# Inherit Land



## petew2oz (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi,

Under the current law foreigners cannot own land but can own property. But can they inherit the land

Pete


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

petew2oz said:


> Hi,
> 
> Under the current law foreigners cannot own land but can own property. But can they inherit the land
> 
> Pete


Yes they can inherit land. But... a spouce is something like 4th or 5th in line for inheritance so unless your wife is and only child with no living reletives your chances are not good.


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## lets_take_a_look (Nov 18, 2015)

The general rule is that foreign persons cannot own land under the present Philippine constitution. Corporations, as juridical entities, can own land, but even these corporations must be 60% owned by Filipino citizzens.

There are exceptions to this general rule. 

First, in the case of former Filipino citizens. Former natural-born Filipinos (who have since acquired foreign citizenship) can own land in the Philippines. They can legally own residential property up to 1000 square meters of urban land or one hectare of rural land. They can own business property of 5000 square meters of urban land or three hectares of rural land.

Second, foreigners can come to own land through inheritance. (Fun fact: some 10.2 million Filipinos work or reside abroad, or some eleven percent of the population. Many, many of them settle abroad permanently and have children born to non-Filipino citizenship. Not to mention that many marry non-Filipinos.)

Here is a salient point for foreign ownership via inheritance though: It cannot be via the dispositions of a will. *A foreigner can only inherit land through the intestate (inheritance without a will) provisions of the law.
*
The law on intestate inheritance in the Philippines is found in its Civil Code and the Family Code. The law automatically allots compulsory shares to the surviving relatives of a deceased person which vary depending on which set of relatives have outlived the deceased and what their relation to the deceased person is (spouse, parent, child, sibling, etc.). 

In such a situation, how much a foreigner is entitled to inherit depends on what his legal relation to the deceased Filipino is, and who the other relatives are of that deceased Filipino are.

In your case, what is the situation you have in mind?


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## petew2oz (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi,

We are a childless couple that are planning to move to Q.C. for an easier life and plan to retire later in life back in the UK. We are in the process of buying a guarded lot and will build our house later. I trust my wife 100% but when it comes to my in laws its another story. My mother in-law (only surviving parent) is very nice but my brother and sister in-laws are a different story (money and grabbing come to mind). My worry is anything happened to my wife (god forbid) where would I stand legally. 

Pete


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## lets_take_a_look (Nov 18, 2015)

The Philippine law that applies here is its Civil Code which it inherited from Spain.

Specifically, Articles 995, 997 and 1001. I'll give you the entire subsection on a surviving spouse:

Subsection 4. - Surviving Spouse

*Art. 995.* In the absence of legitimate descendants and ascendants, and illegitimate children and their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate, the surviving spouse shall inherit the entire estate, without prejudice to the rights of brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, should there be any, under article 1001. (946a)

Art. 996. If a widow or widower and legitimate children or descendants are left, the surviving spouse has in the succession the same share as that of each of the children. (834a)

*Art. 997.* When the widow or widower survives with legitimate parents or ascendants, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-half of the estate, and the legitimate parents or ascendants to the other half. (836a)

Art. 998. If a widow or widower survives with illegitimate children, such widow or widower shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance, and the illegitimate children or their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate, to the other half. 

Art. 999. When the widow or widower survives with legitimate children or their descendants and illegitimate children or their descendants, whether legitimate or illegitimate, such widow or widower shall be entitled to the same share as that of a legitimate child. 

Art. 1000. If legitimate ascendants, the surviving spouse, and illegitimate children are left, the ascendants shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance, and the other half shall be divided between the surviving spouse and the illegitimate children so that such widow or widower shall have one-fourth of the estate, and the illegitimate children the other fourth. (841a)

*Art. 1001.* Should brothers and sisters or their children survive with the widow or widower, the latter shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and sisters or their children to the other half. (953, 837a)

Art. 1002. In case of a legal separation, if the surviving spouse gave cause for the separation, he or she shall not have any of the rights granted in the preceding articles. ​
In your case, these should be read in relation to Article 985 of the same Code.

Article 985. In default of legitimate children and descendants of the deceased, his parents and ascendants shall inherit from him, to the exclusion of collateral relatives. (935a)​
These mean that: 

1) If your wife were to pass away with your mother-in-law and siblings-in-law still living, you would be entitled to half your wife's estate and your mother-in-law to the other half.

2) If your wife were to pass away after your mother-in-law had also passed and with your siblings-in-law still living, you would be entitled to half your wife's estate and your siblings-in-law to the other half.


There are other aspects of the law you might consider though. 

A foreigner cannot own land, but he can own the house built on it. If you document the costs and acquisition of the land in your name, and in addition have your wife execute an acknowledgement of the fact of your ownership, at least the house will not be part of your wife's estate. This reduces the extent of your exposure to problems down the line.

It might also be possible for your wife to encumber the Title to the land in some way - via her making a will or through an annotation on the Title or through some other deed (say a long term lease agreement which can be for an initial period of 50 years renewable for another 25 years) - so as to protect your use of the land for at least your lifetime.

There are more extreme scenarios of your wife executing a will that disinherits other members of her family for strong reasons (check out Articles 919, 920 and 921 of the Civil Code), but I suppose she won't want to do that without strong cause when other safeguards can be put in place.


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## petew2oz (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi,

It is a lot to take on board at this present time but very good advice we better see a solicitor. I don't want to pressure my wife but I want her to see what we have worked for all of these years together not just to be given away. 

Thank You all for your help

Pete


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## lets_take_a_look (Nov 18, 2015)

It's always a balance of sensitivities and considerations in things like these. Good luck, and I hope it all works out.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

petew2oz said:


> Hi,
> 
> We are a childless couple that are planning to move to Q.C. for an easier life and plan to retire later in life back in the UK. We are in the process of buying a guarded lot and will build our house later. I trust my wife 100% but when it comes to my in laws its another story. My mother in-law (only surviving parent) is very nice but my brother and sister in-laws are a different story (money and grabbing come to mind). My worry is anything happened to my wife (god forbid) where would I stand legally.
> 
> Pete


It would be the "A foreigner can only inherit land through the intestate (inheritance without a will) provisions of the law." and the money grabbing brothers and sister in laws that would inherit infront of you that would be the problem.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

I feel your concerns and since you have them, the only thing you can own here is a condo, I've heard of all sorts of ways to get around that but if the family wants the property they'll get it one way or another and those contracts will be costly, you'll be in court all the time "been there done that" and we live on squatted land, we don't even own it. 

I also feel your frustrations with the in-laws, it won't get any better no matter what you do, I'd be looking at Condos.


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

You may legally inherit and own land, house, etc. Well and good. But if your relationship with your Filipino "family" isn't the best right now, what will it be like when your wife isn't around. There are many lawyers who will argue on you behalf because there are laws that protect you. But you may end up losing money and property on fees and taxes, a scenario you can avoid now - but not in the future.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

If I could turn back the clock and had as much time as you in making choices to live here I'd probably purchase more than one condo and the other condo would be a rental unit providing me income, the sooner you purchase the lower the costs, I've talked with a few expats that do make money renting out their condominiums, location is everything and prices keep going up.


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## 197649 (Jan 1, 2013)

*Rep act 386*

Might have the answer for you


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## JohnSurrey (Oct 24, 2015)

petew2oz said:


> Hi,
> 
> We are a childless couple that are planning to move to Q.C. for an easier life and plan to retire later in life back in the UK. We are in the process of buying a guarded lot and will build our house later. I trust my wife 100% but when it comes to my in laws its another story. My mother in-law (only surviving parent) is very nice but my brother and sister in-laws are a different story (money and grabbing come to mind). My worry is anything happened to my wife (god forbid) where would I stand legally.
> 
> Pete


As another poster said your safest route is to buy a Condo that you can legally own - things work very differently here and as someone else said if her family want the land/property they will find some way to get it... 

If you plan to return to the UK at a later date to retire (again) then you might find it simpler and a lot less stressful to rent. It's not like the UK where you can sell a property in a month - here it can take years to sell property and you'll be unlikely to make a profit on it if you want to get out quickly.

Out of interest have you actually spent any time living here yet?

If you haven't then it's another good reason to rent - try it for a year - no need to rush.


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