CHAPTER 5

SEPARATION OF PROPERTY OF THE SPOUSES
AND ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY
BY THE WIFE DURING THE MARRIAGE

Art. 190. In the absence of an express declaration in the marriage settlements, the separation of property between spouses during the marriage shall not take place save in virtue of a judicial order. (1432a)

Art. 191. The husband or the wife may ask for the separation of property, and it shall be decreed when the spouse of the petitioner has been sentenced to a penalty which carries with it civil interdiction, or has been declared absent, or when legal separation has been granted.

In case of abuse of powers of administration of the conjugal partnership property by the husband, or in case of abandonment by the husband, separation of property may also be ordered by the court, according to the provisions of Articles 167 and 178, No. 3.

In all these cases, it is sufficient to present the final judgment which has been entered against the guilty or absent spouse. (1433a)

The husband and the wife may agree upon the dissolution of the conjugal partnership during the marriage, subject to judicial approval. All the creditors of the husband and of the wife, as well as of the conjugal partnership shall be notified of any petition for judicial approval or the voluntary dissolution of the conjugal partnership, so that any such creditors may appear at the hearing to safeguard his interests. Upon approval of the petition for dissolution of the conjugal partnership, the court shall take such measures as may protect the creditors and other third persons.

After dissolution of the conjugal partnership, the provisions of Articles 214 and 215 shall apply. The provisions of this Code concerning the effect of partition stated in Articles 498 to 501 shall be applicable. (1433a)

Art. 192. Once the separation of property has been ordered, the conjugal partnership shall be dissolved, and its liquidation shall be made in conformity with what has been established by this Code.

However, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 292, the husband and the wife shall be reciprocally liable for their support during the separation, and for the support and education of their children; all in proportion to their respective property.

The share of the spouse who is under civil interdiction or absent shall be administered in accordance with the Rules of Court. (1434a)

Art. 193. The complaint for separation and the final judgment declaring the same, shall be noted and recorded in the proper registers of property, if the judgment should refer to immovable property. (1437)

Art. 194. The separation of property shall not prejudice the rights previously acquired by creditors. (1438)

Art. 195. The separation of property ceases:

(1) Upon reconciliation of the spouses, in case of legal separation;

(2) When the civil interdiction terminates;

(3) When the absent spouse appears;

(4) When the court, at the instance of the wife, authorizes the husband to resume the administration of the conjugal partnership, the court being satisfied that the husband will not again abuse his powers as an administrator;

(5) When the husband, who has abandoned the wife, rejoins her.

In the above cases, the property relations between the spouses shall be governed by the same rules as before the separation, without prejudice to the acts and contracts legally executed during the separation.

The spouses shall state, in a public document, all the property which they return to the marriage and which shall constitute the separate property of each.

This public document shall be recorded in the Registry of Property.

In the cases referred to in this article, all the property brought in shall be deemed to be newly contributed, even though all or some may be the same which existed before the liquidation effected by reason of the separation. (1439a)

Art. 196. With the conjugal partnership subsisting, the administration of all classes of property in the marriage may be transferred by the courts to the wife:

(1) When she becomes the guardian of her husband;

(2) When she asks for the declaration of his absence;

(3) In case of civil interdiction of the husband.

The courts may also confer the administration to the wife, with such limitation as they may deem advisable, if the husband should become a fugitive from justice or be in hiding as a defendant in a criminal case, or if, being absolutely unable to administer, he should have failed to provide for administration. (1441a)

Art. 197. The wife to whom the administration of all the property of the marriage is transferred shall have, with respect to said property, the same powers and responsibility which the husband has when he is the administrator, but always subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of the preceding article. (1442a)