*MUST be present at the time of marriage
GROUNDS
RATIFICATION
PERSON WHO MAY FILE
Prescription Parent / guardian did
Parent or guardian whose consent was
not file for annulment
not obtained
One of the contracting parties did not
obtain parental consent
Free cohabitation after attaining age of Contracting party without Parental
21
consent
Relative, parent, guardian or person
having legal charge of the insane
spouse
Sane spouse or insane after coming to
Either parties of unsound mind
reason free cohabited as H and W
Sane spouse with no knowledge of
insanity
Insane spouse after coming to reason
Consent of either was obtained
through fraud CONCEALMENT
1. Previous conviction by final
judgment for crime involving
moral turpitude
2. Pregnant at the time of the
Free cohabitation after full knowledge
Party whose consent was vitiated
marriage by another man not
of facts constituting fraud
through fraud
her husband
3. STD regardless of nature and
existing at time of marriage
4. Drug addiction, habitual
alcoholism, homosexuality
and lesbianism
Consent of either was obtained by
Free cohabitation after cessation or
force
disappearance of force, intimidation or Party whose consent was vitiated
intimidation
undue influence
undue influence
Either party was physically incapable
of consummating the marriage and
Prescription
Injured party
incapacity continues or appears to be
incurable
Either party was afflicted with a
sexually transmissible disease which is Prescription
Injured party
serious and appears to be incurable

PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD
Before contracting party attains 21
Within 5 years after age 21

5years from discovery of fraud

5years from cessation or

disappearance of cause

5years after marriage

5years after marriage

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Grounds for Legal Separation

Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct towards
petitioner, common child, child of petitioner
Physical or moral pressure to compel petitioner to change religious
or political affiliation
Attempt by respondent to corrupt or induce petitioner, common
child, child of petitioner to engage in prostitution or connivance in
corruption or inducement
Final judgment sentencing respondent to imprisonment of more
than 6years even if pardoned
Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism
Homosexuality or lesbianism
Respondent contracts subsequent bigamous marriage, in the Phils.
or abroad
Sexual infidelity or perversion
Attempt by respondent against the life of the petitioner
Abandonment of petitioner by respondent for more than one year
without justifiable cause

Grounds for DENIAL of Legal Separation

1. Aggrieved party has condoned the act or offense
2. Aggrieved party has consented to the commission of the act or
offense
3. Parties connived in the commission of the act or offense constituting
the ground for legal separation
4. Both parties gave grounds for legal separation
5. Collusion of parties in obtaining a decree for legal separation
6. Barred by prescription 5years from occurrence of cause
Effects of Legal Separation
1. Live separately but marriage bond not severed
2. ACP / CPG dissolved and liquidated ; guilty spouse share in net
profits forfeited:
a. Common children
b. Children of guilty spouse by previous marriage
c. Innocent spouse
d.

3.
4.
5.
6.

Custody to innocent spouse unless unfit

Offending spouse DQ to inherit testate or intestate
MAY revoke donations - within 5years from decree of LS
MAY revoke designation as beneficiary in insurance policy

Effects of Reconciliation
Pending dismissed at whatever stage ; terminated LS decree set
aside
2. Sep prop continues UNLESS revived by joint affidavit of spouses
a. Properties to be contributed anew to restored regime
b. Retained as separate properties
c. Names, addresses and amounts owing to each creditor
1.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Instances where MS may be Modified

Decree of LS = Separation of Property
Revival of property regime after reconciliation in LS
Abandonment MAY petition for separation of property
Grounds for petitioning for separation of property
Voluntary separation of property

Revocation of donation Propter Nuptias

Marriage did not take place or judicially declared void ab initio XPN
not dependent
2. Marriage without parental consent
3. Annulled and donee in BF
4. Upon decree of LS and donee is the guilty spouse
5. Acts of ingratitude by donee against donor
a. Offense against person, property or honor of donor, donors
spouse or children under his parental authority
b. Imputes criminal offense involving moral turpitude to donor
even if proved XPN: Committed against person, property or
honor of donee, donees spouse, child of donee under his
authority
c. Donne unduly refuses support to donor when legally or
morally bound to do so
1.