GR 43257; (February, 1937) (Digest)
G.R. No. 43257 ; February 19, 1937
MARGARITA QUINTOS DE ANSALDO and ANGEL A. ANSALDO, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. THE SHERIFF OF THE CITY OF MANILA, FIDELITY & SURETY COMPANY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS and LUZON SURETY COMPANY, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
Angel A. Ansaldo, as an indemnitor, guaranteed the obligation of Romarico Agcaoili to the Fidelity & Surety Company, which had guaranteed Agcaoili’s credit with Philippine Trust Company. Upon Agcaoili’s default, the surety company paid the debt and obtained a judgment against Angel A. Ansaldo. To satisfy the judgment, the sheriff levied on a joint savings account in the Bank of the Philippine Islands in the names of Angel A. Ansaldo and his wife, Margarita Quintos de Ansaldo. The spouses filed a third-party claim, asserting the money was conjugal partnership property and not liable for Angel’s personal obligation. The sheriff retained the money after Luzon Surety Company posted an indemnity bond. The spouses then sued to have the levy declared null and void.
ISSUE
Whether a joint savings account of a husband and wife, derived from the wife’s paraphernal property, can be levied upon for the payment of the husband’s personal obligation.
RULING
No. The Court affirmed the lower court’s decision declaring the levy null and void. The money in the joint account, though derived from the wife’s paraphernal property, became part of the conjugal partnership assets under Article 1385 of the Civil Code. However, under Article 1386, the fruits of paraphernal property (which include this money) are not liable for the personal obligations of the husband unless it is proven that such obligations were productive of some benefit to the family. No such proof was presented. Furthermore, the husband’s right to one-half of the conjugal partnership property does not vest until the dissolution of the marriage, so his supposed share could not be levied upon prematurely. The claim of estoppel was rejected, as the spouses consistently maintained the funds were conjugal partnership property, which is not subject to levy under the circumstances.
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