Can't Own Land But Can Own House

[UZI]

In the event of death of the Filipino spouse, the foreign spouse is allowed a reasonable amount of time to dispose of the property and collect the proceeds or the property will pass to any Filipino heirs and or relatives. To clarify this important fact, this is from the Manila Times where Chief Acosta of The Public Attorneys Office answered the following question:Dear PAO,My British boyfriend and I have been living together in the Philippines for two years to date. We are both single and of legal age. We own a house and lot near a prestigious beach in one of the Islands in the Visayas region. Lately, our relationship is getting sour and I am pretty much sure that it will eventually reach its conclusion. In the event that our relationship finally reaches its end, what will happen to our properties? I know that my boyfriend is not qualified to own a piece of land in the Philippines, will the house and lot that we bought be awarded to me because of his disqualification? Ms.xxxxDear Ms. xxxx, Property relations between a man and a woman who live together exclusively as husband and wife is governed by Articles 147 and 148 of the Family Code of the Philippines. Assuming that you and your boyfriend have no legal impediment to marry each other during your cohabitation, your property relations shall be governed by Article 147 of the said law.Article 147 of the Family code provides as follows, to wit:"When a man and a woman who are capacitated to marry each other, live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or under a void marriage, their wages and salaries shall be owned by them in equal shares and the property acquired by both of them through their work or industry shall be governed by the rules on co-ownership. In the absence of proof to the contrary, properties acquired while they lived together shall be presumed to have been obtained by their joint efforts, work or industry, and shall be owned by them in equal shares. For purposes of this Article, a party who did not participate in the acquisition by the other party of any property shall be deemed to have contributed jointly in the acquisition thereof if the former's efforts consisted in the care and maintenance of the family and of the household."Thus, the properties you and your boyfriend have acquired during your cohabitation shall belong to both of you in equal proportion, in the absence of proof of the actual amount individually contributed by each of you.However, under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, only Filipino citizens or corporations are allowed to own private lands in the Philippines, save in cases of hereditary succession. (Section 7 in relation to Sections 2 and 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution) Since your boyfriend is disqualified to own a land, upon termination of your cohabitation, your properties shall be partitioned either by way of reimbursing him of his share to the house and lot or have it sold, then divide the proceeds to both of you equally.Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.Editor's note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney's Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need Javascript enabled to view it or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299Source Manila TimesHope some of us can sleep easier with this knowledge. I will. UZI

Edited February 24, 2010 by Boss Man

[retired]

The above post is interesting and nice and tidy but i would not count on sleeping well because of it if this kind of situation were to affect you . Case of an expat friend here in Cagayan de Oro comes to mind . He and his wife were married 25 yrs with no offspring . The wife died ahead of him then the inlaws/outlaws started laying claim to their land , house as well as extensive commerical properities .Two years later the case was still draggnig through the courts when the expat died . Last i heard the case is still dragging through the courts based upon his having had a will drawn up in his home country ( Switzerland ) . He had taken the case to the appealate level and was successfull but inlaws fought on to get it to Supreme Court level . Will never know what might have happened had it got that far of course but it's my understanding that a foreigner has never won a case of that type at that level .Also of note was the fact that after the wife died the expat had to share income from rental properities with the very people that had filed the case against him while going through the trial process . Read into this particular case what you will but but i don't think the laws on the books are worth the paper they are printed on given the fact that this seems to be a culture with an " us against them " mentality . Just an opinion .

[Mik]

It's better to just live alone and rent..

[UZI]

The above post is interesting and nice and tidy but i would not count on sleeping well because of it if this kind of situation were to affect you . Case of an expat friend here in Cagayan de Oro comes to mind . He and his wife were married 25 yrs with no offspring . The wife died ahead of him then the inlaws/outlaws started laying claim to their land , house as well as extensive commerical properities .Two years later the case was still draggnig through the courts when the expat died . Last i heard the case is still dragging through the courts based upon his having had a will drawn up in his home country ( Switzerland ) . He had taken the case to the appealate level and was successfull but inlaws fought on to get it to Supreme Court level . Will never know what might have happened had it got that far of course but it's my understanding that a foreigner has never won a case of that type at that level .Also of note was the fact that after the wife died the expat had to share income from rental properities with the very people that had filed the case against him while going through the trial process . Read into this particular case what you will but but i don't think the laws on the books are worth the paper they are printed on given the fact that this seems to be a culture with an " us against them " mentality . Just an opinion .

My view after reading Muller vs Muller & Cheesman vs Intermediate Appellate Court, is, if you try to lay ANY claim to the land you will not succeed but you are entitled to sell the house & then share the sale as per the Family Code. One thing is for sure, if the courts are involved time is a factor. Muller vs Muller took 10 years to be resolved. So the choice is sell & share the proceeds as per the Family Code or in the case above stay put knowing you probably will tie things up in court longer than you will be around. Uzi

[TheMason]

The above post is interesting and nice and tidy but i would not count on sleeping well because of it if this kind of situation were to affect you . Case of an expat friend here in Cagayan de Oro comes to mind . He and his wife were married 25 yrs with no offspring . The wife died ahead of him then the inlaws/outlaws started laying claim to their land , house as well as extensive commerical properities .Two years later the case was still draggnig through the courts when the expat died . Last i heard the case is still dragging through the courts based upon his having had a will drawn up in his home country ( Switzerland ) . He had taken the case to the appealate level and was successfull but inlaws fought on to get it to Supreme Court level . Will never know what might have happened had it got that far of course but it's my understanding that a foreigner has never won a case of that type at that level .Also of note was the fact that after the wife died the expat had to share income from rental properities with the very people that had filed the case against him while going through the trial process . Read into this particular case what you will but but i don't think the laws on the books are worth the paper they are printed on given the fact that this seems to be a culture with an " us against them " mentality . Just an opinion .

This is excellent advice. Expats should also remember that its cheaper to have someone killed than it is to take you to court. Losing your property is the least of your concern in cases like this. It doesn't have be your gf/spouse that is out to get you, it could be her 2nd cousin twice removed who thinks they will benefit if their relative gets your stuff. We've all seen the stories of the foreigners who died under mysterious circumstances. I'm willing to bet that most of them had to do with getting land/houses/money without bothering to go to court for them.

[joeatmanila]

Very well said post.My wonder:Why a foreigner who is not having kids with his filipina wife ever wants to buy land property? Lease a land for 75 or so years with the right to renew the lease (just in case you go 100+) and live there. The worst happens but no one is allowed to kick you out or take your properties until you or the lease pass away, which ever comes first :th_interesting:. The case here is that the family of the wife advise her to BUY than LEASE since they all concern for their and her interest. You pay and you should concern yours. She gives you a million reasons and a dazillion bad examples but go ask a lawyer outside of the small city or barrio or wherever you live. You can lease without any worries.I have bought properties and leased nothing. Less it worries me since i have a kid with my wife and he is a dual citizen, he gets everything but in any case i would have given him everything anyway.

Edited August 7, 2010 by joeatmanila

[ekimswish]

Can't quote any portions of the law on this, but an international attorney from my wife's hometown told me foreigners can own condos or apartments, but not houses/land. She said if you are incorporated, with a Filipino on the board of members and you as the president, then you can buy land and invest. I'm not sure how badly I've mangled what she told me, or if what she said is totally accurate or not, but maybe someone else could clarify it or look into it themselves.

[Mr Lee]

Can't quote any portions of the law on this, but an international attorney from my wife's hometown told me foreigners can own condos or apartments, but not houses/land. She said if you are incorporated, with a Filipino on the board of members and you as the president, then you can buy land and invest. I'm not sure how badly I've mangled what she told me, or if what she said is totally accurate or not, but maybe someone else could clarify it or look into it themselves.

Non Filipinos (foreigners) can own condos in their own names as long as no more than 40% of the building is sold to non Filipinos but that is not the buyers problem when buying into a condo development and is the developers problems. The only problem can come about is when the non Filipino decides to sell and the building is then at a level close to or at the 40% foreign owned, then the foreigner would only be able to sell to a Filipino which would of course lower the value considerably. My wife and I own condos and I can tell you from experience that would probably not be a problem because more Filipinos buy condo units to rent out for income so in the complex we live in while there are quite a few foreigners who own and or live there, the foreign ownership so far has to be way less than 10% IMO.As for land ownership and taken from THIS website  and others, foreigners cannot own land and corporations would have to be no more than 40% owned by foreigners, so that gives foreigners the minority vote, not a good position to be in IMO but our Filipino wives can own land if we happen to be married to a Filipino citizen or one who has regained their citizenship within size allowed.  Best to read the site for all details.  RIGHT TO OWN 1. General  Rule - Only Filipino Citizens and corporations or partnerships at least 60% of the capital of which is owned  by Filipinos are entitled to acquire land in the Philippines. 2.  As exception to the general rule, alien acquisition of real estate in the Philippines is allowed in the following cases:   a.. Acquisition before the 1935 Constitution;   b.. Acquisition thru hereditary succession. If foreign acquiree is a legal heir; This simply means that when the non-Filipino is married to a Filipino citizen and the spouse dies, the non-Filipino as the natural heir will become the legal owner of the property. The same is true for the children. Every natural child (legitimate or illegitimate) can inherit the property of his/her Filipino father/mother even if he/she does not have any Filipino citizenship.   c.. Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a condominium project;   d.. Purchase by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject to the limitations  prescribed by Law (Batas Pambansa 185 and R.A. 8179) 3.  A Filipino who married an alien retains her Philippine citizenship (unless by her act or ommision, she is deed to have renounced her Philippine citizenship) and  may therefore acquire real estate in the Phiippines.