Article 126: Chapter 2 of the Civil Code of the Philippines

Main topic:      DONATIONS BY REASON OF MARRIAGE

Art. 126. Donations by reasons of marriage are those which are made before its celebration,          in consideration of the same and in favor of one or both of the future spouses. (1327)

            These donations of marriage between the two couple are those which are made before their celebration, these donations are also called dowry. This dowry means a bride purchase or bride price. It is a gift from the groom’s parents to those of the bride. These dowries have a different kind and each of them has a gift or donations contains. One of this dowries are the BIGAY-KAYA which consist of land, gold, or dependent, the PANGHIMUYAT, a certain amount of money to be given to the bride to his parents as payment for the mother’s effort in rearing the girl to womanhood, the BIGAY-SUSO which refers to the bride to be given to the girls wet-nurse who feed the bride during her infancy with milk from her breast, the HIMARAW with sum of money to be given to the girl’s parent as reimbursement for the amount spent in feeding the girls during infancy and the last is the SAMBON, a kind of dowry to be given to the girls relatives.

            Furthermore, these wedding gifts are also called donations propter nuptials, “propters” means before, but not all gifts are donations propter nuptias, because wedding gifts may come after the celebration of the marriage. 

             There are for a conditions valid donations propter nuptias, first it must be made before the celebration of the marriage, it must be made before in consideration of the same and the last is made in favor of one and both of the future spouses. If one of these conditions is not complied with, it may still be considered and valid as an ordinary donation.

Example:

           Before the marriage of John and Andrea, John made a donation in a public instrument, in favor of his wife Andrea, with the conditions that should Andrea fie before him and if God will not bless their union with any child, ½ of the properties donated shall be given to the natural guardian of Andrea, those person who had raised and taken care of her in token of John’s love to her.

           Nine months after their wedding, sad to say Andrea died without issue. In this situation her natural guardians may now claim the ½ shared given to them to died person. But it is not easy as that because donations could hardly be considered a donation inter vivos (legal term referring to a transfer or gift made during one's lifetime, as opposed to a testemantary transfer (a gift that takes effect on death) because it was never accepted by the donee either in the same instrument of donations or in a separate document as required by the law, in other words there was no acceptance on the part of the said natural guardians. The donations could be categorized or considered as a donation mortis causa (Latin word, meaning "gift on the occasion of death") is a gift made during the life of the donor which is conditional upon, and takes effect upon death) because the deed of the donation did not have the formalities of a will aside from the fact that the donee is still alive.