The Truth About The Property Rights of the Legal Wife versus the Other Woman

DOES A LEGAL WIFE HAVE MORE PROPERTY RIGHTS THAN THE OTHER WOMAN?
So, here’s the situation. You started an affair with another woman while still validly married to your wife. While you have not annulled your marriage yet, you parted ways. And during the years of separation, you both have separately acquired assets from each of your earnings.
 
So, let’s start with defining the foundation based on the family code of the Philippines.
1. The Conjugal Partnership of Gains
2. The System of Absolute Community
3. Complete Separation of Property
4. Property Regime of Unions Without Marriage

Let’s start with CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP OF GAINS
This applies to marriages which took place before August 3, 1988. This law dictates that properties acquired before the union are exclusively to that of the buyer, where any property purchased or built by the husband or the wife during singlehood is exclusively his or hers. 

Then there is the ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY which states that all the possessions of the husband and the wife are pooled together into one common fund, including those they already own prior to the marriage. And both of them have equal rights to everything in this common fund.

So, for couples, take note, that are married on or any time after August 3, 1988, all properties acquired before or during the union are automatically considered conjugal properties upon marriage.

The third one is the COMPLETE SEPARATION OF PROPERTY or what we commonly recognize as prenuptial agreement or prenup. 

And the last one is PROPERTY REGIME OF UNIONS WITHOUT MARRIAGE
For couples who are perfectly capable of getting married, but don’t want to get married, their property relations work a lot like that in CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP OF GAINS where their possessions remain exclusive to them. 

For couples where one party or both of them have legal impediments to marry, like age or previous bond, each one will keep his own property. Each one will also keep his own earnings and anything he or she exclusively acquires during their cohabitation. 

But what if the legal wife has no interest in the husband’s acquired property and vice versa? Let us say both of them are well of and just want to move on. Is it possible to enter into an agreement stating that they waive any conjugal rights that they have to each other’s property?

The answer is no. Any extrajudicial agreement to this effect is considered void. Therefore, you cannot, on your own, enter into an agreement dissolving your absolute community or conjugal partnership with your wife.

Although you may not, on your own, enter into an agreement to separate your property; you may, however, do this through a judicial proceeding.

Well I hope you learned something from this video.

And as parting words, everybody, including you, goes into the adulting phase, bear in mind that marital relations can impact the ownership and rights of your properties. Many people today willingly get into complicated marital relations without minding the implications of their actions on their properties.

And if you are involved to any of these scenarios, be it the husband, the legal wife or the other woman or women, or have known someone in this situation, I suggest you reach out your licensed real estate broker or lawyer for advice. 

Once again this is George Ryan Sarmago, Unit Manger for Filipino Homes.