Text of the provision
Art. 1066. Neither shall donations to the spouse of the child be brought to collation; but if they have been given by the parent to the spouses jointly, the child shall be obliged to bring to collation one-half of the thing donated.
(1040)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
Donations to the spouse of a child are not brought to collation; but if given by the parent to the spouses jointly, the child is obliged to bring to collation one-half of the thing donated.
The rule distinguishes a gift to the child's spouse alone, treated as benefiting the marriage rather than advancing the child's own inheritance, from a gift made jointly to both spouses. In the latter case, only the half attributable to the child is brought into account, since the other half belongs to the spouse, who is not an heir of the donor and owes no collation obligation. This half-and-half treatment avoids charging the child with a benefit that, in substance, was shared equally with someone outside the succession.
Questions about this provision
- My parent gave a joint donation to me and my spouse together — how much of it must I collate?
- My parent gave a gift to my spouse — is it collated when I inherit?
- Can a parent give one child a gift while alive and expressly say it will not be deducted from that child's future inheritance?
Related provisions
- Article 1065 — Parents Need Not Collate Gifts to Their Children.
- Article 1067 — Support and Customary Gifts Are Not Collated.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.