TITLE VI

Property Relations Between Husband and Wife

CHAPTER 1

General Provisions

ARTICLE 118. The property relations between husband and wife shall be governed
in the following order:

(1) By contract executed before the marriage;

(2) By the provisions of this Code; and

(3) By custom. (1315a)

ARTICLE 119. The future spouses may in the marriage settlements agree upon
absolute or relative community of property, or upon complete separation of property,
or upon any other regime. In the absence of marriage settlements, or when the same
are void, the system of relative community or conjugal partnership of gains as
established in this Code, shall govern the property relations between husband and
wife. (n)

ARTICLE 120. 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 by law to give consent to the marriage of the minor take part in the ante-
nuptial agreement. In the absence of the parents or of a guardian, the consent to the
marriage settlements will be given by the family council. (1318a)

ARTICLE 121. 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 Art. 191. (1319a)

ARTICLE 122. The marriage settlements and any modification thereof shall be
governed by the Statute of Frauds, and executed before the celebration of the
marriage. They shall not prejudice third persons unless they are recorded in the
Registry of Property. (1321a)

ARTICLE 123. For the validity of marriage settlements executed by any person upon
whom a sentence of civil interdiction has been pronounced, the presence and
participation of the guardian shall be indispensable, who for this purpose shall be
designated by a competent court, in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of
Court. (1323a)

ARTICLE 124. If the marriage is between a citizen of the Philippines and a foreigner,
whether celebrated in the Philippines or abroad, the following rules shall prevail:

(1) If the husband is a citizen of the Philippines while the wife is a foreigner, the
provisions of this Code shall govern their property relations;
(2) If the husband is a foreigner and the wife is a citizen of the Philippines, the laws
of the husband’s country shall be followed, without prejudice to the provisions of this
Code with regard to immovable property. (1325a)

ARTICLE 125. Everything stipulated in the settlements or contracts referred to in the

preceding articles in consideration of a future marriage shall be rendered void and
without effect whatever, if the marriage should not take place. However, those
stipulations that do not depend upon the celebration of the marriage shall be valid.
(1326a)