Civil law 2010 bar exam questions

questions with relevance to persons and family relations

I. True or false:
1. Under art. 26 of the Family Code, when a foreign spouse divorces his/her Filipino spouse, the
latter may re-marry by proving only that the foreign spouse has obtained a divorce against her
or him abroad.
My answer:
False. It does not follow necessarily that the Filipino spouse may re-marry by proving only that the
foreign spouse has obtained a divorce against her or him abroad. There are cases where a foreign
spouse has obtained a decree of divorce but does not grant him/her the capacity to remarry. Therefore
as held by some cases by the supreme court, it must not only proven that a foreigner has obtained a
decree of divorce but also the grant which capacitates him/her to remarry for a filipino spouse to have a
capacity to remarry.

IV. (given in the quiz. Answers are simply codal.)

V. G filed on July 8, 2000 a petition for declaration of nullity of her marriage to B. During the
pendency of the case, the couple entered into a compromise agreement to dissolve their absolute
community of property. B ceded his right to their house and lot and all his shares in two
business firms to G and their two children, aged 18 and 19.
B also opened a bank account in the amount of 3 million pesos in the name of the two
children to answer for their educational expenses until they finish their college degrees.

For her part, G undertook to shoulder the day-to-day living expenses and upkeep of the
children. The court approved the spouses' agreement on September 8, 2000.

A. Suppose the business firms suffered reverses, rendering G unable to support herself and the children.
Can G still ask for support pendente lite from B? Explain. (3%)

My answer:
A. Support pendente lite is support allowed by law granting the spouses to support each other duting
the pendency of the case. This grant ceases after the court has approved the dissolution of the marriage.
In the problem given, the court has already granted the dissolution of the marriage, thus, G cannot
anymore ask for support pendente lite. Only the children may be subjected to support even after the
marriage bonds have been severed as provided by the family code.

B. ( mental contemplation: I know that education is part of the support provided by the family code.
But what if the father/mother cannot provide for it because he is insolvent? Because the provision on
support states that the yardstick of determining the amount of support depends upon the resources of
the giver and the needs of the recipient.) Should the parent give support as education is a necessity that
is needed by the recipient? Or should he deny the grant of support for he cannot satisfy it due to the
resources of the giver?