Text of the provision
Art. 122. The payment of personal debts contracted by the husband or the wife before or during the marriage shall not be charged to the conjugal properties partnership except insofar as they redounded to the benefit of the family. Neither shall the fines and pecuniary indemnities imposed upon them be charged to the partnership.
However, the payment of personal debts contracted by either spouse before the marriage, that of fines and indemnities imposed upon them, as well as the support of illegitimate children of either spouse, may be enforced against the partnership assets after the responsibilities enumerated in the preceding Article have been covered, if the spouse who is bound should have no exclusive property or if it should be insufficient; but at the time of the liquidation of the partnership, such spouse shall be charged for what has been paid for the purpose above-mentioned.
(163a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
A spouse's personal debts — incurred before or during the marriage — are not chargeable to the conjugal partnership, and neither are fines or civil indemnities imposed on them. The partnership only answers for a personal debt to the extent it benefited the family.
There is a fallback, though. A spouse's premarital debts, their fines and indemnities, and the support of their illegitimate children may be enforced against partnership assets — but only after the partnership's own obligations (the "preceding Article") are covered, and only if that spouse has no exclusive property, or not enough. Whatever the partnership advances this way is charged back to that spouse at liquidation.
Questions about this provision
- Can my husband's illegitimate child be supported out of our conjugal partnership property?
- My husband was ordered to pay a fine in a criminal case — can it be taken from our conjugal property?
Related provisions
- Article 121 — the "preceding Article": the charges the conjugal partnership is primarily liable for.
- Article 94 — the parallel rule for the absolute community of property.
Cases citing this article
- Teresita Cordova and Jean Ong Cordova vs. Edward Ty, G.R. No. 246255, February 3, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ayala Investment & Development Corp., et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 118305, February 12, 1998 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Carmelita T. Borlongan vs. Banco De Oro/Eliseo C. Borlongan, Jr. vs. BDO Unibank, Inc, G.R. No. 217617 / G.R. No. 218540, April 5, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Philippine National Bank vs. Venancio C. Reyes, Jr, G.R. No. 212483, October 5, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Spouses Roberto Buado and Venus Buado vs. The Honorable Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 145222, April 24, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.