Dear IBP,
Matagal na kaming walang communication ng asawa ko basta ang sinabi lang niya, “ayaw ko na sa iyo”, yan lang ang sinabi niya sa akin, wala na ba akong karapatan sa mga naipundar ng asawa ko?
Mrs. Lisa
Dear Ma’am,
In the absence of a marriage settlement or prenuptial agreement and you were married before August 3, 1988, your union is under Conjugal Partnership Property (“CPP”) regime, under this regime all properties acquired during the marriage, whether the acquisition appears to have been made, contracted or registered in the you and your spouse’s name, is presumed to be conjugal unless the contrary is proven. On the other hand, still in the absence of a marriage settlement or a prenuptial agreement and you were married after August 3, 1988, your union is under Absolute Community of Property (“ACP”) regime which means that you and your spouse are co-owners of all the properties that you brought into the marriage. However, property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title, as well as the fruits and income thereof; property for exclusive or personal use of each spouse (except jewelry); and property acquired before the marriage by either spouse who has legitimate descendants by a former marriage, as well as the fruits or income thereof, are excluded from community/conjugal properties, and are considered exclusive properties of the spouse concerned.
If you and your spouse are still legally married and your marriage has not been declared null and void or otherwise annulled or legally separated, then you still have the right over the properties of your spouse.
Unless there is a Judicial Separation of Property, which is the effect of legal separation, declaration of nullity of marriage or annulment, it will not affect the regime of absolute community of property or the conjugal partnership of gains, then you still have rights over the properties of your spouse except for your respective exclusive properties. Therefore, consent from both spouses will still be needed in order to sell, mortgage, lease, exchange, donate and/or joint venture the said properties. To simply put it, for as long as you are still the legal spouse and the contract of marriage still binds you together, you have a claim over your marriage’s community or conjugal properties even if you and your spouse are no longer living together for a long time.
Moreover, while the details in your question are wanting, I am assuming that your spouse abandoned you. If your spouse without justifiable cause abandoned or failed to comply with the obligations to the family, you may ask the court to name you as custodian and caretaker of the community property, to separate the properties, or for authority to be the sole administrator of the absolute community. Note that a spouse is deemed to have abandoned the other when her or she has left the conjugal dwelling without intention of returning. If the other spouse left the conjugal dwelling for a period of three months or has failed within the same period to give any information on his/her whereabouts, the court shall presume that he or she has no intention of returning.
When you recited your vows it included the line “For richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.” This line is not at all empty words, because being married to someone does not only mean sharing your life with someone but also includes the properties of one another.
