“Laws relating to family rights and duties,or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are bi nding upon Filipino citizens, even though living abroad.” (Article 15 Civil Code of the Philippines)
Q. Greetings! My parents died and left a parcel of land wherein my only brother waived his right of the inheritance for this particular property. My husband and I are physically separated but our marriage is not yet annulled.
Is this inherited property be considered as conjugal property? Or is my husband entitled to any part of my inherited property once we get our marriage annulled?
ANS: .Under the law and assuming that you were married before the effectivity of the Family Code, on August 3, 1988 and your property relations is governed by the Conjugal property regime, an inherited property of a spouse is not considered as Conjugal property or part of the Community properties of the spouses, unless prior to their marriage , a pre-nuptial agreement was made to the contrary.
Kindly take note there are other consideration in further determining whether the inherited property form part of the conjugal or absolute community property of the spouse under the Family Code, as amended:
a) if you got married after the effectivity of the Family Code aforesaid, and
no pre-nuptial agreement between the spouses to the contrary was executed in accordance with law, and the inherited property was already acquired and existing under your name prior to the marriage, then the same may be considered as part of the Absolute Community regime of the spouses;
2
b) However, if the property was acquired after the effectivity of the Family
Code aforesaid, and DURING the marriage regime of the spouses by inheritance or gratuitous title(unless the contrary is provided by the grantor) then the said property is therefore excluded from the absolute community or conjugal property of the spouses pursuant to Articles 92 and 109 of the Family Code, as amended.
Note further that a surviving spouse is considered as Compulsory heir together with the surviving children(legitimate or illegitimate) of the decedent spouse. Hence, if your husband survives you at the time of death and your marriage is still valid and subsisting , then your husband as a surviving spouse is entitled only to a portion of the said inheritance together with your children on equal sharing basis.
However if during your lifetime and your marriage is annulled, this means that you are no longer married to him. As such the husband/spouse is deemed to have ceased as a compulsory heir and not entitled to inherit from your estate in the event of death.
Looking forward you’ll find the above in order and welcome to the Batas Pinoy Global Community.
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