Text of the provision
Art. 61. After the filing of the petition for legal separation, the spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other.
The court, in the absence of a written agreement between the spouses, shall designate either of them or a third person to administer the absolute community or conjugal partnership property. The administrator appointed by the court shall have the same powers and duties as those of a guardian under the Rules of Court.
(104a)
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
Article 61 governs the interim period — after the petition is filed but before any decree. Two things happen automatically. First, the spouses are entitled to live separately; neither can compel the other to keep living together while the case is pending. Second, the community or conjugal property needs someone to manage it, and the court steps in.
Unless the spouses have a written agreement on administration, the court designates an administrator — either one of the spouses or a neutral third person — who has the powers and duties of a guardian under the Rules of Court. That standard matters: it makes the administrator a fiduciary, accountable to the court, not free to deal with the property as an owner.
Why an administrator at all
Once separation is on the table, each spouse has an incentive to protect or dissipate shared assets. Placing the property under a court-supervised administrator preserves it until the decree settles ownership under Article 63. Support and custody during the same period are handled separately, under Article 62.
Related provisions
- Article 62 — support and custody while the case is pending.
- Article 63 — the effects of the decree once it issues, including liquidation.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the appointment and powers of the Article 61 administrator will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.