was in a long term relationship with Mae. His name is Juan. Although the two were not married, they had lived together as husband and wife. After years of battling infertility, Juan and Mae decided to adopt. Mae legally adopted her 15 year old nice named Lisa, and the three of them lived under one roof. 4 years after the adoption, Mae died. Then it was revealed that Juan and Lisa had fallen in love with each other against their better judgement. Soon after, Juan married Lisa. is their marriage valid?
Would your answer be different if Juan and Mae adopted Lisa jointly?
My answer is the marriage between Juan and Lisa is valid.
According to Article 38 of the Family Code:
The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy:
(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
At first glance, it would seem Juan and Lisa’s marriage would have been void ab initio on the basis that Juan and Mae, Lisa’s adoptive parent, lived together as husband and wife for at least 5 years. However, Mae and Juan are not considered married under the law even if they cohabited as husband and wife.
The principle in statutory construction -- expressio unius est exclusio alterius -- when one or more
things of a class are expressly mentioned others of the same class are
excluded. Given this, Juan and Lisa are not impeded by reasons of public policy to marry since Juan was never the spouse of Mae.
The answer would be different if they adopted jointly because the prohibition now on the adopter marrying the adopted will be applied.
/BA
Erica Tay - reserved
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