Short answer. No. Article 43(5) of the Family Code provides that the spouse who contracted the subsequent marriage in bad faith is disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse by both testate and intestate succession. This disqualification takes effect upon termination of the marriage and applies regardless of whether there is a will.
What the law says
The spouse who contracted the subsequent marriage in bad faith shall be disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse by testate and intestate succession.
Family Code, Article 43 — Effects of Terminating a Subsequent Marriage. Read the full provision →
The five effects of terminating a subsequent marriage
When a subsequent marriage — one contracted on the basis of a judicial declaration of presumptive death of the first spouse — is terminated because the first spouse reappears, Article 43 of the Family Code lists five consequences. The fifth is the disqualification: "The spouse who contracted the subsequent marriage in bad faith shall be disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse by testate and intestate succession." This means neither a will naming the bad-faith spouse as heir nor the default rules of intestacy will allow that spouse to inherit.
What bad faith means in this context
Bad faith in contracting a subsequent marriage typically means the spouse who remarried knew that the first spouse was still alive, or had reason to doubt the presumptive death declaration, yet proceeded with the marriage anyway. The innocent spouse is the one who genuinely and reasonably believed the first marriage had ended. Where both spouses in the subsequent marriage acted in bad faith, different rules apply. The disqualification in Article 43(5) specifically targets the partner who was not innocent.
The other consequences of bad faith under Article 43
The inheritance disqualification is one of several penalties that Article 43 imposes on the bad-faith spouse. Their share of net profits from the community property or conjugal partnership is forfeited in favor of common children or, in their absence, children of the guilty spouse by a previous marriage, or the innocent spouse. Donations made to the bad-faith spouse by reason of the marriage are revoked by operation of law. The innocent spouse may also revoke the bad-faith spouse's designation as beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if the designation was stipulated as irrevocable.
Practical steps if you are the innocent spouse
If you are the innocent spouse and the second marriage has been or is being terminated, document the circumstances that establish your partner's bad faith. This may include communications that show they knew the first spouse was alive, conduct inconsistent with a genuine belief in the presumptive death, or other evidence of their state of mind when the subsequent marriage was contracted. The disqualification from inheritance does not apply automatically in a civil registration sense — you may need to assert it in court proceedings, particularly in estate settlement, to prevent a bad-faith former spouse from claiming a share of your estate.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- V. Maquilan vs. D. Maquilan, G.R. No. 155409, June 8, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Lucila David and the Heirs of Rene F. Aguas, namely: Princess Luren D. Aguas, G.R. No. 241036, January 26, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Noel Buenaventura vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 127358, March 31, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →