Text of the provision
Art. 226. The property of the unemancipated child earned or acquired with his work or industry or by onerous or gratuitous title shall belong to the child in ownership and shall be devoted exclusively to the latter's support and education, unless the title or transfer provides otherwise.
The right of the parents over the fruits and income of the child's property shall be limited primarily to the child's support and secondarily to the collective daily needs of the family.
(321a, 323a)
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 child owns what they earn or receive — from their own work or industry, or by any onerous or gratuitous title (purchase, gift, inheritance). The parents administer it (see Article 225), but they do not own it. That property is to be devoted to the child's own support and education, unless the giver directed otherwise.
The parents' claim over the fruits and income of the child's property is deliberately narrow: first to the child's own support, and only secondarily to the collective daily needs of the family. Parents cannot treat a child's assets as a family piggy bank.
Related provisions
- Article 225 — the parents' guardianship over the child's property.
- Article 227 — property the child is entrusted to administer.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 226 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.