Short answer. Yes. Article 133 of the Family Code allows the surviving spouse and children to draw support from the common property during liquidation, but any amount received for support that exceeds the fruits or rents actually belonging to them is deducted from what they ultimately receive once the estate is settled.
What the law says
From the common mass of property support shall be given to the surviving spouse and to the children during the liquidation of the inventoried property and until what belongs to them is delivered
Family Code, Article 133 — Support During Liquidation. Read the full provision →
What the law says
from this shall be deducted that amount received for support which exceeds the fruits or rents pertaining to them
Family Code, Article 133 — Support During Liquidation. Read the full provision →
Why support continues during liquidation
Estate liquidation, particularly of conjugal or community property, can take time, and the surviving spouse and children still need to live in the meantime. Article 133 of the Family Code addresses this directly: from the common mass of property support shall be given to the surviving spouse and to the children during the liquidation of the inventoried property and until what belongs to them is delivered. This support is not treated as a separate gift or a loan outside the estate — it is drawn from the same common mass of property being liquidated, precisely because the final division has not happened yet.
The deduction the article builds in
The same article immediately balances that right against fairness to the rest of the property owners. It provides that from this shall be deducted that amount received for support which exceeds the fruits or rents pertaining to them. Support drawn during liquidation is not simply extra money on top of your eventual share — once liquidation is complete and shares are finally computed, whatever you received for support beyond what your own fruits or rents actually covered gets subtracted from what you receive.
Fruits and rents versus support received
The comparison Article 133 draws is between two specific figures: the support actually paid out to you during liquidation, and the fruits or rents that belong to you from the common property during that same period. If your support draws stayed within the value of your own fruits or rents, nothing is deducted, because you were essentially living off what was already yours. The deduction only bites once support paid exceeds that amount — once you have drawn more than your own fruits or rents could justify.
What this means for your final share
In practical terms, support during liquidation works like an advance against your eventual share rather than a windfall. If the total support you drew exceeds what your fruits or rents pertaining to you were worth over the liquidation period, that excess is treated as already given to you and is subtracted when your final share of the estate is computed and delivered. Keeping a record of what you received as support, and comparing it against the fruits or rents attributable to your share, helps you anticipate this deduction rather than be surprised by it at final distribution.
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.
- Heirs of Jose Sy Bang, Heirs of Julian Sy and Oscar Sy vs. Rolando Sy, et al, G.R. No. 114217, October 13, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Hilario M. Ruiz, et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 118671, January 29, 1996 — read the decision on LawPhil →