Prenuptial Agreement Philippines: Marriage Settlement Rules

A prenuptial agreement in Philippine law is a marriage settlement: a written agreement about your property, signed before the wedding. Below are what the Family Code says about the choice of property regime, the writing, signing and registration rules, the limits on donations, why it cannot simply be changed after the wedding, and the cases it names for minors, disabled parties and foreigners. Statute text is quoted from the Family Code (Executive Order No. 209) on Lawphil. This is not legal advice; a lawyer who knows your property should draft yours.

If you searched for outfit ideas or a beach location, you want our prenup photo tips. This page is about the legal document.

What the law calls it, and where it sits

The Family Code never uses the word "prenup". Article 74 sets the order of authority over a couple's property: "(1) By marriage settlements executed before the marriage; (2) By the provisions of this Code; and (3) By the local custom." A settlement, if you make one, is checked first. The Code's own rules apply only where there is none, or where the settlement's regime is void.

What a marriage settlement can cover

Article 1 of the Family Code says marriage is a special contract whose "nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code".

Question	What the text says
What can a settlement fix?	The property relations during the marriage (Art. 1); the regime, including "any other regime" (Art. 75)
Within what limits?	"within the limits provided by this Code", for example the one-fifth cap on donations between the future spouses (Art. 84)
What is outside a stipulation?	The "nature, consequences, and incidents" of the marriage itself (Art. 1)
Where does it rank?	First in the order of authority over property, ahead of the Code and local custom (Art. 74)

We stay within that text: the Code chapters we quote here concern property. Anything else you want in an agreement, ask a lawyer whether it can be stipulated.

What you can choose, and what applies if you sign nothing

Article 75: "The future spouses may, in the marriage settlements, agree upon the regime of absolute community, conjugal partnership of gains, complete separation of property, or any other regime. In the absence of a marriage settlement, or when the regime agreed upon is void, the system of absolute community of property as established in this Code shall govern."

Regime	Applies when	What the Code says
Absolute community of property	Automatically, if there is no valid settlement	Art. 91: community property "shall consist of all the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of the marriage or acquired thereafter", unless the Chapter or the settlement says otherwise
Conjugal partnership of gains	You choose it in a settlement	Art. 106: spouses "place in a common fund the proceeds, products, fruits and income from their separate properties" and net gains are divided equally on dissolution, unless otherwise agreed
Complete separation of property	You choose it in a settlement	Art. 145: each spouse "shall own, dispose of, possess, administer and enjoy his or her own separate estate, without need of the consent of the other"
Any other regime	You write your own terms	No dedicated chapter; the settlement sets the terms

Separation can be partial. Article 144: "Separation of property may refer to present or future property or both. It may be total or partial. In the latter case, the property not agreed upon as separate shall pertain to the absolute community." Article 143 makes the separation chapter suppletory where you choose that regime.

Even the default has exclusions

Article 92 keeps some property out of the absolute community:

Excluded from community property	Article 92
Property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title, and its fruits and income	(1), unless the donor, testator or grantor expressly says it forms part of the community
Property for personal and exclusive use of either spouse	(2), except that jewelry forms part of the community
Property acquired before the marriage by a spouse who has legitimate descendants by a former marriage, and its fruits and income	(3)

Which fits you is a question for a lawyer.

Form, signing and registration: what Articles 76 and 77 require

Article 77: "The marriage settlements and any modification thereof shall be in writing, signed by the parties and executed before the celebration of the marriage. They shall not prejudice third persons unless they are registered in the local civil registry where the marriage contract is recorded as well as in the proper registries of properties."

Requirement	What Article 77 says
Form	In writing
Signatures	Signed by the parties
Timing	Executed before the celebration of the marriage
Effect on third persons	Does not prejudice them unless registered in the local civil registry where the marriage contract is recorded, and in the proper registries of properties

Three points follow.

• Registration protects against outsiders. Article 77 speaks only to third persons, such as creditors. It does not say the settlement is void between the two of you for want of registration.
• The Code names no notary. Articles 74 to 81 do not use the words "notary" or "public instrument". Whether the local civil registrar or a registry of properties will accept an unnotarized document, and what they charge, is set by their own rules, which we did not verify. Our advice: have the lawyer who drafts it tell you what form each registry needs.
• Donations can change the form. Article 83 sends donations by reason of marriage to the ordinary donation rules of the Civil Code, and Civil Code Article 749 says "In order that the donation of an immovable may be valid, it must be made in a public document". If your settlement gives land to your spouse, ask your lawyer about this.

We found no official fee schedule for drafting or registering a settlement, so we state no number. Ask the professional directly and budget it into your wedding planning checklist with the other pre-wedding costs.

Donations in a marriage settlement

Chapter 2 of the same Title covers gifts made because of the marriage.

Rule	Text
What counts (Art. 82)	Donations "made before its celebration, in consideration of the same, and in favor of one or both of the future spouses"
Cap if you pick a regime other than absolute community (Art. 84)	They "cannot donate to each other in their marriage settlements more than one-fifth of their present property. Any excess shall be considered void." Second sentence: "Donations of future property shall be governed by the provisions on testamentary succession and the formalities of wills."
Gifts between spouses during the marriage (Art. 87)	Void, "except moderate gifts which the spouses may give each other on the occasion of any family rejoicing"

Why it cannot simply be changed after the wedding

Article 76: "In order that any modification in the marriage settlements may be valid, it must be made before the celebration of the marriage, subject to the provisions of Articles 66, 67, 128, 135 and 136." Two other articles close the door from the other side.

Article	What it says
Art. 88	Absolute community "shall commence at the precise moment that the marriage is celebrated"; a stipulation to start it at another time is void
Art. 89	"No waiver of rights, shares and effects of the absolute community of property during the marriage can be made except in case of judicial separation of property."

The routes after the wedding all go through a court:

Article	Route
Art. 136	Spouses "may jointly file a verified petition with the court for the voluntary dissolution of the absolute community or the conjugal partnership of gains, and for the separation of their common properties", listing and notifying creditors
Art. 135	Judicial separation of property for the causes listed, including civil interdiction, abandonment, abuse of administration power granted in the settlement, or separation in fact for at least one year with reconciliation highly improbable
Arts. 66 and 67	Reviving a former property regime after reconciliation in legal separation proceedings, by an agreement under oath filed with the court
Art. 128	A spouse who is abandoned may petition the court for receivership, judicial separation of property or sole administration

A settlement signed after the wedding does not meet Article 77's timing requirement; ask a lawyer what follows in your case. A regime you regret has no quick fix, so decide before the wedding.

Three situations the Code names

A minor spouse (Art. 78). The article says "A minor who according to law may contract marriage may also execute his or her marriage settlements, but they shall be valid only if the persons designated in Article 14 to give consent to the marriage are made parties to the agreement", subject to Title IX of the Code. Article 5 lets a person marry from "eighteen years or upwards", and Republic Act 11596 says "Child marriage is void ab initio", defining a child as a person under eighteen (or over eighteen but unable to fully take care of or protect themselves because of a physical or mental disability or condition). On our reading, Article 78's case therefore no longer arises for anyone under 18. If either of you is 18 to 20, the age band where Article 14 asks for parental consent, ask your lawyer whether Article 78 applies.

A spouse under civil interdiction or another disability (Art. 79). It is "indispensable for the guardian appointed by a competent court to be made a party thereto".

Foreigners and property abroad (Art. 80). Absent a contrary stipulation, "the property relations of the spouses shall be governed by Philippine laws, regardless of the place of the celebration of the marriage and their residence", with three exceptions.

Exception	Article 80
(1)	"Where both spouses are aliens"
(2)	The extrinsic validity of contracts affecting property not situated in the Philippines and executed where the property is located
(3)	The extrinsic validity of contracts entered into in the Philippines but affecting property in a foreign country whose laws require different formalities

Exception (1) is narrower than "a foreign spouse". A Filipino marrying a foreign national is not within it, so the default applies. Which foreign law governs under (2) and (3) depends on the countries and property involved; ask a lawyer. A foreign partner's other paperwork is in our legal capacity to contract marriage guide.

If the wedding does not happen

Article 81: "Everything stipulated in the settlements or contracts referred to in the preceding articles in consideration of a future marriage, including donations between the prospective spouses made therein, shall be rendered void if the marriage does not take place. However, stipulations that do not depend upon the celebration of the marriages shall be valid."

Where it fits your timeline

Article 77's only deadline is "executed before the celebration of the marriage". Anything earlier is our advice, including "sign before you apply for the license", which the Family Code does not say.

Step	Basis
Consult a lawyer on which regime fits	Our advice
Draft and sign it in writing, before the wedding	Art. 77
Register it if it must bind third persons	Art. 77; ask your lawyer
Apply for the license and finish the civil steps	See the civil requirements checklist or the church requirements guide
Tell the officiant	Art. 22(7): the marriage certificate states "That the parties have entered into marriage settlement, if any, attaching a copy thereof."
Hold the ceremony	Art. 77's cutoff

Questions to bring to the lawyer

[ ] Which regime fits our property and any children from before?
[ ] Which of my assets should be listed as separate?
[ ] Does anything we plan to donate to each other need a public document?
[ ] Do we need to register it, and where, and in what form?
[ ] What do we hand to the officiant for the marriage certificate?
[ ] One of us is a foreign national or owns property abroad: what changes?

What a prenup is not

A marriage settlement is not a religious requirement. Nothing in the Family Code chapter ties it to a church ceremony, and it works the same for a civil or a church wedding. It is also not the photo shoot. This page quotes the Family Code directly but it is not legal advice, and only a lawyer who knows your situation should draft yours. Once the legal side is settled, the rest of the calendar is the wedding planning checklist.