Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by the Family Code.

Thus marriage is both a contract and a social institution in which the State is vitally interested.

Requisites of a valid marriage:

Essential Requisite:

Legal capacity of the parties who must be male and female (reckoning point of age is at the date of the marriage)
Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer

Formal Requisites:

Authority of the solemnizing officer
A valid marriage license
A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witness (The mere private act of signing a marriage contract bears no semblance to a valid marriage and thus, needs no judicial declaration of nullity. Such act alone, without more, cannot be deemed to constitute an ostensibly valid marriage for which petitioner might be held liable for bigamy unless he first secures a judicial declaration of nullity before he contracts a subsequent marriage. Morigo vs People)

Absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio except in case of absence of authority of the solemnizing officer but the parties believed in good faith that such officer is authorized.

In case of defect, the marriage validity shall not be affected but the parties responsible shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.

Marriage celebrated outside the chambers, church or temple shall require request to solemnizing officer and sworn statement to that effect.

Additional Documents prior issuance of a marriage license:

Parental consent - if either or both parties are 18 - 21 years of age. Otherwise marriage is voidable
Parental advice - if either or both parties are more than 21 up to 25 years of age. Otherwise, three-month rule apply.
Marriage counselling - if either or both parties are 18 - 25 years of age. Otherwise, three-month rule apply.

In case of any impediment known to the local registrar, he shall note the same but shall nonetheless issue the marriage license.

Cases where marriage license may be dispensed with:

either of the parties are at the point of death
either of the parties resides on remote area where there is no means of transportation
marriages among muslims in accordance with their customs, rites or practices
marriage of a man and woman who lived together as a husband and wife for a period of 5 years

The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically canceled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it. The expiry date shall be stamped in bold characters on the face of every license issued.

The reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of the celebration of the marriage, but their citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating the latter to remarry. Moreover, it is already recognized a foreign divorce decree that was initiated and obtained by the Filipino spouse and extended its legal effects on the issues of child custody and property relation,respectively.

All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in that foreign country shall be valid here in the Philippines except:

Articles 35 (1) - contracted between any party below 18 years of age
Articles 35 (4) - bigamous or polygamous marriage
Articles 35 (5) - mistake in identity over the person
Articles 35 (6) - void subsequent marriage (due to failure to liquidate, do the partition and distribution of property of previous marriage)
Articles 36 - Psychological incapacity
Articles 37 - incestuous marriages
Articles 38 - violative of public policy marriages

Void Marriages

Article 35 - Lack of capacity

Those contracted by either party who is less than 18 years
unauthorized solemnizing officer
solemnized without marriage license
bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under Article 41 (subsequent marriage after obtaining declaration presumptive death on the absent spouse)
Those contracted through mistake in identity over the person
Those subsequent marriages due to failure to liquidate, do partition and distribution of prior marriage's property

Article 36 - Psychological incapacity to comply with the marital obligation

Article 37 - Incestuous Marriages

Between ascendants and descendants of any degree
Between brothers and sisters, whether full blood or half-blood

Article 38- Violative of public policy marriages

Collateral relatives up to 4th degree of civil degree (no mention if affinity or consanguinity, so both)
Step-parents and step-children
Parents-in-law and children-in-law
adopting parent and adopted child
surviving spouse of the adopting parent and adopted child
surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter
adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter (so pwede if illegitimate child ng adopter?)
adopted children of the same adopter
between parties where with the intention to marry the other, killed his or her own spouse or the spouse of the other party

The period to raise the nullity of marriage is imprescriptible. Albeit the Supreme Court Resolution governs marriages celebrated under the Family Code, such is prospective in application and does not apply to cases already commenced before March 15, 2003.

Summary proceeding for declaration of presumptive death is only for purposes of remarriage. Others do not require such declaration because it take effect by operations of law. 2 years for those on perilous circumstance under article 391 of the NCC and 4 years all others.

Affidavit of reappearance at LCR where the subsequent marriage resides.

Effect of the termination of marriage under Art. 41: (Same effect with void and voidable marriage, except A)

a. The chiildren shall still be legitimate conceived prior to its termination

b. The property relations shall be dissolved and liquidated. In case of marriage in bad faith, the share of the guilty spouse shall go to 1) children of the subsequent marriage 2) children of the guilty spouse in the previous marriage 3) innocent spouse, successively.

c. Donations by reason of marriage shall be valid, unless the marriage is bad faith in which donation on guilty spouse shall be revoked.

d. Beneficiary designation of the guilty spouse shall be revoked by the innocent spouse.

e. Guilty spouse shall be disqualified to inherit from innocent spouse.

Voidable Marriages

Article 45

This cause must exist at the time of marriage (PUF-FIU-PS)

Marriage without parental consent - Can be nullified by the parent of either party before his/her son or their son reaches 21 or by the non-consenting parent only 5 years after his/her son or daughter reaches 21. Ratify by cohabiting with the spouse after attaining the age of 21.
Unsound Mind - Can be nullified by the sane spouse or by the guardian of the insane person or by the insane person himself, before the death of any of the party Ratify by cohabitation after coming to reason
Consent obtained thru fraud - By the injured party within 5 years from the discovery of fraud. Ratify by cohabitation after knowing the fraud*
Consent obtained thru force (violence), intimidation, and undue influence - By the injured party within 5 years after cessation of the causes. Ratify by cohabitation after cessation of such causes
Physical incapability to consummate marriage. Incapacity must be continuous and incurable. - Prescribes within 5 years after marriage, only by the injured party. Cannot be ratified
Incurable and serious STD - Prescribes within 5 years after marriage, only by the injured party. Cannot be ratified

*This include the following instances (note that concealment must be traced back at the time of marriage. These grounds are exclusive.):

nondisclosure of conviction by final judgment of other party involving moral turpitude
concealment by the wife that she was pregnant by a man other than his husband
concealment of STD
concealment of drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality or lesbianism

Legal Separation

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.

Legal separation will not lie on the following cases:

condonation
consent to the commission of the offense
connivance
in pari delicto
collusion
prescription of action (filing is 5 years from the occurrence of the cause)

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