Expiration Rules for a Deed of Donation in the Philippines

This article explains when a deed of donation “expires” (or otherwise ceases to have effect) under Philippine law. In practice, deeds of donation do not lapse by the mere passage of time; they remain valid unless void from the start, ineffective for lack of essential formalities, revoked, rescinded, reduced, or terminated by a built-in term or condition.

1) What a “deed of donation” is (and isn’t)

A donation is an act of liberality whereby a person (the donor) disposes gratuitously of a thing or right in favor of another (the donee) who accepts it. A deed of donation is the written instrument by which the donation is made (and often accepted).

Two principal types:

Donation inter vivos – takes effect during the donor’s lifetime; generally irrevocable, except for causes allowed by law or those stipulated in the deed (e.g., non-compliance with conditions).
Donation mortis causa – intended to take effect upon the donor’s death; revocable ad nutum before death and must follow the formalities of a will. If a document labeled “deed of donation” reserves full ownership and control to the donor until death and is freely revocable, courts will typically treat it as mortis causa (and it will be invalid if it did not observe will formalities).

There is also donation propter nuptias (made in consideration of marriage), which has special rules noted below.

2) Formal requisites (failure here often makes the deed void or ineffective)

These do not “expire,” but if they were missing at the outset the deed never became valid.

Capacity: Donor and donee must have legal capacity (e.g., donor must not donate property he cannot dispose of; certain donations between spouses or common-law partners are void, except for moderate gifts on family occasions).
Form:
- Immovables (land/condo/real rights): donation must be in a public instrument (notarized deed) specifying the property and the charges/conditions, and acceptance must be in the same instrument or in a separate notarized instrument notified to the donor in authentic form.
- Movables: delivery suffices for small gifts; if the value exceeds ₱5,000, the donation and acceptance must be in writing.
Acceptance timing: The donee’s acceptance must occur, and (if in a separate instrument) notice to the donor must be given, while both donor and donee are alive. If either dies before acceptance (or before the donor is notified of a separate acceptance), the donation is ineffective.

Practical effect: a deed of donation that was properly made and accepted does not later expire for lack of form. But a deed that was not properly accepted never became effective in the first place.

3) When a deed of donation can cease to have effect

A. Built-in term or condition (expiry by stipulation)

The parties may set a term (e.g., “donation shall last for 10 years”) or attach conditions (e.g., use as a school/library; completion of a project by a date; no alienation).
Suspensive condition not fulfilled → donation never takes effect.
Resolutory condition breached → donation is resolved (terminated), typically requiring restitution of the property and fruits from the breach (unless the deed provides otherwise).

B. Revocation for causes under the Civil Code

These do not happen automatically; the donor (or authorized party) must take action within the applicable prescriptive periods (see §6).

Ingratitude of the donee Classic grounds include: serious offenses or harm against the donor, imputing crimes to the donor, or refusal of support to the donor when legally obliged. If proven, the court may revoke the donation and order return of the property with fruits (or payment of value if return is impossible).
Non-compliance with charges/conditions (donation “modal”) If the donation was made subject to a mode (e.g., build a chapel, grant scholarships, maintain a park), the donor may demand compliance or seek revocation if the donee fails to comply without just cause.
Supervenience or appearance of a child of the donor Donations made by a person who, at the time of donation, had no children or descendants, may be revoked if the donor later has or acknowledges/adopts a child (or a child appears whose filiation is established), subject to statutory limits. This often arises where a donor gratuitously disposes of a substantial asset before later starting a family.

Effects of revocation: The donee returns the property (and, as a rule, the fruits from the date of demand or from the time fixed by law), but is not liable for deterioration not due to his fault. Good-faith alienations may complicate recovery; the donor may be limited to the property’s value from the donee if the property has been transferred to third parties in good faith, unless the deed was duly annotated to bind third persons.

C. Rescission/Reduction to protect forced heirs (inofficious donations)

A donor cannot impair legitimes (the reserved share of compulsory heirs).
Upon the donor’s death, compulsory heirs may seek reduction of inofficious donations (i.e., gifts that exceed the donor’s free portion), after collating donations required by law. The reduction action targets the most recent donations first (last-in, first-out) until legitimes are restored.
Until death, the question of “inofficiousness” is generally not actionable (because the legitime is measured at death).

D. Annulment (vitiated consent, incapacity) or rescission (lesion, fraud on creditors)

If consent was vitiated (error, fraud, intimidation, undue influence) or the donor lacked capacity, the deed may be annullable.
If the donation prejudiced creditors, it may be rescinded through accion pauliana after exhausting other remedies.

E. Tax non-compliance (does not void the deed, but causes penalties)

Donor’s tax is generally due within 30 days from the date of donation, with documentary stamp taxes (DST) and, for real property, Capital Gains Tax (if applicable) not due (since it’s gratuitous), but transfer/registration fees still apply.
Failure to file/pay does not invalidate the donation between the parties, but can block title transfer/registration, expose parties to surcharges/interest, and complicate later dealings.

4) Registration & annotation (real property)

Registration in the Registry of Deeds is not a requirement for validity between donor and donee, but it is essential to bind third persons and to protect against subsequent buyers/mortgagees in good faith.
If the donation is subject to conditions, it is prudent to annotate those on the Certificate of Title so they are enforceable against subsequent transferees.
There is no statutory “deadline” after which an otherwise valid donation becomes void for failure to register; the risk is priority and enforceability against third parties.

5) Special regimes

A. Donation propter nuptias

Made in consideration of marriage; if the marriage does not take place, the donation fails (unless the deed says otherwise).
These donations may be revoked for grounds similar to those for disinheritance or as provided in the Family Code (e.g., if the marriage is annulled due to the fault of the donee-spouse).
Property regime matters: some donations between future spouses may be restricted to avoid circumvention of family-property rules.

B. Donations between spouses or those living together as husband and wife

As a rule, donations between spouses during marriage (and between persons cohabiting as husband and wife) are void, except for moderate gifts on family or social occasions. A void donation never takes effect and thus has no “expiration”—it simply has no legal effect.

6) Prescription (time limits to sue)

While a deed does not “expire,” the right to challenge or revoke it often does. Key periods commonly applied in practice:

Revocation for ingratitude: must be brought within a short period from the donor’s knowledge of the act of ingratitude (often treated as one year). Only the donor may sue; heirs may continue an action already filed, and limited substitution is sometimes allowed if the donor dies during the period.
Revocation for non-compliance with charges/conditions: generally subject to the prescriptive periods for rescission or actions upon written contracts; in practice, counsel often treats the period as four (4) years from breach or refusal to comply, or ten (10) years if framed as a written-contract action for specific performance—strategy and case law matter.
Revocation due to supervening child: must be filed within a fixed period counted from the birth/appearance/adoption/acknowledgment or from knowledge thereof (traditionally treated as a four (4)-year window).
Annulment (vitiated consent): four (4) years from cessation of the vice (e.g., discovery of fraud).
Accion pauliana (rescission for fraud on creditors): available only after creditors exhaust other remedies; prescribes four (4) years from the perpetration/knowledge of the fraud, nuanced by jurisprudence.
Reduction of inofficious donations: enforceable upon death of the donor; actions are commonly brought within statutory prescriptive periods for real or personal actions depending on the property involved (practitioners often use ten (10) years for actions upon written instruments or real actions’ longer periods where land is involved).
Tax assessments related to donations**:** generally 3 years (ordinary) and 10 years (false/fraudulent) for the BIR to assess; collection has separate limits. These are fiscal, not civil, but they affect practical enforceability.

Because prescription is a litigation trap, prudent practice is to treat all revocation/annulment claims as time-sensitive and file as early as possible.

7) Effects of expiration-type events

Revocation/Rescission → Donee returns the property; if return is impossible (e.g., sold to an innocent purchaser for value), the donee may owe the value plus fruits and interest from legal default.
Reduction (inofficiousness) → Only the excess over the free portion is returned or compensated (often the last donation is hit first).
Termination by term/condition → The deed itself specifies the effect (reversion to donor, reversion to a third party, or conversion into damages).

8) Compliance timeline (practical checklist)

Date of donation
- Execute proper form (public instrument for land; written instrument for movables over ₱5,000).
- Ensure clear description of property, conditions/modes, and reversion clause (if desired).
- Obtain acceptance (same deed or separate notarized acceptance, with authentic notice to donor).
Within ~30 days of donation
- File donor’s tax return and pay donor’s tax/DST. Keep official receipts.
As soon as practicable
- Register the deed (real property: Registry of Deeds; personal property where registrable).
- Annotate conditions on the title if the donation is modal or conditional.
- Deliver possession (and documents) to perfect transfer.
During performance of conditions
- Monitor compliance deadlines; send formal demands if the donee is at risk of breach (this helps mark default for fruits/interest and stops prescription from running silently).
Upon donor’s death
- Heirs evaluate inofficiousness and consider reduction after inventory and collation.

9) Drafting tips to manage “expiration” risk

Spell out whether the donation is inter vivos or mortis causa.
For modal/conditional donations, state:
- Exact obligations, deadlines, and proof of compliance (e.g., completion certificate, audited reports).
- A resolutory clause with automatic reversion upon non-compliance (or after a cure period).
- Annotation requirement on the title and no-alienation clause until compliance.
Include fruits/benefits rules upon revocation (from demand or from breach date).
Add a dispute-resolution and venue clause; consider attorney’s fees provision.
For donors without children, consider the supervening-child risk and whether to limit the scope/value or use mortis causa planning instead.
Coordinate tax and registration steps in the closing checklist.

10) Quick answers to common “expiration” questions

Does a deed of donation expire after X years if unregistered? No. It remains valid between the parties, but unregistered real-property donations are vulnerable against good-faith third parties and harder to enforce.
If acceptance wasn’t notarized/notified, can it be fixed later? Only if both parties are still alive and they redo acceptance in proper form with authentic notice. If the donor has died, a missing acceptance/notice for an inter vivos donation generally cannot be cured.
Can the donor change his mind? For inter vivos, no, unless there’s a legal ground (ingratitude, non-compliance, supervening child) or a resolutory condition in the deed. For mortis causa, yes—freely revocable before death (but must satisfy will formalities to be valid at all).
If the donee sells the property, does the donor lose the right to revoke? The right to revoke survives, but recovery from innocent purchasers for value may be restricted; the donor may be limited to value/fruits from the donee unless a condition/restriction was annotated prior to the sale.

11) Bottom line

A Philippine deed of donation does not expire by time alone. Its continuing validity turns on (i) proper form and acceptance, (ii) observance of stipulated terms/conditions, (iii) absence of statutory grounds for revocation/rescission, (iv) respect for forced heirs, and (v) timely tax/registration. To manage risk, draft with clear conditions and reversion, observe formalities, register/annotate, and treat any challenge windows as time-sensitive.

Disclaimer: This is a general overview. Specific facts and the latest jurisprudence can change outcomes. For a particular deed or dispute, consult counsel with the instrument and relevant titles on hand.