# Conjugal property rights, NO MORE



## kidcury (Dec 10, 2015)

I am a British ex pat living in Palawan Philippines, I am legally married to a Filipina who resides and works in England . We have been separated for many years. On Nov 3rd this year she came back to the Philippines and sold our conjugal property , a house and lot. I found out about this from my tenant who received an eviction order from the new buyer. My attorney tells me that a law passed in2008 and one passed in 2014 strip the rights of the foreigner to own anything anymore, including buildings and improvements to the lot , Unless you have contract with your wife stating otherwise. I do not have such a contract and I suspect neither do many other foreigners. Anybody else aware of these laws ? Kid cury alias mike


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

We can only own condos. Well it sounds like she's still in Britain so... I feel she owes you half that amount because your still married (I'm not a lawyer) and if not I'd get a bill of sale on the house, wonder if she paid taxes on it, so many angles if you want to make trouble.

I've heard of leases or loans set against the house, so nobody would want to touch it, are you sure she sold the house though.


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

kidcury said:


> On Nov 3rd this year she came back to the Philippines and sold our conjugal property , a house and lot.


Have you asked to see the sales documents to see if your notarized signature was legally required? There are too many variables. Please better explain your conjugal property. Did you buy this house/lot before or after your marriage? Was it her lot prior to Marriage? Was your name on the purchase documents? Is it Titled? How many years have you 2 been separated?


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Unfortunately if she is in or returns to the UK it will make no difference. The UK or any other country does not have jurisdiction in the Philippines. 
Then on the other hand if you try a legal remedy here in the islands, you have little to no chance at winning the case. Laws are not enforced to speak of here and even less so for a foreigner. Courts will almost always side with the Filipino citizen no matter what documents, witnesses, or proof you provide in any type of court action.
As foreigners, we can own buildings but not the land. Having title to a house or condo is really nothing more than like using a condom. It gives you as sense of security while you are getting scr**ed.


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

Jet Lag said:


> Unfortunately if she is in or returns to the UK it will make no difference. The UK or any other country does not have jurisdiction in the Philippines.
> Then on the other hand if you try a legal remedy here in the islands, you have little to no chance at winning the case. Laws are not enforced to speak of here and even less so for a foreigner. Courts will almost always side with the Filipino citizen no matter what documents, witnesses, or proof you provide in any type of court action.
> As foreigners, we can own buildings but not the land. Having title to a house or condo is really nothing more than like using a condom. It gives you as sense of security while you are getting scr**ed.


Have to disagree with you. In my 33 years here, I have spoken with many wise Expats who have won in court, and have spoke to the foolish ones who have lost property, homes, land, businesses. I won in one of my titled house/land scenarios with my first marriage here years ago . Been there done it.

The Title to Property is extremely important to the foreigner. When the foreigner spouse has his 50 year lease contract entered on a title by the register of deeds, It clearly states that the land, house, business "can not be sold" rented, etc. etc. The details depend on the contract. There are also ways to reach out to the country where the spouse is living outside the Philippines if the spouse sold the property without the notarized signature of the spouse on the sales contract. Been there done that years ago.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

pakawala said:


> Have to disagree with you. In my 33 years here, I have spoken with many wise Expats who have won in court, and have spoke to the foolish ones who have lost property, homes, land, businesses. I won in one of my titled house/land scenarios with my first marriage here years ago . Been there done it.
> 
> The Title to Property is extremely important to the foreigner. When the foreigner spouse has his 50 year lease contract entered on a title by the register of deeds, It clearly states that the land, house, business "can not be sold" rented, etc. etc. The details depend on the contract. There are also ways to reach out to the country where the spouse is living outside the Philippines if the spouse sold the property without the notarized signature of the spouse on the sales contract. Been there done that years ago.


That's good to know and glad to hear it although it's news to me. Overall foreigners usually hold the loosing hand no matter what cards they are dealt. Hopefully there will be more winners in all areas of life and legal battles.


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## lets_take_a_look (Nov 18, 2015)

Much depends on the details of the Title to the property and on whether there are annotations on it. 

I also second _pakawala's_ comments. What are the other details? Without those it would be difficult to advise you in a meaningful way.

Can you also clarify with your lawyer if he was referring to case law by the Supreme Court or to statutes passed in 2008 and 2014?


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

*Lawyers with ambitions*



lets_take_a_look said:


> Much depends on the details of the Title to the property and on whether there are annotations on it.
> 
> I also second _pakawala's_ comments. What are the other details? Without those it would be difficult to advise you in a meaningful way.
> 
> Can you also clarify with your lawyer if he was referring to case law by the Supreme Court or to statutes passed in 2008 and 2014?


Who wants to deal with a Philippine lawyer though? My experience was very bad, they dragged things on and it began to cost me so much that it wasn't worth the effort.


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## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

pakawala said:


> Have to disagree with you. In my 33 years here, I have spoken with many wise Expats who have won in court, and have spoke to the foolish ones who have lost property, homes, land, businesses. I won in one of my titled house/land scenarios with my first marriage here years ago . Been there done it.
> 
> The Title to Property is extremely important to the foreigner. When the foreigner spouse has his 50 year lease contract entered on a title by the register of deeds, It clearly states that the land, house, business "can not be sold" rented, etc. etc. The details depend on the contract. There are also ways to reach out to the country where the spouse is living outside the Philippines if the spouse sold the property without the notarized signature of the spouse on the sales contract. Been there done that years ago.


Ahh Kay ,, Interesting Pakawala ,, glad I read this tdy ,, Any way I don't have a 50 year contract on mine ,, but it is also very important to show bank transactions and prove who had the financial capacity to purchase that property !! 

But in this case the property was outright sold because the person was not living on the property and had no idea what was going on !! no contest !!


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## joneeboy (Jul 29, 2013)

Your points are irrelevant since under Philippine law only Philippine citizens may own land. The only exceptions are a) Personal Prsidential decee, or b) if land has been owned by a foreigner since before the Philippines became independent from the USA, ownership may be retained but cannot be sold or given to any none citizen.
Unfortunately for him, the OP is only one of thousands who have lost what they thought was their property or conjugal property. It doesn't matter what papers you have that say otherwise. The law is clear. Yes, you can have a condo, but are still at the mercy of others because the land it stands on will always belong to either the freeholder or the head leaseholder, who always has the whip hand.


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## joneeboy (Jul 29, 2013)

pakawala said:


> Have to disagree with you. In my 33 years here, I have spoken with many wise Expats who have won in court, and have spoke to the foolish ones who have lost property, homes, land, businesses. I won in one of my titled house/land scenarios with my first marriage here years ago . Been there done it.
> 
> The Title to Property is extremely important to the foreigner. When the foreigner spouse has his 50 year lease contract entered on a title by the register of deeds, It clearly states that the land, house, business "can not be sold" rented, etc. etc. The details depend on the contract. There are also ways to reach out to the country where the spouse is living outside the Philippines if the spouse sold the property without the notarized signature of the spouse on the sales contract. Been there done that years ago.



I agree with your second para.because it is correct and common sense, but neither it or the first para. are relevant to the OP's problem. . He lost house and a presumably freehold LOT he thought were conjugal property.He did not mention lease. If you yourself claim to own or have ever owned any land in the Philippines I should be extremely interested in learning how. 
I lived in the Philippines for more than 20 years and still have connections there. I had a company setup jointly with my wife which owned our business and 4 properties. It was set up by a friend who was a judge. I never had to test its viabilty in the courts because my wife did not run off!


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## GareBear (Jan 22, 2016)

*Property Ownership*

Bottom Line, a Filipino will always be favored in a Philippine court of law, it is written into their law. A foreigner, should never invest more than they are willing to walk away from. Foreigners can win, but if their is any doubt to the legalities, viewed unfavorably, in the eye's of a Philippine court, remembering family ties and corruption entered, it's going to cost, time, money, and not to mention all the hassle, for what, a handful of paper, discounted, I would rather just go fishing. Do any of us foreigners actually think, our families of a by gone past, would win anything of an inheritance, of what assets we think we have, in the Philippines. I doubt it, and frankly when I'm gone, I don't think I will care. The sad part is, we find some little hottie, run with her for awhile, issues come up, then she's gone, we are on to the next, losing assets along the way, I am pretty sure, our minds had already agreed to this, before we started, if not, oop's someone wasn't truthful in the beginning. Hey, try to marry an American woman, one thing for sure, she will get most of your assets, in an American court of law.

There are many ways a foreigner can own property in the Philippines, one way they cannot, is to put it into your Filipina wife's name, 99.99% of the time, her family will end up with it, they know it, I know it, and you all should know it. 
Mabuhay

If we become bullheaded, love struck, or what have you, the best we could hope for, is retaining 40%, discounted from there, not considering, legal or otherwise, fee's for setting up a corporation and a long list of incidentals. I question myself as to, why, would I want to complicate the very thing I was searching for from the beginning, simplicity.
Welcome to the jungle, we have fun and games.


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## Cebu Citizen (Dec 13, 2013)

pakawala said:


> Have to disagree with you. In my 33 years here, I have spoken with many wise Expats who have won in court, and have spoke to the foolish ones who have lost property, homes, land, businesses. I won in one of my titled house/land scenarios with my first marriage here years ago . Been there done it.
> 
> The Title to Property is extremely important to the foreigner. When the foreigner spouse has his 50 year lease contract entered on a title by the register of deeds, It clearly states that the land, house, business "can not be sold" rented, etc. etc. The details depend on the contract. There are also ways to reach out to the country where the spouse is living outside the Philippines if the spouse sold the property without the notarized signature of the spouse on the sales contract. Been there done that years ago.


I must agree with Pakawala. I had a similar situation arise when my Filipina wife's family tried to gain access to some property we had purchased, (in her name). I had a lawyer and ended up NOT even having to go to court. Our contract states that there is nothing my wife or her family can do without my notarized signature. Even though the property is in her name, the contract lists me a her legal spouse and that I am the source of the money which purchased the said property, drawn from a US Bank and paid for from my Pension Account...

Even though the land is in my wife's name, the contract clearly shows that she could not have or her family for that matter, could not have purchased this property without my assistance. In my situation, I total trust my Filipina Wife and if she wanted to give the land to her family, she could but this was a situation where her family tried to take it from us without our blessing and they LOST!


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