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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
Without a valid marriage settlement executed by the spouses, the regime of absolute community of property applies in marriages celebrated after August 3, 1988.
The absolute community of property between spouses shall commence at the precise moment that the marriage is celebrated. Under this property regime, all the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of the marriage or acquired thereafter shall form part of the absolute community.
Article 92 of the Family Code enumerates the properties excluded from the absolute community.
The Family Code took effect on August 3, 1988. It laid down the different property regimes governing marriages. Absent any showing that the spouses agreed on a particular regime, absolute community of property shall be the default property relations of the spouses.
As a general rule, absolute community of property consists of all the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of the marriage or acquired thereafter.
According to Article 93 of the Family Code, property acquired during the marriage is presumed to belong to the community, unless it is proved that it is one of those excluded therefrom.
What are excluded from the absolute community of property?
Article 92 provides for the exclusions:
(1) Property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title by either spouse, and the fruits as well as the income thereof, if any, unless it is expressly provided by the donor, testator or grantor that they shall form part of the community property;
(2) Property for personal and exclusive use of either spouse. However, jewelry shall form part of the community property;
(3) Property acquired before the marriage by either spouse who has legitimate descendants by a former marriage, and the fruits as well as the income, if any, of such property.
As held in Quiao v. Quiao (G.R. No. 176556, July 3, 2012) when a couple enters into a regime of absolute community, the husband and the wife become joint owners of all the properties of the marriage. Whatever property each spouse brings into the marriage, and those acquired during the marriage (except those excluded under Article 92 of the Family Code) form the common mass of the couple’s properties. When the couple’s marriage or community is dissolved, that common mass is divided between the spouses, or their respective heirs, equally or in the proportion the parties have established, irrespective of the value each one may have originally owned.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- What Is Ante- Nuptial Agreement?
- HOW CAN THE ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY BE TERMINATED?
- WHAT CHARGES MAY BE DEDUCTED FROM THE ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY PROPERTY?
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 0917-5772207/ 09778050020.
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