LAW BEATS PAPER

Broker:

Juan, question: a father wants to give his daughter a property. But he doesn’t want the son-in-law to have anything to do with it. They’re planning to transfer via Deed of Absolute Sale, and they want the new title to read only: “[Daughter], Filipino, of legal age, married”—but with no mention of the husband’s name. Is that doable?

JPRE:

Not really. Under Philippine law, if the daughter is married under the default absolute community of property regime, anything she buys instantly becomes co-owned by her husband—unless there’s a prenup. The workaround isn’t a sale, it’s a donation. A donation keeps ownership solely with the daughter.

Broker:

But the family doesn’t like the idea of a donation. They say it might raise eyebrows.

JPRE:

Eyebrows? She’s his daughter! That’s one of the most natural donations you can make. If the donee were a stranger, sure, people might suspect. But here, no money’s being exchanged anyway—so why pretend it’s a sale?

Broker:

Fine. But what if we just don’t put the husband’s name? Can the title list only the daughter’s?

JPRE:

Nope. Every time I’ve handled similar cases, the conclusion was the same: the spouse’s name has to appear.

Broker:

But they showed me a title that only says “married,” period—no spouse named.

JPRE:

Interesting. Are you sure the title actually says “married”? And when was it issued?

The only cases I’ve seen where a spouse is omitted are when the buyer hides their true marital status. For example, some foreigners purchasing property here simply declare themselves “single” to avoid complications in registration.

But even if the husband’s name doesn’t appear on the title, the law is clear: if the transfer was made through a sale, he is still a legal co-owner. The omission is cosmetic. Should the property later be sold without his consent, he could contest the transaction—because under the law, his ownership rights remain intact.