Short answer. When community property runs short, the law turns first to the income or fruits of each spouse's separate properties. Only if those are also insufficient does the obligation fall on the separate properties themselves. Both spouses are jointly responsible for family support under Article 70 of the Family Code.
What the law says
The expenses for such support and other conjugal obligations shall be paid from the community property and, in the absence thereof, from the income or fruits of their separate properties. In case of insufficiency or absence of said income or fruits, such obligations shall be satisfied from the separate properties.
Family Code, Article 70 — Joint Responsibility for Family Support. Read the full provision →
The three-step order of priority
Article 70 sets up a clear sequence. Family support is paid from community property first. If community property is absent or insufficient, the next source is the income or fruits of each spouse's separate properties — rental income, dividends, harvests, interest, or similar returns. Only after those are also exhausted does the obligation reach into the separate properties themselves, meaning the capital assets the spouses brought into or acquired outside the marriage.
Why the law distinguishes income from the property itself
The law is deliberately graduated. Touching a spouse's separate property capital — land inherited from parents, a pre-marital savings account, a business built before the marriage — is a last resort. The income or fruits of that property are consumed more readily and replenished over time, so the Family Code draws on them before reaching the underlying asset. This protects each spouse's patrimony while still ensuring the family's needs are met. The rule also reflects that both spouses are jointly responsible for support, not just the one earning income.
What counts as separate property
Separate property generally includes assets owned before the marriage and those acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title — gifts, bequests, and inheritances. The fruits of separate property (rents, dividends, profits) are themselves separate under absolute community of property rules. When the law orders family expenses to be satisfied from separate property, both spouses' separate estates are potentially on the hook, though in practice the court looks at what is actually available and which spouse's property is more accessible.
Practical implications when a spouse refuses to contribute
Because the obligation is joint, one spouse cannot simply declare that the other must shoulder all family expenses. If community property is depleted and one spouse refuses to apply their separate income or property to family support, the other spouse has grounds to seek legal relief. The failure to provide support is a distinct legal issue with its own remedies. Article 70 is the foundation that establishes the joint character of the obligation and the order in which assets answer for it — understanding that order is the starting point for any dispute about family finances.
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.
- Kristine Calubaquib-Diaz vs. Dino Lopez Diaz, G.R. No. 235033, October 12, 2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Christian Pantonial Acharon vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 224946, November 9, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Rosanna L. Tan-Andal vs. Mario Victor M. Andal, G.R. No. 196359, May 11, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Jeffrey M. Calma vs. Mari Kris Santos-Calma, G.R. No. 242070, August 24, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →