Text of the provision
Art. 64. After the finality of the decree of legal separation, the innocent spouse may revoke the donations made by him or by her in favor of the offending spouse, as well as the designation of the latter as beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if such designation be stipulated as irrevocable. The revocation of the donations shall be recorded in the registries of property in the places where the properties are located.
Alienations, liens and encumbrances registered in good faith before the recording of the complaint for revocation in the registries of property shall be respected. The revocation of or change in the designation of the insurance beneficiary shall take effect upon written notification thereof to the insured.
The action to revoke the donation under this Article must be brought within five years from the time the decree of legal separation become final.
(107a)
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 64 gives the innocent spouse a further remedy after the decree becomes final: the power to claw back gifts made to the offending spouse. Two kinds are covered — donations in the guilty spouse's favour, and their designation as beneficiary of an insurance policy. Strikingly, the insurance designation can be revoked even if it was made irrevocable; the decree overrides that.
The article then protects third parties and fixes deadlines. Revocation of donations must be recorded in the property registries where the properties sit, and dealings registered in good faith before that recording are respected — a buyer or creditor who relied on the register is safe. The insurance change takes effect on written notice to the insurer. And the action to revoke a donation must be brought within five years of the decree's finality.
Why it is optional
Unlike the automatic effects in Article 63, revocation under Article 64 is a right the innocent spouse may choose to exercise, not an automatic consequence. It has to be acted on, recorded, and brought within the five-year window — miss it, and the gifts stand.
Related provisions
- Article 63 — the automatic effects of the decree.
- Article 65 and 66 — reconciliation and what it undoes.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the five-year period and the good-faith-third-party protection in Article 64 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.