Dear PAO,
Clara and I have been married for eight years now. During our marriage, I bought a vehicle worth P900,000. The funds I used in buying the car were my own because before we got married, Clara and I made an oral agreement that the properties each of us own before we got married are our separate properties.

Clara is now abroad working as a software engineer. It has already been nine months since the last time we talked on the phone. I can’t contact her anymore. I saw this new model of a car, which I want to buy. So I’m planning to just sell our old car. However, Clara’s sister told me I could not do so because it is our conjugal property. I found a buyer who is very willing to buy it for P700,000. Can I just sell our old car, anyway, I can’t anymore contact my wife and last year we already agreed to sell our old car.
Jaime

Dear Jaime,
To answer your question, the first thing we have to do is to determine whether the car which you are planning to sell is your own exclusive property or it is a conjugal property which is owned by both you and Clara. Once we have determined this, we would know which provision of the Family Code would apply to your planned sale of the car.

Based on the facts you stated, it would seem that your marriage is governed by the property regime of absolute community of property. This would mean that everything you and Clara owned before the marriage would become your conjugal property the moment you married each other, subject to certain exceptions, as stated in the Family Code. Both of you became the co-owners of the properties you brought with you into the marriage.

The reason why your marriage is governed by absolute community of property is because your oral agreement with your wife Clara, that your properties would remain separate, is not valid. This is because under Article 77 of the Family Code, a marriage settlement shall be in writing, signed by the parties and executed before the celebration of the marriage.

In your situation, you mentioned that your agreement with Clara was only oral. Hence it is not a valid marriage settlement. Because of this, Article 75 of the Family Code would apply, which states that “in the absence of a marriage settlement, or when the regime agreed upon is void, the system of absolute community of property” shall govern.

The car you bought during your marriage would form part of your community property. This is because Article 91 of the Family Code states that “the community property shall consist of all the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of the marriage or acquired thereafter.” You stated that the car was acquired after your marriage was celebrated, so it is clearly part of your community property. As part of your community property, both you and Clara have rights over the car. This is because under Article 96 of the Family Code, it is stated that “[t]he administration and enjoyment of the community property shall belong to both spouses jointly.” Furthermore, it should be noted that under Article 90 of the Family Code, it is stated that the provisions on co-ownership shall apply to the absolute community of property between the spouses in all matters not provided for in this Chapter. Thus, you and Clara became the co-owners of the car.

Going to the issue of whether you can sell the car, our Family Code provides that you can do so if you obtain Clara’s written consent, or if her consent has not been obtained, you should obtain the authority of the court. This is what is required under Article 96 of the Family Code. If you decide to continue selling the car, without obtaining Clara’s consent or the court’s authority, the said sale is void.

However, the said sale is still considered as a continuing offer on the part of the consenting spouse and the buyer. It can still be perfected as a binding contract once the consent of the other spouse is obtained or once the authorization from the court is obtained before the offer is withdrawn by either or both offerors. The fact that you do not anymore have contact with Clara is not sufficient reason for you to decide alone on selling the car. Article 96 is clear that if Clara’s consent could not be obtained, your remedy is to get the permission of the court so that your sale of the car would be valid.

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