Short answer. No. Article 125 requires the other spouse's consent for any donation of conjugal partnership property, and consent is not the same as knowledge — being told afterwards, or even at the time, is not consenting. Only moderate donations for charity or family occasions may be made alone.
What the law says
Neither spouse may donate any conjugal partnership property without the consent of the other. However, either spouse may, without the consent of the other, make moderate donations from the conjugal partnership property for charity or on occasions of family rejoicing or family distress.
Family Code, Article 125 — Donations of Conjugal Property. Read the full provision →
Telling you is not asking you
The provision is short: neither spouse may donate any conjugal partnership property without the consent of the other. What it requires is consent, and the difference between being informed and being asked is the whole of it. A spouse who announces a gift at the dinner table and meets no objection has not obtained consent; nor has one who mentions it afterwards. Silence is not agreement here, and the burden does not sit on the spouse who was told to object in time. The donation either had the other spouse's consent or it did not. It is a requirement about agreement, not about disclosure.
Which property the rule reaches
The prohibition covers conjugal partnership property, so the first question is whether what was given away was conjugal at all. Under this regime each spouse keeps exclusive property — what was brought into the marriage, what was inherited or donated to that spouse — and a donation of exclusive property is that spouse's own affair. But everything acquired during the marriage is presumed conjugal whatever the paperwork says, so a spouse who gives away a lot titled in his name alone is not thereby giving away something exclusive. The presumption has to be rebutted, not assumed.
The exception, and how it is measured
One category of gift may be made alone: moderate donations from the conjugal partnership property for charity or on occasions of family rejoicing or family distress. Moderate is relative to the couple's means, so there is no figure to look up — the same amount can be moderate in one household and indefensible in another. And the occasion has to be real: a wedding, a baptism, a funeral, a relative's hospitalisation, or a genuine charitable gift. Regular transfers to the same recipient over months are not occasions, whatever each one is called.
How to find out what was actually given
Donations of land leave a trail: a deed of donation, the acceptance, the transfer at the registry and a new tax declaration. Money and movables leave a thinner one, so bank statements, transfer records and the paperwork of any vehicle or shares changing hands are where to look. Fix the date of each transfer and the character of the property at that date. If the property was conjugal and you did not consent, the donation is open to challenge, and the sooner the record is gathered the less of it will have gone missing. Take the certified copies, not the family's photocopies.
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.
- Nicxon L. Perez, Jr. vs. Avegail Perez-Senerpida, assisted by her husband Mr. Senerprida, G.R. No. 233365, March 24, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Alfredo Ching, et al. vs. The Hon. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 124642, February 23, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →