Short answer. Yes, but with one critical requirement: the charge must be for a crime punishable by imprisonment of six years or more, and the accusation must have been found false. Article 921 of the Civil Code includes this as a ground for disinheriting a spouse.
What the law says
When the spouse has accused the testator of a crime for which the law prescribes imprisonment of six years or more, and the accusation has been found to be false;
Civil Code, Article 921 — Grounds to Disinherit a Spouse. Read the full provision →
The two conditions that must both be met
Article 921 of the Civil Code includes a specific ground for disinheritance based on a false criminal accusation, but it has two requirements that must both be satisfied. First, the crime charged must be one for which the law prescribes imprisonment of six years or more. A minor offense — petty theft, a light oral defamation — does not qualify. The seriousness threshold filters out charges that, even if malicious, are not grave enough to justify the permanent consequence of disinheritance. Second, the accusation must have been found to be false — not merely dismissed for lack of evidence, but affirmatively found false.
What 'found to be false' means
The statute requires that the accusation was found to be false, not simply that you were acquitted. An acquittal can happen because the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt — it does not necessarily mean the accusation was false. A finding of falsity is a stronger and different outcome. This could come from the dismissal of the case with a finding that the complaint was fabricated or malicious, from a judgment of acquittal that expressly states the accusation was unfounded, or from a conviction of the accuser for perjury or filing a false complaint. Document carefully what the outcome of the proceeding actually said.
Severity of the charge determines eligibility
Imprisonment of six years or more is a substantial threshold. In Philippine criminal law, this covers serious offenses — robbery, serious physical injuries, certain estafa charges, falsification of public documents, and others. If your spouse accused you of something in this range, and the accusation was found false, you are within the ground. If the charge carried a lower penalty — a few months' imprisonment, a fine — Article 921's second ground does not apply, even if the accusation was entirely fabricated. Other grounds in Article 921 may still be available depending on your situation.
How to put this into a will
To use this ground, you must disinherit your spouse through a valid will, stating the reason for the disinheritance explicitly. The will should identify the false accusation with enough specificity — the nature of the charge, when it was filed, and that it was found false — to show the ground is real and documented. A will that disinherits without stating a lawful ground may be challenged and the disinheritance reversed. Keep the relevant court records as evidence. A lawyer can help you incorporate the disinheritance clause into a will in a way that minimizes the risk of a successful challenge.