Condonation, A56(1) Family Code

1. Concept

Condonation – refers to forgiveness; “implied pardon of an offense by treating the offender as if it had not been committed” (Merriam-Webster, n.d. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condonation [Accessed: 17 April 2025])

2. Condonation

Art. 56. The petition for legal separation shall be denied on any of the following grounds:

(1) Where the aggrieved party has condoned the offense or act complained of; x x x

1) That the aggrieved party has condoned the offense or act complained of is a ground for denying legal separation.

2) A petition for legal separation will be rejected if the spouse who was wronged has already forgiven or accepted the wrongful act committed by the other spouse. In legal terms, this act of forgiveness is called “condonation.” Once forgiveness is given—either through words, actions, or by resuming marital relations despite the offense—it signals to the court that the aggrieved spouse has chosen to move forward, making it unjustified to later use the same offense as a ground for separation. (OpenAI ChatGPT-4 [2025], reviewed by J. Del Puerto. Available at: https://chat.openai.com [Accessed: 18 April 2025])

3) Condonation or forgiveness may either be:

(a) Express; or

(b) implied.

a. Express condonation

1) There is express condonation if it is clear from the words and/or actions of that the offense and/or the acts of complained of have been condoned or forgiven by the innocent spouse.

2) For example, the innocent spouse clearly and categorically state “I forgive you”, or have written a letter expressing forgiveness, and similar thereto.

b. Implied condonation

1) There is implied condonation if, notwithstanding any clear statement or action showing condonation or forgiveness, it can instead be inferred from the actions and/or behavior of the innocent spouse that the offense or the acts complained of have been condoned or forgiven.

2) For example, an innocent spouse who has sex with the guilty spouse despite the innocent spouse knowing of the sexual infidelity of the guilty spouse. In such a case, although the innocent spouse did not say any words indicating forgiveness, it can be inferred from the action of engaging in sex that the innocent spouse has impliedly condoned or forgave the guilty spouse of the sexual infidelity.

3. Examples

Example 1 – Maria and Jose:

Jose had an affair, and Maria discovered it. Despite the betrayal, Maria chose to forgive Jose and continued living with him as husband and wife. They resumed their normal married life, shared a bed, and even celebrated their anniversary together months later. A year after, Maria filed a petition for legal separation based on the same affair. In this case, the court may dismiss her petition because her actions indicated she had already forgiven the infidelity. (OpenAI ChatGPT-4 [2025], supra.)

Example 2 – Carlos and Anna:

Carlos physically hurt Anna during an argument. Afterward, Carlos apologized, and Anna accepted his apology. She stayed in the marriage, did not pursue legal action, and they both went on vacation as a couple shortly after. If Anna later files for legal separation using that incident as the sole reason, her petition might be denied because her behavior showed she condoned the offense. (Ibid.)

Example 3 – Liza and Mark:

Mark abandoned Liza without any explanation and stayed away for over a year. When he eventually returned, he expressed remorse. Liza accepted him back into their home and they resumed their married life—living together, sharing meals, and even attending family events as a couple. Two years later, Liza filed for legal separation citing Mark’s abandonment. However, since she had already welcomed him back and lived with him again as husband and wife, the court may view this as condonation, and her petition could be denied on that ground.