Text of the provision
Art. 145. Each spouse shall own, dispose of, possess, administer and enjoy his or her own separate estate, without need of the consent of the other.
To each spouse shall belong all earnings from his or her profession, business or industry and all fruits, natural, industrial or civil, due or received during the marriage from his or her separate property.
(214a)
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
This is the heart of the regime. Under complete separation of property, each spouse is fully independent as to their own estate — they own it, possess it, manage it, enjoy it and may dispose of it without needing the other's consent.
Just as importantly, the gains stay separate too. Everything a spouse earns from their profession, business or industry, and all the fruits and income of their separate property, belong to that spouse alone. This is the sharpest contrast with the conjugal partnership, where those same earnings and fruits would be pooled (compare Article 117).
Related provisions
- Article 117 — by contrast, earnings and fruits are conjugal under the CPG.
- Article 146 — how family expenses are shared despite separate estates.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 145 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.