Belcodero v Court of Appeals

FACTS: 1. Alayo Bosing married Juliana Oday in 1927 and theyhad 3 children. In 1946 he abandoned them and lived with Josefa Rivera (whom he acknowledged ascommon law wife Josefa Bosing). They had one child, Josephine Bosing, now Josephine Belcodero. 2. He married Josefa Bosing in 1958, while still married to Juliana. 3. Alayo purchased parcel of land on installment basis in1949 and his deed he named Josefina Bosing as his wife and transferred lot in her name. Final deed executed in 1959. 4. Alayo died March 1967. In 1970 Josefa and Josephine executed a document of extra-judicial partition and sale of the lot, which was described asconjugal property. Josefas share went to Josephine for P10,000, so Josephine Belcodero had full ownership. Notice was published. 5. In October 1980 Juliana (real widow) and 3 children filed for property. Trial Curt and Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Juliana. reconveyance of

ISSUES: 1. The husband acquired ownership while living with a paramour, after deserting his wife. Property bought prior to effectivity of 1950 Civil Code but the final deed was ensued after and the Family Code took effect 1988.a. 2. Whether the property was acquired in 1949when he first started paying installment or in1959 when the deed was finalized, result isthe same. Property belongs to conjugal partnership of Alayo and legal wife Juliana. Under old and new Civil Code all property is presumed to belong to conjugal partnership unless it is provided that it is exclusive to either spouse b. Property acquired by Alayo, he merely had the title transferred to Josefas name. She implicitly recognized Alayos ownership when she and Josephine filed extrajudicial partitionof the said property the partition would have conformed with partition in intestacy had they been sole and legitimate heirs of Alayo. 2. Common law spouses. A. In Art 144 and in Maxey v. CA the co-ownership rule had been repudiated wheneither of the spouses had impediments to marry. B. B. Art 147 and 148 of Family Code did notdeviate from old rules. Art 148 says that:when one of the parties is validly married toanother, his or her share of the co-ownershipshall accrue to the conjugal property of thevalid marria ge. But the provisions cant apply to this case without interdicting prior vested

rights, so the provisions dont apply. 3. Constructive trusta. Acc to Art 1456: If property is acquired bymistake the person obtaining it is trustee forimplied trustb. The applicable reconveyance period is tenyears. Under the Torrens System theprescriptive period starts when transaction isregistered and a Certificate of Title is issued.Josephine Belocdero got the Certificate in1974 and Juliana filed the case in 1980.4. New evidencea. Juliana married again, but no legalseparation was brought to Alayo during hislifetime si this holds no relevanceDECISION:Affirmed, property goes to Juliana.