The Supreme Court decides: The Court ruled that the property is not conjugal. The property was acquired in 1978, before Lani and Stephen’s marriage in 1983, and was registered solely in Stephen’s name.
According to the Civil Code, property acquired before marriage remains the exclusive property of the individual, unless proven otherwise. The presumption of conjugal ownership only applies to property acquired during the marriage. Since Lani admitted the property was bought before the marriage and was purchased with Stephen’s personal funds, she could not claim it as conjugal.