Text of the provision
Art. 239. When a husband and wife are separated in fact, or one has abandoned the other and one of them seeks judicial authorization for a transaction where the consent of the other spouse is required by law but such consent is withheld or cannot be obtained, a verified petition may be filed in court alleging the foregoing facts. The petition shall attach the proposed deed, if any, embodying the transaction, and, if none, shall describe in detail the said transaction and state the reason why the required consent thereto cannot be secured. In any case, the final deed duly executed by the parties shall be submitted to and approved by the court.
(n)
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
Many transactions over community or conjugal property need both spouses' consent. When the spouses are separated in fact or one has abandoned the other, and that consent is withheld or simply cannot be obtained, the willing spouse is not stuck — they may file a verified petition asking the court to authorize the deal.
The petition must attach the proposed deed (or, if there is none yet, describe the transaction in detail and explain why consent cannot be secured). And whatever the court authorizes, the final signed deed must still be submitted to and approved by the court — judicial authorization substitutes for the missing spouse's consent, under supervision.
Related provisions
- Article 127 — the substantive rule on separation in fact.
- Article 241 — which court has jurisdiction over the petition.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 239 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.