Short answer. Article 68 of the Family Code imposes mutual duties on both spouses — to live together, observe love, respect, and fidelity, and render mutual help and support. Breach of these duties, including infidelity, can support a petition for legal separation and may affect property rights and disinheritance.

What the law says

The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.

Family Code, Article 68 — Mutual Obligations of Spouses. Read the full provision →

The duties Article 68 imposes on both spouses

Article 68 of the Family Code sets out four categories of mutual obligation that apply equally to both spouses: living together, mutual love, respect and fidelity, and mutual help and support. These are legal duties, not aspirational values — and their breach has legal consequences. A spouse who is unfaithful has violated the fidelity obligation. A spouse who neglects the family and refuses to help or support has violated the mutual help and support obligation. Article 68 does not itself provide a remedy, but it establishes the duties whose breach activates other legal provisions.

Infidelity as a ground for legal separation

The clearest legal remedy available for a spouse's sexual infidelity is a petition for legal separation. The Family Code lists sexual infidelity or perversion as a ground for legal separation. Legal separation does not end the marriage — the parties remain legally married — but it formally separates them in bed and board, terminates the property regime, and results in a division and liquidation of the community assets. The spouse who gave the ground for legal separation may also forfeit their share of the community net profits in favor of their children.

Neglect of family duties and what it opens

Neglect of the duties in Article 68 — particularly the refusal to render mutual help and support — can also support a petition under other provisions of the Family Code. If a spouse abandons the family or fails to provide support without justification, the other spouse may petition for receivership, judicial separation of property, or authority to be the sole administrator of community property. The Family Code treats persistent failure to fulfill marital obligations as a basis for the aggrieved spouse to take protective measures over shared assets, not merely personal ones.

Choosing the right response to your situation

The remedies available depend on what the breach consists of and what you want to achieve. Legal separation is appropriate if you want a formal break from the marriage while remaining legally married, with property consequences for the offending spouse. If the infidelity or neglect is documented and ongoing, it may also serve as a ground for disinheritance — you may exclude your spouse from inheriting from your estate. If the more immediate concern is financial — protecting assets or ensuring the family is supported — petitions for administrative authority over community property may be more urgent. A lawyer can help you identify which remedies address your actual situation most effectively.

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.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.