Chapter 1: The Family Code of the Philippines
Lesson 9: Support
Source: TEXT - CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY. Retrieved on July 2,
2020 at
[Link]
Lesson Contents:
Lesson 9 will comprise the following topics:
Meaning of support
Who are obliged to give family support
Mode of family support
Lesson Objectives:
1. Define support.
2. Identify who are obliged to provide support.
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What is the legal meaning of ‘support’?
Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance,
dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in
keeping with the financial capacity of the family. The education of the
person entitled to be supported referred to in the preceding paragraph
shall include his schooling or training for some profession, trade or
vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation shall include
expenses in going to and from school, or to and from place of work.
Who are obliged to provide family support?
Subject to the provisions of the succeeding articles, the following
are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth in the
preceding article:
(1) The spouses;
(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
(3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter;
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter; and
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(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood
(291a)
Brothers and sisters not legitimately related, whether of the full or
half-blood, are likewise bound to support each other to the full extent set
forth in Article 194 of the Family Code, except only when the need for
support of the brother or sister, being of age, is due to a cause imputable
to the claimant's fault or negligence.
In case of legitimate ascendants; descendants, whether legitimate
or illegitimate; and brothers and sisters, whether legitimately or
illegitimately related, only the separate property of the person obliged to
give support shall be answerable provided that in case the obligor has no
separate property, the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, if
financially capable, shall advance the support, which shall be deducted
from the share of the spouse obliged upon the liquidation of the absolute
community or of the conjugal partnership.
From where will the spouses and their children get their support when the
spouses file for legal separation or for annulment?
During the proceedings for legal separation or for annulment of
marriage, and for declaration of nullity of marriage, the spouses and their
children shall be supported from the properties of the absolute community
or the conjugal partnership. After the final judgment granting the petition,
the obligation of mutual support between the spouses ceases. However, in
case of legal separation, the court may order that the guilty spouse shall
give support to the innocent one, specifying the terms of such order.
(292a)
If two or more persons are obliged to give support whose liability will the
support be assigned and how much will be demanded?
Whenever two or more persons are obliged to give support, the
liability shall devolve upon the following persons in the order herein
provided:
(1) The spouse;
(2) The descendants in the nearest degree;
(3) The ascendants in the nearest degree; and
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(4) The brothers and sisters.
When the obligation to give support falls upon two or more persons,
the payment of the same shall be divided between them in proportion to
the resources of each. However, in case of urgent need and by special
circumstances, the judge may order only one of them to furnish the
support provisionally, without prejudice to his right to claim from the other
obligors the share due from them. When two or more recipients at the
same time claim support from one and the same person legally obliged to
give it, should the latter not have sufficient means to satisfy all claims, the
order established in the preceding article shall be followed, unless the
concurrent obligees should be the spouse and a child subject to parental
authority, in which case the child shall be preferred.
The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and
196 of the Family Code, shall be in proportion to the resources or means
of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient. (296a) Art. 202.
Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced
or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or increase of the
necessities of the recipient and the resources or means of the person
obliged to furnish the same.
The obligation to give support shall be demandable from the time
the person who has a right to receive the same needs it for maintenance,
but it shall not be paid except from the date of judicial or extra-judicial
demand. Support pendente lite may be claimed in accordance with the
Rules of Court. Payment shall be made within the first five days of each
corresponding month or when the recipient dies, his heirs shall not be
obliged to return what he has received in advance.
What will be the mode of family support?
The person obliged to give support shall have the option to fulfill the
obligation either by paying the allowance fixed, or by receiving and
maintaining in the family dwelling the person who has a right to receive
support. The latter alternative cannot be availed of in case there is a moral
or legal obstacle thereto.
The right to receive support under this Title as well as any money
or property obtained as such support shall not be levied upon on
attachment or execution. When, without the knowledge of the person
obliged to give support, it is given by a stranger, the latter shall have a
right to claim the same from the former, unless it appears that he gave it
without intention of being reimbursed.
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When the person obliged to support another unjustly refuses or fails
to give support when urgently needed by the latter, any third person may
furnish support to the needy individual, with right of reimbursement from
the person obliged to give support. This Article shall particularly apply
when the father or mother of a child under the age of majority unjustly
refuses to support or fails to give support to the child when urgently
needed.
In case of contractual support or that given by will, the excess in
amount beyond that required for legal support shall be subject to levy on
attachment or execution. Furthermore, contractual support shall be subject
to adjustment whenever modification is necessary due to changes of
circumstances manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties.
Evaluation
1. Describe the set-up of your family in terms of marital relations/status of your parents
and their means of livelihood.
2. What requirements of the law regarding support are followed and which are not?
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