Schroder v. Registrar of Caguas
Schroder v. Registrar of Caguas
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The conveyance of a house to Maria Puig, a married woman, as her private property representing' a portion of an inheritance from her father, was recorded subject to a curable defect for want of sufficient showing as to the source of the purchase money. A mortgage subsequently executed by María Puig and subscribed by both spouses, after setting forth the above circumstances, further recites that in order to give legal effect to the said mortgage the husband, José Garrido, “now states that he approves and ratifies it in so far as may be necessary in law and under the responsibilities of the law.”
Record of this instrument was refused because “it does not appear from the said instrument that express consent was given by the mortgagor’s husband to the lien created therein, inasmuch as the said husband only states in the said instrument that he approves and ratifies the contract therein made and that statement is not sufficient to supply the express consent required by the law, sections 159 and 1328 of the Civil Code: 26 P. R. R. 673:”
The legal presumption as to the community character of the property involved herein, so long as the defect mentioned on the record is not cured, does not require that the spouses misrepresent the facts in dealing with the said property, pending a final determination of the status thereof in the registry. Both husband and wife seem to regard the house as the separate property of the wife; but, apparently in order to anticipate any objection by the registrar and to facilitate the record of the mortgage executed by the wife, the husband expressly ratifies and approves the same. In the circumstances it would be difficult to choose words more adequate to voice the “mutual consent of both parties to the marriage” required by the Civil Code as a requisite to the alienation or incumbrance of community property. The Code does not prescribe the phraseology in which Such consent shall be expressed and ratification and approval, if they in
The ruling appealed from mnst be
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.