Married women can make last will and testament

Married women can make last will and testament "I grew up in a pretty traditional and uptight household. My parents have been living separately for about three years now due to their constant bickering and disputes. I once visited my mother in the province where she told me that she already made her last will considering her old age. She showed me a copy of her last will and in it I saw that it included a part of their property with my father. My father eventually found out about this and just laughed it off because according to him, my mother’s last will is useless since it was made without his consent and signature as the husband and head of the family. I want to know if this is true so I can talk to my mother about this and assist her in obtaining the consent and signature of my father for her own last will. I hope you can advise me about this. We will be grateful to your Office’s advice. Thank you! MongDear Mong, Your father is mistaken in his claim that the last will of your mother is useless due to the lack of his consent and signature. There is no law that prohibits a wife from making her own will. The law also does not require the consent of a husband in order for a wife to prepare her last will.The Civil Code of the Philippines that provides for the laws covering the preparation of a last will and testament contains specific provisions on the right of a married woman to execute her own will. Some of these specific provisions which expressly debunk your father’s baseless claims state that: “Article 802. A married woman may make a will without the consent of her husband, and without the authority of the court.Article 803. A married woman may dispose by will of all her separate property as well as her share of the conjugal partnership or absolute community property.” As clearly stated in these cited provisions, the law expressly recognizes the independent legal capacity of women to prepare their own last will and dispose through it their own separate properties and shares in the conjugal or community property without requiring the consent or knowledge of their spouse.Please take note, however, that this right is not exclusive to married women. Married individuals in general are entitled to prepare and execute their own last will. This is also echoed by a provision in Article 97 of the Family Code of the Philippines that states that either spouse may dispose by will of his or her interest in the community property. Thus, both the husband and wife as married individuals are free to prepare their own last will without the consent of their respective spouses.Considering the abovementioned provisions, there is no need for your mother to prepare another last will just to accommodate your father’s consent since she can independently prepare her own last will as recognized and allowed by the law. It is also wise to inform your father about these cited provisions so that he may correct his flawed and sexist claims on a married woman’s right to dispose her properties through a last will.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated. Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to ." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/