Short answer. Yes. Article 100 of the Family Code expressly provides that a spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live there without just cause loses the right to be supported. The community property regime continues, but that spouse's claim to support from it is extinguished by their unjustified departure.
What the law says
The spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live therein, without just cause, shall not have the right to be supported;
Family Code, Article 100 — Separation in Fact. Read the full provision →
Separation in fact does not end the property regime
Article 100 of the Family Code begins with an important baseline: separation in fact does not affect the regime of absolute community. The property arrangement the spouses had when they were living together remains in force even after one leaves the home. Assets acquired, debts incurred, and the general rules of the absolute community continue to apply. But the law immediately carves out three specific exceptions to that general continuity, and the first one directly concerns the spouse who left.
Leaving without just cause forfeits the right to support
The first exception in Article 100 is precise: a spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live therein, without just cause, has no right to be supported. Support from the community property covers the basic needs of both spouses during the marriage. The spouse who walks out without justification voluntarily forfeits that entitlement. The law treats the unjustified departure as conduct that separates that spouse from the benefits of the marital community — even while the legal marriage and the property regime continue.
What counts as 'just cause' for leaving
The statute does not list what justifies leaving, but the concept is evaluated against the facts. A spouse who left to escape domestic violence, serious emotional abuse, or a genuine threat to their safety has just cause. A spouse who simply grew unhappy, became involved with another person, or chose to pursue a separate life without any corresponding obligation-breach by the remaining spouse does not. The heavier the documented burden, the stronger the argument for just cause. The remaining spouse who challenges the departed one's support claim would need to show the departure lacked justification — and the nature of the circumstances will determine how that factual question is resolved.
The impact on the remaining spouse
Article 100 also helps the remaining spouse manage the situation. If community property is insufficient to support the family after the other spouse's departure, the separate property of both spouses becomes solidarily liable for family support. The present spouse may petition the court, in a summary proceeding, for judicial authority to administer or encumber the absent spouse's specific separate property and use its fruits or proceeds for the family's support. This mechanism ensures that an unjustified abandonment does not leave the household financially stranded. A lawyer can advise on how to initiate this kind of summary proceeding if you find yourself in that position.
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.
- XXX vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 255877, March 29, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →