Text of the provision
Art. 88. The absolute community of property between spouses shall commence at the precise moment that the marriage is celebrated. Any stipulation, express or implied, for the commencement of the community regime at any other time shall be void.
(145a)
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
The absolute community of property — the default property regime for couples married under the Family Code without a prenuptial agreement — begins at the precise moment the marriage is celebrated. Not the signing of any settlement, not the start of cohabitation: the ceremony. And the spouses cannot agree to a different start date; any such stipulation, express or implied, is void.
The fixed start point matters because it decides which property falls into the community (see Article 91) and closes off attempts to backdate or postpone the regime to shelter assets.
Related provisions
- Article 91 — what the community property consists of once it begins.
- Article 75 — how spouses may instead choose a different regime by marriage settlement.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the commencement of the absolute community under Article 88 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.