Bartholomew v. Allen
Bartholomew v. Allen
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
John W. Allen, who married Sarah T. Allen in the State
If the properties purchased belong to the conjugal partnership composed of the Allen spouses, there is no doubt that although in the State of New York, where they were .married, the husband is entitled to the management and free •disposal of the community property, he could not sell real .property situated in Porto Rico without first obtaining the consent of his wife, pursuant to the principles laid down in the cases of Amadeo v. The Registrar, 3 P. R. R. (2d ed.), 134, and Colón v. The Registrar, 22 P. R. R. 344.
But this is not the question in the present case. It is •whether the properties purchased by John W. Allen belong exclusively to him, inasmuch as section 1322 of oiir Civil .Code prescribes that all the property of the marriage shall •be considered as partnership property until it is proved that it belongs exclusively to the husband or to the wife.
As it is conceded that in the State of New York, where the Allen spouses were married, the ganancial system of
In conformity with these principles, this court held in 1904 in the analogous case of Antongiorgi v. The Registrar of Property, 6 P. R. R. 493, (2d ed. p. 238), that it is a principle of private international law, admitted by the decisions of the courts and sanctioned especially by section 9 of the Civil Code, that the personal law relating to the individual is that of the country to which he belongs, which follows him wherever he may go and regulates his personal rights, his capacity to convey by acts inter vivos or causa mortis, and the government of marriage and the family, and that applying the said doctrine, a citizen of any state where the system of community property has not been established has perfect capacity in Porto Eico to execute a contract of purchase and sale of a rural estate acquired during the wedlock, and no law or provision in force in this Island relating to the alienation of real property is thereby violated.
The judgment appealed from should be
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.