Spouse who left or refused to live at conjugal home, A100(1) Family Code

Art. 100. The separation in fact between husband and wife shall not affect the regime of absolute community except that:

(1) The spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live therein, without just cause, shall not have the right to be supported; x x x

1) When a married couple stops living together in reality — what we call a “separation in fact” — their legal property arrangement under the absolute community of property continues to exist. This means they still jointly own assets acquired during the marriage. However, if one spouse voluntarily abandons the family home or refuses to live there without a valid reason, that spouse gives up their legal right to be financially supported by the other. (OpenAI ChatGPT-4 [2025], reviewed by J. Del Puerto, supra.)

Example 1: Miguel left the house he shared with Sandra after a petty argument and moved in with friends without any urgent or justified reason. Although their shared assets remained co-owned, Miguel could no longer demand financial support from Sandra because he left the family home without a valid excuse. (Ibid.)

Example 2: Aaron refused to return home to his wife Patricia and chose to stay in a different city for personal freedom. Since he didn’t have a lawful justification for abandoning their home, Patricia was no longer obliged to support him financially, though they still shared ownership of anything they acquired during the marriage. (Ibid.)