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Lesson 1: Presumption of Conjugality

Lesson 1: Presumption of Conjugality

May 04, 2021

Suppose the title to the land says that the land is registered to "Maria, married to Juan", does it mean that the land is CONJUGAL?

There is a need to determine WHEN the spouses were married. If they were married prior to August 3, 1988 (the date of effectivity of the Family Code), the phrase does NOT NECESSARILY mean that the property is conjugal. The phrase "Maria, married to Juan" is merely descriptive of Maria's marital status. It simply means that Maria is married. It does not prove that the land is conjugal, or that Juan has an interest in it. If Juan wants to establish that the land is conjugal, he will have to prove it some other way.

HOWEVER, if the spouses were married on August 3, 1988, or at any time thereafter, the default property relations of the spouses would be Absolute Community Property Regime. This means that any property owned by any of the spouses is presumed to be absolute community. In such a case, Juan need not prove that the property is ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY. He can simply rely on the phrase to claim an interest in the property.

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