Tips in buying lands in the Philippines

I'm not 100% sure on that one, Marco, but it may depend a lot on where and when the property came from. If the property was purchased after the marriage (presumably by the foreigner) I don't believe there is any way the children of the siblings of the deceased have any rights to anything. However, if the house was inherited or was owned by the deceased prior to the marriage, and the deceased has no children, they may have a small claim on the property to be divided between them.

Larry

 

Slightly Confused!

Larry, Can you just clarify, if you can please. This New lot we are About to build on, is owned of course by Azon. As already stated, My name only appears as Married To ............... (British) This I quite understand and accept. Now, we Bought a Clean Title (As of today) no problem. Now GOD Forbid, Should Azon pass before me, It would leave me and just Trisha-Mae, So I am Thinking that we would have equal Shares in the property OR would it pass on to Trisha-Mae. If I, were to Inherit, Totally, I would hazard a guess then, that this is where the round of Claim would come, if I decided to sell. Trisha-Mae would have a Claim, Yes?
Just so I know what to expect my friend.:o


Jack P.

 

Assuming Trishia Mae is the daughter then, yes, she would have a claim of one half, I believe. If there were two children then they would divide one half and you would be the benefactor of the other half.

Of course, there are no hard and fast rules when a foreigner is involved, but all in the immediate family have a share in the community property.

Inheritance really isn't my field of study and I am running on memory, so...

Larry

 

Thank You!

Larry, I appreciate your reply, Of Course I have no qualms about Trisha-Mae, I have brought her up since young, of course, I would want her to have all, she should Inherit, The words immediate family always bother me, as long as it is Only T-M and I involved, I am happy with this.
:D Even if She gets 100%, I am sure she will not Evict me!
Hypothetical I know BUT things can happen at any time.


Jack P.

 

One thing I'd pretty much use as a rule of thumb on buying your place under the sun here in beautiful Visayas Philippines...

When, meeting the sellers of the lot you like, if your bullshit detector starts to sense the aroma of bovine excrement, just bail out and go elsewhere. There's lots of nice places available.

There's no paperwork going to save you here if you walk into a well-planned scam.

 

Thanks Larry for the much appreciated info......so it is just as I assumed, if a foreigner was to inherit a lot and a house when his better half passes away, without any children of their own, he would have to share the inheritance in equal parts with her siblings (brothers and sisters) and possibly her siblings' children (nephews and nieces), that is if the wife owned the lot and house before the marriage to the westener. If the property was bought after the marriage, the surviving westener would inherit 100% of the property but as he is not permitted to own any land, being a foreigner, he would have 3 months or a reasonable amount of time, to sell it and leave.
Also is worth bearing in mind that a foreigner cannot inherit from another foreigner.
I now wonder if the same applies if the property was bought and not inherited by the defunct wife before her marriage to a foreigner, would her surviving siblings have any rights over it?
And what if a lot of land registered to agricultural use was at stake?
Law in the Phils is a minefield and everything can be interpreted in many ways, normally and pretty invariably, against a foreigner's interest.
Thanks Larry for your support and much valuable info.
Cheers, Marco.

 

"the surviving westener would inherit 100% of the property but as he is not permitted to own any land, being a foreigner, he would have 3 months or a reasonable amount of time, to sell it and leave."


Not true.

Section 7, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution provides:

Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations, or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands in the public domain.


A foreigner CAN own land he/she inherited. However, if there are family members who have their eye on the place, he/she may be much better off to dump it quick and hit the road.

Unfortunately, although things appear black and white on the page, there are too many shades of grey in reality.

Larry

 

Actually, that is not always correct. If by this you mean losing money by useless and unfruitful court cases being launched against the foreigner, well yes I suppose so. If however, you mean he will lose the land he's inherited through the death of his spouse, then no, unless he's a "p*ssy" and gives up.:D
(A mutual friend of ours has been doing just so for over 15 years now).

 

Perhaps the word "always" should not have been included, as you are right, it is not always the case. However, many lower court judge's will usually side with the Filipino. If taken to the supreme court it often goes the other way. Yes, you are looking at quite a few years to get that far. Many do give up by that time, as they have other things to do, places to be.

Larry

 

Hi Larry, yes, you hit the nail right on....years of litigations, lawyers fees, family members threats, language barrier and one's getting older....Not the ideal nor the idillic retirement one had in mind, hence many just give up, unless their little nest is worth lots and lots of money, worth fighting for.
Cheers, Marco.