Short answer. Yes. Family Code Article 225 provides that where the market value of the property or the annual income of the child exceeds P50,000, the parent concerned shall be required to furnish a bond — not less than 10% of the property's value or annual income — to guarantee performance as legal guardian.
What the law says
Where the market value of the property or the annual income of the child exceeds P50,000, the parent concerned shall be required to furnish a bond in such amount as the court may determine, but not less than ten per centum (10%) of the value of the property or annual income, to guarantee the performance of the obligations prescribed for general guardians.
Family Code, Article 225 — Guardianship Over the Child's Property. Read the full provision →
The parent as automatic legal guardian — with a threshold
Under Article 225, parents jointly exercise legal guardianship over the property of their unemancipated common child without needing a court order. This is the default and it applies to most family situations where the child's assets are modest. However, once the market value of the property or the child's annual income exceeds P50,000, the law treats the situation as one requiring greater accountability. The bond requirement kicks in at that threshold and cannot be waived by the parents; it is a statutory obligation to protect the child's interests.
How the bond amount is set
The bond amount is set by the court but must be at least ten percent (10%) of the value of the property or annual income. If the child's inherited property is worth P500,000, the bond cannot be less than P50,000. The court may set a higher amount depending on the circumstances. The bond must be filed through a verified petition submitted to the proper court in the place where the child resides, or — if the child lives abroad — in the proper court where the property or any part of it is located.
What the proceeding looks like
Article 225 specifies that the petition is docketed as a summary special proceeding. In this proceeding, issues about the parent's performance of guardian obligations are heard and resolved. The ordinary rules on guardianship serve only as supplementary guidelines — except when the child is under substitute parental authority, the guardian is a stranger (not the parent), or the parent has remarried. In those exceptions, the full ordinary rules on guardianship apply instead of the summary procedure.
Practical next steps
If your child has inherited property or has income exceeding P50,000 and no bond has been posted, you should address this through a petition to the appropriate court. Operating as the child's legal guardian over significant property without the required bond exposes you to legal challenge — a co-parent, a relative, or even the child upon reaching majority could question transactions made without the bond in place. Get the petition filed promptly; the bond requirement is there to protect your child, and satisfying it also protects you.
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.
- Sister Pilar Versoza vs. People of the Philippines, Michelina S. Aguirre-Olondriz, Pedro Aguirre, G.R. No. 184535, September 3, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ma. Socorro Camacho-Reyes vs. Ramon Reyes, G.R. No. 185286, August 18, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Bonifacia P. Vancil vs. Helen G. Belmes, G.R. No. 132223, June 19, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →