Lesaca v. Lesaca, 91 Phil 135

FACTS: Baldomaro J. Lesaca died in the City of Manila on November 8, 1946. He was survived by his second wife (Juana Felix), two minor children by the latter, two children by his marriage, and three acknowledged natural children by a third woman. In his will he named Juana F. Lesaca and Consuelo F.Lesaca, his children by his first marriage, coexecutrices. It appears that the deceased and his widow, Juana Felix, had lived together maritally since 1924 but were not married until December 18, 1945, less than a year before his death.

ISSUE:  Whether money received after marriage, as purchase price of land sold a retrovendendo before such marriage to one of the consorts, constitutes conjugal property or not.

HELD: According to the briefs Garcia sold the land for P2,500 to Lesaca before the latter's marriage to Juana Felix and repurchased it to for the same amount after said marriage. If the money paid by Lesaca was his own exclusively, surely the mere fact that it was returned or repaid after marriage cannot convert it to conjugal property. It is true that under Art. 1401 of the Civil Code of 1889 property obtained by the industry, wages or work of the spouses or of either of them belongs to the conjugal partnership.