Presumption of the conjugal nature of property

Dear PAO,

My grandparents were married in 1970. They are now separated-in-fact and my grandfather would like to sell the land, which he claimed to be his exclusive property. My grandmother opposes the disposition and warns the prospective buyer that the land is conjugal property, so her signature or consent is necessary. She presented a deed of sale executed during their marriage to prove that the property is conjugal. My grandfather, however, claims that the deed of sale is not sufficient, and my grandmother needs to prove that the land was acquired using conjugal funds. Is the deed of sale sufficient to prove that the land is a conjugal property of my grandparents?

Renzy

Dear Renzy,

The provisions of the Family Code of the Philippines on conjugal partnership of gains will apply to the given set of facts. This is in consonance with the second paragraph of Article 105 of the same law: «xxx. The provisions of this Chapter shall also apply to conjugal partnerships of gains already established between spouses before the effectivity of this Code, without prejudice to vested rights already acquired in accordance with the Civil Code or other laws, as provided in Article 256.

Correlative thereto, Article 116 of the same Code also states that: „All property acquired during the marriage, whether the acquisition appears to have been made, contracted or registered in the name of one or both spouses, is presumed to be conjugal unless the contrary is proved.“

Thus, it is presumed that a land which was acquired by your grandparents during their marriage belongs to their conjugal properties. However, your grandfather can rebut such presumption. Please note that under Article 109 of the Family Code of the Philippines:

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»The following shall be the exclusive property of each spouse:

"(1) That which is brought to the marriage as his or her own;

"(2) That which each acquires during the marriage by gratuitous title;

"(3) That which is acquired by right of redemption, by barter or by exchange with property belonging to only one of the spouses; and

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"(4) That which is purchased with exclusive money of the wife or of the husband."

Assuming that the land is an