Property of Spouses: Who Owns What in a Marriage

It depends on your marriage settlement (prenuptial agreement) and on when you married. Article 75 says:

• Married on or after August 3, 1988, no prenup: absolute community of property.
• Married before August 3, 1988, no prenup: conjugal partnership of gains, which was the default under the Civil Code. The Family Code rules on conjugal partnership also apply to these older marriages, without prejudice to rights already acquired.
• With a prenup: the regime the couple chose, such as complete separation of property. A prenup must be in writing, signed and made before the wedding, and binds third persons only if registered (Articles 76 and 77). See Prenuptial agreement.

Article 91 sets the starting rule for absolute community:

A title in one spouse's name does not decide ownership. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed common or conjugal, whether registered in the name of one or both spouses, unless the contrary is proved (Articles 93 and 116). The two regimes are compared in full in Absolute community vs conjugal partnership.

No. Under Article 96 for absolute community and Article 124 for conjugal partnership, the spouses manage the property jointly, and a sale or mortgage without court authority or the written consent of the other spouse is void. The law treats the deal as a continuing offer: it becomes binding only if the other spouse accepts it, or the court authorizes it, before the offer is withdrawn.

In Homeowners Savings & Loan Bank v. Dailo (2005), a husband mortgaged the conjugal house and lot without his wife's consent. The Supreme Court held the mortgage void as a whole, not only as to the wife's share, because Article 124 makes no distinction. See Can a spouse sell or mortgage conjugal property without consent?

Common property answers for a debt that one spouse made without the other's consent only to the extent that the family benefited (Articles 94(3) and 121(3)). In Dailo, the Court said the creditor who claims the loan benefited the family must prove it.

Not between themselves during the marriage. Article 87 makes every donation or grant of gratuitous advantage between the spouses during the marriage void, except moderate gifts on the occasion of a family rejoicing. The same ban applies to persons living together as husband and wife without a valid marriage, as the Supreme Court applied in Arcaba v. Tabancura Vda. de Batocael (2001).

Neither spouse may donate community property to others without the other's consent, except moderate donations for charity or on occasions of family rejoicing or family distress (Article 98). See Can husband and wife give property to each other?

Only by court order, unless the prenup already provides for it. Article 134 says separation during the marriage may be voluntary or for sufficient cause. Article 135 lists six causes, such as abandonment or failure to meet family obligations, and separation in fact for at least one year with reconciliation highly improbable. Under Article 136, the spouses may also jointly file a verified petition, with all creditors listed and notified. Living apart alone does not end the regime. See Can spouses separate their property while still married?

Under Article 101, if a spouse without just cause abandons the other or fails to comply with his or her obligations to the family, the other spouse may go to court. A spouse who left the conjugal dwelling without intention of returning has abandoned the other; three months away, or three months without news, creates a prima facie presumption of that intention. The spouse left behind may ask for receivership, judicial separation of property, or authority to be the sole administrator of the common property. See What can you do if your spouse abandoned the family?

The marriage ends and the common property must be liquidated before it can be divided. Under absolute community, after an inventory and the payment of debts, the net assets are divided equally between the spouses, unless the marriage settlement provides a different division or a share was waived or forfeited (Article 102); the conjugal partnership follows similar steps (Article 129). Only the deceased spouse's share then goes to the heirs.

If no estate case is filed in court, the surviving spouse must liquidate the property, in or out of court, within one year under absolute community (Article 103) or six months under conjugal partnership (Article 130). After that period without liquidation, any sale or mortgage of that property is void. A different case is a spouse who died before the Family Code took effect: in Heirs of Protacio Go, Sr. v. Servacio (2011), the wife died in 1987, and the Court held that a later sale of part of the property by the husband and a son, without prior liquidation, was not necessarily void. A surviving spouse who remarries without liquidating falls under complete separation of property in the new marriage. See Selling conjugal property after a spouse dies and the inheritance topic.

The marriage regimes do not apply to them. Article 147 covers partners who are capacitated to marry each other and live exclusively as husband and wife, and couples in a void marriage who were capacitated: their wages and property acquired through joint work are owned in equal shares, and caring for the family and household counts as a contribution. Article 148 covers other unions, for example when one partner is married to someone else: only property acquired through actual joint contribution is shared, in proportion to each contribution. See Do live-in partners share property?

The family home is the house where the family lives and the land it stands on (Article 152). Under Article 155, it is exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment, except for nonpayment of taxes, debts incurred before it became a family home, debts secured by a mortgage on it, and debts owed to those who built it or supplied materials. In Ramos v. Pangilinan (2010), the Supreme Court said family homes built after the Family Code took effect are constituted by operation of law. See Can creditors take the family home?

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Bong and Cecil married in 2010 without a prenup. Cecil owned a condo unit before the wedding, and she has no children from a former marriage. Under absolute community, the condo became common property. A lot Bong inherits from his father during the marriage stays his own.

Mario wants to mortgage the house he and Linda bought during their marriage, which is titled in his name only. The house is presumed common property. Without Linda's written consent or a court order, the mortgage is void.

Fe's husband dies, and no estate case is filed. Under absolute community, she has one year to liquidate the common property. If she sells the lot after that year without liquidating, the sale is void.

Talk to a lawyer before you sign a sale or mortgage of property acquired during the marriage, when your spouse has left or is selling property without your consent, before you remarry after a spouse's death, or when you need to settle the property of a marriage that ended. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.