Read with care. Read these with Article 370, which gives a married woman options and imposes no duty. No provision of this chapter requires a woman to take her husband’s surname on marriage, and a woman who has always used her maiden name is under no obligation to change it. What the article below settles is which of those options remains open after annulment, legal separation or the husband’s death — not whether the husband’s surname had to be adopted in the first place.
Text of the provision
Art. 371. In case of annulment of marriage, and the wife is the guilty party, she shall resume her maiden name and surname. If she is the innocent spouse, she may resume her maiden name and surname. However, she may choose to continue employing her former husband's surname, unless:
(1) The court decrees otherwise, or
(2) She or the former husband is married again to another person.
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
On annulment of the marriage, a wife who is the guilty party must resume her maiden name and surname. The innocent spouse may resume hers, or may keep using her former husband’s surname — unless the court decrees otherwise, or either she or the former husband marries another person.
Questions about this provision
- After a marriage is annulled, must the wife who was the guilty party go back to her maiden name?
- If I am the innocent spouse in an annulled marriage, can I keep using my former husband's surname?
Related provisions
- Article 370 — How a Wife May Style Herself.
- Article 372 — Name After Legal Separation.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.