Short answer. Yes. Article 141 of the Family Code lists judicial restoration of parental authority to a spouse previously deprived of it as one of the specific instances that lets spouses move, in the same proceeding where separation of property was decreed, for a decree reviving their former property regime.
What the law says
file a motion in court for a decree reviving the property regime that existed between them before the separation of property in any of the following instances
Family Code, Article 141 — Reviving the Former Property Regime. Read the full provision →
What the law says
When parental authority is judicially restored to the spouse previously deprived thereof
Family Code, Article 141 — Reviving the Former Property Regime. Read the full provision →
What the law says
No voluntary separation of property may thereafter be granted.
Family Code, Article 141 — Reviving the Former Property Regime. Read the full provision →
Why parental authority connects to property regime revival
Separation of property between spouses can be tied to circumstances beyond simple financial disagreement, including a situation where one spouse was judicially deprived of parental authority. Article 141 lets spouses file a motion in court for a decree reviving the property regime that existed between them before the separation of property in any of the following instances, and lists seven of them. The instance that answers your question is one of the seven.
The specific instance that applies to you
Article 141 states it directly: When parental authority is judicially restored to the spouse previously deprived thereof. If your parental authority was taken away and a court has since restored it, that restoration by itself is one of the recognized instances for reviving the former property regime — you do not need to separately show anything about how the property was managed during the separation.
The motion is filed within the same case
The revival is not a new lawsuit. Article 141 lets the motion be filed in the same proceedings where separation of property was decreed, once the restoration of parental authority has been judicially confirmed. From there, the mechanics of how the revival agreement is documented and approved follow Article 67, which the article expressly points to, so it is worth reading both provisions together before filing the motion.
One consequence worth knowing
Article 141 also states a limit that applies once this route is used: No voluntary separation of property may thereafter be granted. After the former regime is revived under one of the article's instances, the spouses cannot later obtain a voluntary separation of property again — reviving the regime is not something that can be reversed and redone through a fresh voluntary separation down the line.
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.
- David A. Noveras vs. Leticia T. Noveras AM. No. P-06-2227 August 19, 2014 Office of the Court Administrator vs. Atty. Mario N. Melchor, Former Clerk of Court VI, RTC, Br. 16, Naval, Biliran (now Presiding Judge, MCTC, Calubian-San Isidro, Leyte), G.R. No. 188289, August 20, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →