- Statute
- Philippine Family Code
- Article
- Art. 41
- Topic
- Bigamous marriages; presumptive death exception
- Status
- In force
- Year
- 1987
- Cited by
- A Supreme Court decision
The provision
A marriage contracted by any person during subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void, unless before the celebration of the subsequent marriage, the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in the provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of only two years shall be sufficient. For the purpose of contracting the subsequent marriage under the preceding paragraph the spouse present must institute a summary proceeding as provided in this Code for the declaration of presumptive death of the absentee, without prejudice to the effect of reappearance of the absent spouse. (83a)
Intellegal Wiki · In plain terms
A marriage contracted while a previous one subsists is void — with one exception. If, before the second marriage, the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the present spouse had a well-founded belief that the absentee was dead, the later marriage is valid; two years suffices where the disappearance occurred in circumstances of danger of death under Article 391 of the Civil Code. The exception is not self-executing: the present spouse must first obtain a judicial declaration of presumptive death in a summary proceeding. And it is provisional — Article 42 provides that the subsequent marriage is automatically terminated by the recording of an affidavit of reappearance of the absent spouse, with the effects set out in Article 43.
An editorially maintained plain-language explanation of this provision — not legal advice.
Cases applying this article
- Eduardo P. Manuel v. People G.R. No. 165842