1. Quick‑Look Answer

There is no single statute that expressly commands a married heir to write his or her spouse’s name in a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement (EJS). Nevertheless, three overlapping bodies of rules—(a) the Family Code on property relations, (b) the Rules of Court (Rule 74) on extrajudicial settlements, and (c) administrative issuances of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and local Registers of Deeds (RODs)—combine to make disclosure the practical rule, and sometimes a legal necessity. Whether omission merely delays registration or fatally taints the settlement depends on:

the couple’s property regime (absolute community, conjugal partnership, or separation of property);
whether the heir is only receiving or is also selling/waiving hereditary rights; and
the ROD’s own circulars, which routinely require disclosure before they will issue new titles.

2. Legal Foundations

Source	Key Provisions
Rule 74, Rules of Court	Allows heirs to settle an intestate estate “by means of a public instrument” filed with the ROD and published for three consecutive weeks. Only the heirs (including the surviving spouse as an heir of the decedent) must sign; it is silent as to the spouses of those heirs.
Family Code (Arts. 75–148)	Defines absolute community (ACP), conjugal partnership (CPPR), and complete separation of property (SP). In ACP and CPPR, property acquired during marriage becomes community/conjugal property unless it is “exclusive” (e.g., inheritance “by gratuitous title”: Art. 92[2], Art. 109[2]). Thus an inheritance ordinarily goes to the individual spouse alone, but becomes community property once the spouse sells or exchanges it without proper reservation.
Civil Code (Arts. 1311, 1318 & 1390)	Contracts bind only the parties; but a contract may be voidable if a required marital consent is absent (Art. 124 CPPR; Art. 96 ACP).
LRA & ROD Circulars (e.g., LRA Circular No. 181‑2017; No. 35‑2019)	Direct RODs to require every deed affecting registered land to state the civil status of each signatory and, if married, the name of the spouse. Many RODs refuse registration that omits this data, treating it as an “incomplete instrument.”
BIR Forms (BIR Form 1801, 1706, 1606)	For estate‑tax and donor‑tax clearance, the BIR asks for marital status of each heir and for spousal information when a waiver of rights is treated as a donation.

3. Why RODs Insist on Spousal Disclosure

Title Annotation Rules. Under Sec. 62, Presidential Decree 1529, every voluntary instrument must be “registered in its entirety,” meaning all material facts must appear on the face of the instrument.
Determining Co‑Ownership. Because an heir under ACP or CPPR owns the inheritance exclusively only until it is alienated without reservation, RODs ask for the spouse’s identity to ascertain whether further marital consent is required if the document contains waivers, partitions, or simultaneous deeds of sale.
Prevention of Double Sales. Naming the spouse shields subsequent purchasers and the Torrens system from later claims that a conveyance lacked the non‑signing spouse’s consent.

4. Case‑Law on Spousal Participation

Case	Holding / Relevance
Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa (G.R. No. 170139, 17 Jan 2018)	An EJS signed by some but not all heirs is void inter partes; the Court noted—but did not decide—the ROD’s refusal to register because spouses’ names were missing. It treated the lack of spousal consent as registrational, not intrinsic, defect.
Spouses Abrajano v. Molina (G.R. No. 159089, 20 Dec 2006)	Waiver of hereditary rights in favor of a co‑heir is a donation; if the waiving heir is married under ACP or CPPR, both spouses must sign, otherwise the waiver is voidable.
Duran v. IAC (G.R. No. 59001, 23 Oct 1984)	A partition of inheritance made before liquidation of conjugal partnership is valid as to heirs but cannot prejudice rights of the surviving spouse in the conjugal estate. Implicitly, the spouse’s rights persist even if unnamed.
Heirs of Vda. de Gabriel v. CA (G.R. No. 159916, 30 Jun 2006)	An EJS that fails to include an indispensable heir (in that case an omitted child) is void; by analogy, a spouse who is herself an heir to the decedent (e.g., surviving spouse) must be included, but the spouse of a receiving heir is not an indispensable party.

5. Dissecting the Spousal‑Name Question

5.1. If the Spouse Is Also an Heir of the Decedent

Example: the decedent is the husband; the surviving wife is an heir.

Mandatory inclusion. She is a direct heir; her name and signature are indispensable.
Omission effect. The settlement is void with respect to her share, and any transfer of her legal portion may be rescinded.

5.2. If the Spouse Is Not an Heir but Only Married to an Heir

Receiving‑only scenario (pure settlement). The inheritance is exclusive property of the married heir (Art. 92 ACP; Art. 109 CPPR). Spousal participation is not required by law for validity, because no conjugal/community asset is being disposed of.
Disposal scenario (waiver, sale, swap). Once the married heir alienates or renounces the inheritance within the same deed, the transaction now affects future conjugal/community property (Art. 92[2] last sentence). Marital consent becomes mandatory. Non‑disclosure of spouse’s name and signature renders the alienation voidable under Arts. 124/96.

6. Registration & Tax Clearance Consequences

Rejected Registration. RODs commonly issue a “Notice of Incomplete Requirements” citing LRA Circular 181‑2017. The heir must execute a Supplemental Affidavit naming the spouse or file a Corrective EJS.
Estate‑Tax Processing. The BIR will still accept an EJS without spouses’ names, but will flag any intra‑heir waiver as a potential donation needing donor‑tax. Disclosure streamlines clearance.
Real‑Property Tax & Transfer Fees. Local treasurers now mirror LRA requirements; omission slows processing of tax clearance, CAR, and transfer tax certifications.

7. Penalties and Risks of Omission

Risk	Source	Description
Civil Nullity / Voidability	Arts. 124 & 1390 Civil Code; jurisprudence	Lack of marital consent within the same deed makes the conveyance voidable within five years; a later suit can unwind subsequent transfers.
Delay & Extra Cost	LRA circulars; ROD practice	Supplemental instruments, re‑publication, or re‑notarization increase fees.
Criminal Liability for False Statements	Sec. 4, Rule 74 (Affidavit of Self‑Adjudication)	False representation that all heirs (or required consents) joined may expose affiants to criminal prosecution for perjury or falsification.
Future Litigation	Case law	Omitted spouses may later sue for reconveyance, clouding titles.

8. Drafting & Practice Pointers

State Civil Status & Spouse’s Name for every heir up front: “Juan Dela Cruz, of legal age, Filipino, married to Maria Reyes, xxxxx…”
Separate the Acts. If the deed both settles and sells, consider two instruments: (a) EJS signed only by heirs, and (b) Deed of Sale with marital consents.
Attach a “Marriage Regime Certification.” The heir may swear that the inheritance is exclusive property, satisfying the ROD’s inquiry.
Publication Details. Publish in a newspaper of general circulation for three consecutive weeks; include the heirs’ civil status headings to match the deed.
Secure Estate‑Tax Clearance First. The BIR’s CAR must correspond to the final draft deed; inconsistencies force amendment.
Note Prescription Periods. An EJS may be attacked on grounds of fraud within two years from registration (Rule 74 §4) or indefinitely if absolutely void for lack of a compulsory heir.

9. Illustrative Scenario

Ana, single, and Ben, married to Cara under absolute community, inherit a parcel from their mother. They execute a single EJS in which Ben simultaneously waives half of his share to Ana for ₱1.00.

Spousal Name/Consent Needed? — Yes. Ben’s waiver is effectively a sale; under Art. 96 ACP, Cara’s written consent is indispensable.
If Omitted? — The waiver is voidable at Cara’s instance; the ROD will likely refuse registration until Cara signs or a court order is presented.

10. Frequently‑Asked Questions

Question	Short Answer
Can the ROD register an EJS that lacks spouse‑names if the deed contains only partition, no waiver or sale?	Some RODs will still insist on disclosure, citing LRA circulars. Practically, expect a rejection slip.
Will publication cure the omission?	No. Publication fulfills Rule 74, §1 but does not supply missing juridical consent.
Does separation of property (Judicial or Pre‑Nup) remove the need to name the spouse?	Yes, but attach the judicial decree or the marriage settlement to satisfy the examiner.
If the ROD has already registered an EJS without spouse‑names, is the title indefeasible?	The title attains indefeasibility after one year only if the deed was not void for lack of an indispensable party or for voidable marital consent; aggrieved spouses may still sue for reconveyance.

11. Bottom Line

Statute vs. Practice. While Rule 74 itself does not enumerate spouses of heirs among the mandatory signatories, registration and subsequent alienation almost always turn disclosure into a de facto requirement.
Risk Management. Because the cost of omission (nullity, re‑drafting, litigation) far outweighs the minimal burden of disclosure, the safe—and increasingly standard—practice is: always state each heir’s civil status and the full name of his or her spouse, and secure written marital consent whenever the deed does more than receive an inheritance.

Prepared by: [Your Name], Philippine lawyer Date: 20 July 2025

Do Spouses’ Names Need to Be Disclosed in an Extrajudicial Settlement in the Philippines?