Recovering Property Bought in a Partner’s Name in the Philippines

Co-Ownership and Resulting-Trust Remedies (Practical Guide + Black-Letter Law)

This is general information for the Philippine context (Civil Code, Family Code, Torrens system). It’s not a substitute for advice from your counsel on your exact facts.

1) The Core Problem

You helped pay for real or personal property, but legal title (or registration) was placed only in your partner’s name. Philippine law offers two main paths to recover or secure your share:

Co-ownership (typically anchored in the Family Code or the Civil Code), and
Implied trusts—especially a purchase-money resulting trust (and, in some cases, a constructive trust).

The best strategy depends on your relationship status, proof of contributions, and what was intended when the title was placed in the partner’s name.

2) Co-Ownership

A. Family-Code Co-Ownership for Unmarried Cohabitants

The Family Code governs property relations of couples who lived together without a valid marriage. Two provisions matter:

Article 147 – Parties not disqualified to marry (e.g., both single/widowed, or marriage later declared void for reasons other than a still-subsisting prior marriage).
- What becomes co-owned: Property acquired during cohabitation through their work, industry, or joint efforts is co-owned, usually in equal shares if specific contributions cannot be proved.
- Domestic services count as contribution (managing the household, child care).
- Exclusions: Properties exclusively acquired by one partner by gratuitous title (e.g., inheritance/donation to just one) and properties acquired before cohabitation.
Article 148 – One or both parties disqualified to marry each other (e.g., one is still married to someone else).
- What becomes co-owned: Only properties acquired through their actual joint contributions of money, property, or industry, and ownership is in proportion to proven contributions.
- Domestic services alone do not create a share here; you must prove actual contribution.
- Public-policy overlays apply (see void donations to a paramour, below).

Why it matters: If a parcel, condo, vehicle, or business asset was acquired while you were cohabiting, you may assert co-ownership and ask the court to declare your share and order partition or reconveyance—even if the title is only in your partner’s name.

Proof to prepare (147/148):

Evidence of cohabitation and its timeline (IDs at same address, child’s birth records, affidavits, utility bills, photos, travel, messages).
Evidence of contributions: payslips, bank transfers, remittances, receipts for down payments/amortizations/taxes/renovations, proof of business work, and domestic labor (relevant under Art. 147).

Prescription (time limits):

Between co-owners, prescription generally does not run until one clearly repudiates the co-ownership and gives unequivocal notice to the other (e.g., a public act denying your rights). Absent repudiation, actions like partition are typically imprescriptible between co-owners.
Laches (equitable delay) can still bar relief if you slept on your rights to the point of unfairness.

B. Civil-Code Co-Ownership (Non-Family-Code scenarios)

Even outside romantic unions (or when Family-Code rules don’t fit), the Civil Code (co-ownership provisions) applies if two or more persons contributed to acquire property. Each co-owner may:

Use and enjoy the property in proportion to their share,
Demand partition at any time (with limited exceptions), and
Recover fruits, rents, and profits in proportion to their share (plus accounting).

Again, prescription doesn’t run against a co-owner until repudiation.

3) Implied Trusts (Resulting & Constructive)

A. Purchase-Money Resulting Trust (PMRT)

Definition (in substance): If you provided the purchase price (or a determinable part of it) for a property, but title was taken in your partner’s name, the law presumes a trust in your favor—i.e., your partner holds legal title, but beneficial ownership (to the extent of your funding) is yours.

Elements to establish:

Your money (or a specific, provable portion) paid the price,
Title was placed in your partner’s name, and
The circumstances show no intent to donate your contribution.

Key nuances:

Timing: Your contribution must be part of the purchase price at or before acquisition (later payments—e.g., unrelated gifts after transfer—don’t create a PMRT, though they may support co-ownership if tied to amortizations).
Evidence standard: Courts require clear, satisfactory, and convincing proof (receipts, bank statements, loan documents showing you as payer, contemporaneous communications, admissions, etc.).
Parol evidence is allowed (trusts implied by law need not be in writing).
Family exception: When title is placed in the name of a child/descendant and you furnished the price, the law tends to presume a gift to the child (no resulting trust), unless you convincingly show otherwise.
Romantic partners are not “descendants”—so no automatic gift presumption favors your partner.

Prescription:

An action for reconveyance based on an implied/resulting trust generally prescribes in 10 years from registration of title in the trustee’s (your partner’s) name.
Exception: If you have been in continuous possession treating the property as yours, suits to quiet title (to recognize the trust/ownership) can be treated as imprescriptible until the trustee openly repudiates the trust.
Laches may still apply if delay is inequitable.

B. Constructive Trust

If your partner obtained/kept title through fraud, abuse of confidence, or mistake, the law imposes a constructive trust to prevent unjust enrichment.

Typical remedy is reconveyance to the true beneficiary.
Prescription and fraud-discovery rules may apply; courts often look to 4 years from discovery of fraud, subject to outer limits and fact-specific equities (and again, possession can change the analysis).
Clear proof of the fraud/mistake is required.

4) Big Caveats (Where Trust/Recovery Fails or Is Limited)

Foreigners paying for land. The Constitution bars land ownership by foreigners. Courts will not enforce a resulting/constructive trust that circumvents this ban (e.g., a foreigner pays for land placed in a Filipino partner’s name). Reconveyance to the foreigner is denied. At most, courts may consider equitable reimbursement depending on facts; some claims are barred by the parties’ illegality (dummy arrangements, in pari delicto). (Condos are different: foreigners may own condo units within the statutory foreign-ownership cap; land is the constitutional red line.)
Donations to a paramour (adultery/concubinage). Donations between persons guilty of adultery or concubinage at the time of donation are void as against public policy. If a married person “donated” property to a paramour by putting title solely in the paramour’s name without real consideration, recovery can be pursued (often by the legal spouse or the marital property), but the guilty spouse may be barred from suing due to in pari delicto. Substance prevails over form: a “sale” with no genuine consideration can be attacked.
Sale to an innocent third party. Under the Torrens system, an innocent purchaser or mortgagee for value who relied on the clean title is generally protected. Your remedy then shifts to damages against the partner/trustee (and sometimes the Assurance Fund), not to getting the property back.
Banks/mortgagees. A bank that took a good-faith mortgage on your partner’s clean title is typically protected; you may recover equitable proceeds, but the mortgage stays.
Tax angles. If the transfer was treated as a donation (e.g., donor’s tax paid) that can undercut a trust theory. Conversely, trust-based reconveyance is not a sale/donation between the parties (it’s a recognition of your beneficial ownership), but documentary and registration taxes can arise upon actual reconveyance or partition—plan for this with counsel.

5) Choosing Your Legal Theory

When to lean on Family-Code co-ownership (147/148):

You lived together and the property was acquired during cohabitation.
Under Art. 147 (both capacitated), you can succeed even without receipts if the property is tied to joint efforts/industry (domestic services count).
Under Art. 148 (legal impediment), prove actual contributions (money/property/work tied to acquisition).

When to lean on a Resulting Trust:

You can trace your money to the purchase price (down payment, amortizations, lump-sum) at/around acquisition;
Title was placed only in your partner’s name;
There’s no evidence of a gift.

When to plead both (in the alternative):

You cohabited and you have payment proof—courts allow alternative/consistent causes of action. Add constructive trust if there’s fraud.

6) What You Can Recover

Reconveyance / annotation of your share on the title (or partition if feasible).
Accounting of fruits, rents, and profits in proportion to your share.
Reimbursement for necessary and useful expenses you shouldered (taxes, repairs, mortgage payments), minus benefits you exclusively enjoyed.
Damages (e.g., if your partner sold, mortgaged, or concealed the asset).
Lis pendens/adverse claim annotations to warn third parties while the case is pending.

7) Evidence Strategy (Checklists)

Ownership & Acquisition

Certified true copy of title / OR/CR (for vehicles), deed of sale, tax declarations, mortgage docs, condo CTS & SPA, receipts for transfer taxes/registration.

Contributions

Bank transfers to seller/broker/developer; official receipts; amortization ledgers; proof of shared finances; remittance slips; receipts for construction/renovations; real-property tax payments.

Cohabitation (147/148)

IDs, bills, leases, barangay/HR certifications, school records of children, photos, travel records, messages indicating shared home and finances.

Intent (to rebut “gift”)

Chats/emails: “We’ll put it in your name for now…”, “My money paid…”.
Absence of donor’s tax filings; proof that titling choice was for convenience/financing.

Possession/Use

Who lived there? Who collected rent? Utility accounts? Property management records.

Defensive Prep

Be ready to counter claims of gift, sole funding by your partner, prescription/laches, or a third-party transfer.

8) Procedure & Remedies (Step-by-Step)

Title check & paper trail. Get certified title copies, tax decs, payment records.
Legal status map. Note dates: cohabitation, purchase, marriage(s)/annulments, separations. Identify whether Art. 147 or 148 applies.
Pre-litigation move. Send a demand to recognize your share, account, and reconvey/partition.
Protect the asset. File for annotation (adverse claim and/or notice of lis pendens) with the Registry of Deeds to deter transfers while you litigate.
File the case (venue is where the real property is located for land/condos). Typical prayers:
- Declaration of co-ownership (Family Code/Civil Code) and/or
- Reconveyance based on implied/resulting/constructive trust,
- Partition, Accounting, Damages, Injunction (to stop sale/mortgage), and Sheriff’s assistance for enforcement.
Interim reliefs. TRO/Preliminary Injunction to preserve status quo; Receivership or deposit of rents in court (if income-producing).
Judgment & registration. After a favorable judgment, register the deed of reconveyance/partition or court decision with the RD so your rights appear on title.
Tax & compliance. Coordinate capital gains/creditable withholding/doc stamp/transfer tax implications of the deed or partition.

Jurisdictional note: Real actions over title/possession of real property are filed in the court where the property lies; which trial court hears it depends on value/assessed value under the latest jurisdiction statutes and rules.

9) Special Situations

Property mortgaged to a bank: Your equitable claim survives between you and your partner, but a bank in good faith is typically protected; you may need to pay out or redeem to keep the asset, then seek reimbursement.
Property sold to third party: If buyer is in bad faith (had actual notice or saw lis pendens/adverse claim), reconveyance may still be ordered; if in good faith, pursue damages from your partner.
Death of a partner: Assert your co-ownership/beneficial interest in the estate proceedings (or via a separate action with proper notices), so the property (or your share) is excluded from distribution to heirs.
Business assets: If you and your partner acted like business partners and pooled funds, a co-ownership or partnership accounting may be pursued in addition to trust/co-ownership claims.
Personal property (cars, equipment, shares): Similar theories apply; check the registry (LTO, stock & transfer book) and use replevin if wrongful detention is an issue.

10) What Often Decides These Cases

Paper beats memory. Courts favor receipts, ledgers, bank records, and admissions over bare testimony.
Chronology matters. Match payments to acquisition dates; later “gifts” have weak trust value.
Status locks the framework. Whether you fall under Art. 147 or 148 can win/lose the case—requirements differ.
Registration realities. The Torrens system protects good-faith buyers/mortgagees; early lis pendens/adverse claim annotations are critical.
Equity cuts both ways. Laches/in pari delicto can defeat otherwise strong claims; conversely, possession and continuous assertion of rights can defeat prescription.

11) Sample Pleading Hooks (for your lawyer to adapt)

Count 1 – Declaration of Co-Ownership (Art. 147/148): Allegations of cohabitation period; acquisition during cohabitation; your contributions (including domestic services for Art. 147); prayer for declaration of shares, accounting, and partition/reconveyance.
Count 2 – Reconveyance based on Resulting Trust: You furnished ₱___ toward purchase; title in defendant’s name only; no intent to donate; demand for reconveyance of proportionate interest; damages.
Count 3 – Constructive Trust/Fraud: Facts of misrepresentation/abuse of confidence; prayer for reconveyance, damages, and annotation.
Ancillary: TRO/PI; lis pendens; appointment of receiver; subpoena for developer/bank records; attorney’s fees.

12) Quick Decision Tree

Were you both free to marry?
- Yes → Art. 147 (domestic services count; equal shares presumed if contributions unproven).
- No → Art. 148 (prove actual contributions; shares proportionate).
Can you trace your money into the purchase price?
- Yes → Resulting trust (10-year clock from registration; stronger with contemporaneous receipts).
- No → Lean on Family-Code co-ownership (147/148) and general co-ownership rules.
Is there fraud/mistake?
- Yes → Add constructive-trust/quieting-of-title theories.
Any third-party buyer/mortgagee?
- Yes → Protect with lis pendens; remedies may shift to damages if buyer/mortgagee is in good faith.
Foreign payer for land?
- Resulting trust to own land will fail. Explore equitable money recovery, not reconveyance of land.

13) Practical To-Do List (Before Seeing Counsel)

Gather certified title and tax declaration; pull developer/bank ledgers.
Compile payment proofs tied to the acquisition timeline.
Map cohabitation dates and status (single/married/void marriage cause).
Collect communications evidencing intent (no donation) and joint planning.
If risk of transfer, prepare adverse claim/lis pendens papers.
List potential witnesses (broker, bank officer, neighbors, family, co-workers).

Final Notes

Courts reward early, organized, documentary cases.
Your relationship status at the time of acquisition guides which statute applies.
If you must sue, plead alternative theories and secure the property at the Registry of Deeds fast.
Expect your opponent to invoke gift, prescription, laches, or good-faith buyer defenses—be ready with facts and filings.

If you want, tell me the facts and timeline of your situation (even roughly: dates, who paid what, current possession, any bank loans), and I can map which theory and remedies are strongest and draft a fact-specific game plan.