SUPPORT PENDENTE LITE

RULE 61, Rules of Court

Abraham Rey Montecillo Acosta

 SUPPORT

Art. 194. Support comprises everything indispensable for

nsustenance,

ndwelling,

nclothing,

nmedical attendance,

neducation and

ntransportation,

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 GIVE SUPPORT

Art. 105. 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
(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-
blood
WHO ARE OBLIGED TO GIVE SUPPORT

Art. 196. 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,

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. (291a)
WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES ANSWERABLE
FOR SUPPORT

Art. 197. In case of

n legitimate ascendants;

n descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate;

n 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
n in case the obligor has no separate property,

n the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, if financially

capable, shall advance the support,
n which shall be deducted from the share of the spouse obliged upon the
liquidation of the absolute community or of the conjugal partnership.
What properties answerable during
pendency of cases of legal separation,
annulment, nullity

Art. 198. 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.
What is the order of persons obliged to give
support

Art. 199. Whenever two or more persons are obliged to give support,
the liability shall devolve upon the following persons in the order herein
provided:

n (1) The spouse;

n (2) The descendants in the nearest degree;
n (3) The ascendants in the nearest degree; and
n (4) The brothers and sisters.
 What is the proportion for sharing of
support
Art. 200. 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.
 What is the amount of support

Art. 201. The amount of support, in the cases

referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in
proportion to

n the resources or means of the giver and to

n the necessities of the recipient.
 Can the amount of support be adjusted

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.

Art. 208. Xxx contractual support shall be subject to adjustment

whenever modification is necessary due to changes of circumstances
manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties.
 When is support paid

Art. 203. 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,
n 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.
 How to provide support

Art. 204. 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.
 Exempt from Levy or Execution

Art. 205. 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.

Art. 208. 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. xxx
 What happens when support is given by
a stranger
Art. 206. 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.

Art. 207. 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.
 Coquia v. Baltazar
G.R. No. L-2942, 29 December 1949

The action commenced before the respondent judge

was not for support but for the recovery of the ownership
and possession of real property. Manifestly such an action
is not "the proper action" contemplated by said rule. The
mere fact that the plaintiffs have legal and equitable rights
in the property they seek to recover (Q. E. D. ) does not
authorize the court to compel the defendants to support the
plaintiffs pending the determination of the suit.
 Calderon v. Roxas
G.R. No. 185595, 9 January 2013

The Rules of Court provide for the provisional

remedy of support pendente lite which may be availed of at
the commencement of the proper action or proceeding, or
at any time prior to the judgment or final order.

An order for support is interlocutory.

 Bayot v. CA
G.R. No. 155635, 7 November 2008

One is not entitled to support if a valid

decree of divorce has been obtained.
 Gotardo v. Buling
G.R. No. 165166, 15 August 2012

Since filiation is beyond question, support follows as a matter

of obligation; a parent is obliged to support his child, whether legitimate
or illegitimate. Support consists of everything indispensable for
sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and
transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family. Thus,
the amount of support is variable and, for this reason, no final judgment
on the amount of support is made as the amount shall be in proportion
to the resources or means of the giver and the necessities of the
recipient. It may 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 support.
 Spouses Lim v. Lim
G.R. No. 163209, 30 October 2009

The ascendants’ partial concurrent obligation extends only to their

descendants as this word is commonly understood to refer to relatives, by
blood of lower degree.

Here, there is no question that Cheryl is unable to discharge her

obligation to provide sufficient legal support to her children, then all school-
bound. It is also undisputed that the amount of support Edward is able to give
to respondents, P6,000 a month, is insufficient to meet respondents basic
needs. This inability of Edward and Cheryl to sufficiently provide for their
children shifts a portion of their obligation to the ascendants in the nearest
degree, both in the paternal (petitioners) and maternal lines, following the
ordering in Article 199. To hold otherwise, and thus subscribe to petitioners
theory, is to sanction the anomalous scenario of tolerating extreme material
deprivation of children because of parental inability to give adequate support
even if ascendants one degree removed are more than able to fill the void.
 Lua v. Lua, G.R. Nos. 175279-80, 5 June 2013

The amount of support may 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
support.

Expenses not having a bearing on the food, household

expenses, and those necessary for the sustenance of the one granted
support, such as expensive cars, may be deducted from the amount of
support due.
 Mangoma v. Macadaeg
G.R. No. L-5153, 10 December 1951

Defendant must be allowed to present his evidence

against the granting of support pendente lite prior to any
issuance of an order for support pendente lite.
 Yangco v. Rhode,

Status as wife is a defense.

 Quintana vs. Lerma, 24 Phil., 285

Adultery on the part of the wife is a valid

defense against an action for support.
 Sanchez vs. Zulueta
68 Phil., 112

We are of the opinion that the Court of Appeals erred in not allowing
the defendant to present his evidence for the purpose of determining whether it
is sufficient prima facie to overcome the application. Adultery on the part of the
wife is a valid defense against an action for support (Quintana vs. Lerma, 24
Phil., 285). Consequently, as to the child, it is also a defense that it is the fruit of
such adulterous relations, for in that case, it would not be the child of the
defendant and, hence, would not be entitled to support as such. But as this
defense should be established, and not merely alleged, it would be unavailing if
proof thereof is not permitted. It is not of course necessary to go fully into the
merits of the case, it being which it may deem sufficient to enable it to justly
resolve the application, one way or the other, in view of the merely provisional
character of the resolution to be entered.
 Mangonon v. CA,
G.R. No. 125041, 30 June 2006

Finally, as to the amount of support pendente lite, we take our

bearings from the provision of the law mandating the amount of support
to be proportionate to the resources or means of the giver and to the
necessities of the recipient. Guided by this principle, we hold
respondent Francisco liable for half of the amount of school expenses
incurred by Rica and Rina as support pendente lite. As established by
petitioner, respondent Francisco has the financial resources to pay this
amount given his various business endeavors.
 Nepomuceno v. Lopez
G.R. No. 181258, 18 March 2010

At bottom, all that Arhbencel really has is petitioners

handwritten undertaking to provide financial support to her which,
without more, fails to establish her claim of filiation. The Court is
mindful that the best interests of the child in cases involving paternity
and filiation should be advanced. It is, however, just as mindful of the
disturbance that unfounded paternity suits cause to the privacy and
peace of the putative fathers legitimate family.