Short answer. Yes. Article 900 of the Civil Code carves out an exception to the reduced one-third share for deathbed marriages: if the couple had been living as husband and wife for more than five years before the marriage, the surviving spouse gets the full one-half legitime — the same as any other sole surviving spouse.
What the law says
except when they have been living as husband and wife for more than five years. In the latter case, the legitime of the surviving spouse shall be that specified in the preceding paragraph.
Civil Code, Article 900 — Legitime Of Sole Surviving Spouse. Read the full provision →
The default rule for sole surviving spouses
Article 900 begins with the standard rule: if the only survivor is the widow or widower and there are no other compulsory heirs, the surviving spouse is entitled to one-half of the hereditary estate. The testator may freely dispose of the other half. This full one-half is the baseline legitime for a surviving spouse who is the sole heir. It applies in every ordinary marriage where the testator does not die within three months of the wedding.
The deathbed-marriage reduction and its exception
Article 900 then creates a special rule for marriages in articulo mortis — marriages performed at the point of death. If the testator died within three months from the date of such a marriage, the law reduces the surviving spouse's legitime from one-half to one-third of the hereditary estate. This reduction reflects concern that a last-minute marriage might be arranged primarily to secure an inheritance for someone who had little genuine life connection with the deceased. But the statute immediately recognises that not all deathbed marriages are opportunistic. If the couple had been living as husband and wife for more than five years before the marriage, the full one-half applies, not the reduced one-third.
Why the cohabitation exception exists
The five-year cohabitation exception reflects a practical reality: many couples in the Philippines live together as spouses for years — sometimes decades — without formally marrying. When one of them falls terminally ill and they finally solemnise the relationship, the deathbed timing is incidental, not a sign of opportunism. A couple who lived together for six, ten, or fifteen years and then married on the sickbed has exactly the kind of genuine life partnership that the legitime system is meant to protect. Applying the reduced one-third to them would penalise the relationship rather than protecting the estate.
What you need to prove more than five years
If heirs of the deceased contest the full legitime and argue that the one-third reduction should apply, the surviving spouse must establish that the cohabitation exceeded five years. Evidence includes: barangay records, community testimony, shared residence, joint financial arrangements, children born of the union, and any documents acknowledging the relationship. The burden of proving the cohabitation period falls on the surviving spouse asserting the exception. A thorough paper trail of the long-term relationship is the strongest defence. A lawyer can help assess what evidence you have and how to present it in the settlement or probate proceedings.