Short answer. Yes. While a case for legal separation, annulment or declaration of nullity is pending, the spouses and their children are supported from the properties of the absolute community or the conjugal partnership. The obligation of mutual support between the spouses ceases only after final judgment.
What the law says
During the proceedings for legal separation or for annulment of marriage, and for declaration of nullity of marriage, the spouses and their children shall be supported from the properties of the absolute community or the conjugal partnership. After the final judgment granting the petition, the obligation of mutual support between the spouses ceases.
Family Code, Article 198 — Support During Nullity, Annulment and Legal Separation. Read the full provision →
Filing the case does not switch support off
This is the misconception the article exists to correct. A spouse who has been served with a petition, or who filed one, sometimes treats that as the end of the household obligation and stops paying. It is not. During the proceedings the spouses and their children shall be supported, and the case may take years. The rule serves an obvious practical purpose: without it, the spouse who controls the money would hold a decisive advantage over the spouse who does not, and the outcome would be settled by attrition rather than by the merits.
Where the money comes from
Support during the case is drawn from the properties of the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, that is, from the shared property rather than from the paying spouse's generosity. This matters in two directions. It means the obligation does not depend on one spouse's willingness, since the fund is already there and is answerable. It also means the sums taken are drawn from property that must eventually be liquidated and divided, so what is advanced during the case is not simply forgotten when the accounting is finally done.
The cut-off, and the exception for legal separation
The obligation of mutual support between the spouses ceases after the final judgment granting the petition, not when the decision is handed down and certainly not when the parties separate. Legal separation carries its own exception: the court may order that the guilty spouse shall give support to the innocent one, specifying the terms of such order. Note the limits of that power. It runs one way only, from guilty to innocent, and it is discretionary. Support for the children is a separate obligation that survives all of these outcomes.
If support has stopped while your case is pending
Do not treat it as something to raise at the end. Put together a record of what was regularly provided before the case began, what stopped and when, and what the household actually needs each month, alongside evidence of the community or conjugal property from which support should be drawn. Bank statements, school billings and rent receipts do more work here than narrative. Bring that material to your lawyer promptly, because relief pending litigation is only useful if it is sought while the litigation is still running.
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.
- Wilfredo A. Ruiz vs. AAA, G.R. No. 231619, November 15, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Simon R. Paterno vs. Dina Marie Lomongo Paterno, G.R. No. 213687, January 8, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →