Dear Atty. Angela,

I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community and currently living with my domestic partner for 12 years now. As we are committed partners who foresee ourselves growing old together, we plan to secure a life insurance policy and intend to make each other as beneficiaries. This is for the purpose of financial security in case of any unfortunate death. However, I have apprehensions as our law does not allow same-sex marriage and I do not know if the plan of making my partner as a beneficiary would be legal. I hope you could give guidance.

Alexa

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Dear Alexa,

The intention of life insurance is to provide financial assistance to the beneficiary after the death of the insured. In your case, you may designate your life partner as your beneficiary in the life insurance policy. In the Legal Opinion (LO) 2020-02 dated 4 March 2020 issued by the Philippine Insurance Commission, it affirmed the position that the insured who secures a life insurance policy on his or her own life has the freedom to designate any person as his or her beneficiary, with the exception of those disqualified under Articles 739 and 2012 of the Civil Code.

Insofar as the Amended lnsurance Code is concerned, there are no restrictions as to who may be designated as beneficiary in a life insurance policy, subject to the application of Section 12 thereof which provides thus: “The interest of a beneficiary in a life insurance policy shall be forfeited when the beneficiary is the principal, accomplice, or accessory in willfully bringing about the death of the insured.”

Meanwhile, insofar as the restriction on the designation of beneficiary in a life insurance policy is concerned, Article 2012 of the Civil Code is controlling, to wit: “Any person who is forbidden from receiving any donation under Article 739 cannot be named beneficiary of a life insurance policy by the person who cannot make any donation to him, according to said article.”

Under Article 739 of the Civil Code, the following individuals cannot be named beneficiary of a life insurance policy: (1) Those made between persons who were guilty of adultery; (2) Those made between persons found guilty of the same criminal offense, in consideration thereof; and (3) Those made to a public officer or his wife, descendants and ascendants, by reason of his office. x x x”

The foregoing considered, the rule then is that an individual who has secured a life insurance policy on his or her own life may designate any person as beneficiary provided that such designation does not fall under the enumerations provided in Article 739 of the Civil Code, without prejudice to the application of Section 12 of the Amended Insurance Code.

Atty. Angela Antonio