I know, this is the last thing we think about when getting married, but bad things happen and marriages end. Easy way to protect your money invested in property and House is to have a so called USUFRUCTU Agreement with your wife/partner. This guarantees you the absolute and sole use of your (or better your Pinay wife/partner) property until the end of your life. Any good notary public can draft and notarize you one. it functions a bit like a lease, but since there is no payment, there are also no taxes to be paid by the "USUFRUCTU giver". Clauses can be included in case of your early demise to pass the property over to Caritas or your children, but this must be cleared in particular at the notary/attorney. Now combined with an I.O.U. of a certain cash amount (In the height of investment and interest free!), and a Power of Attourney to sell the property this is a cheap and "almost" waterproof solution. Please note, that "Power of attorney" agreements have a time limit, in general 1 year, if not otherwise stated. Now the only problem is how to make your 'beloved" one sign those papers....
I'm being slightly tongue in cheek but would this not a bit of an open invitation to an early party in the sky in the Phils
not necessarily, the chance of getting murdered we are assuming are much smaller in reality. the foreigners which got killed in the past are exclusively killed for other reason than property. but as said, the clause of early and unnatural demise which makes sure, that the property goes to somebody else then the partner it rather guarantees safety. (Example: in the case of death by murder the property will be donated to "xxxxx",- this signed by the partner too of course) it is a bit like a prenup, which would be another possibility, but more expensive and complicated.
I will come back to this post later this weekend. Just getting a bit tied up at the moment. Whilst not wanting to get into a discussion when I am not certain of the facts, I do have an experience with a close friend who did much the same as you suggest Guenther, but which has not yet (after 3 years) been resolved as had been hoped. When challenged in the courts no foreigner can have any control over land. Food for thought
Thats why USUFRUCTU, it functions like a lease. Of course the original owner is still the owner, that will never change, but he gave away his rights to the other person. the I.,O.U. debt letter then guarantees the amount of money when a sale is done upon "mutual agreement"
Just don't buy property in the Phils...which you will NEVER own, unless you can afford to lose the money with no regrets. Be sensible and invest it in the UK, or anywhere where legal documents actually mean something. There are plenty of nice properties/land to rent there.
I know you have had a particularly bad time over the last 20 years Graham, it can be like that over there and even when the family are here in the UK too, me and Ana are going through really bad times times right now, but some folks are in a much more secure position and are willing to release that kind of equity to their partners, no strings attached. You have your son and I hope he gets some rights on property back in the Phils some day, take care sir and good luck.
You may be right (and thanks for the kind thoughts), but I feel it is also right that people see things from both sides before running away with themselves. I have witnessed soooo many expats losing their shirts in the Phils. Just worked out who you are...lol!
I enjoyed a great evening of chat with a long time friend. We certainly saw off a few bottles of this and that. The result being that most of the 'dirty' detail of what we discussed in connection with 'How to secure your House and lot, when marriage fails...' has now blurred into his own sad personal story. I do recall that the main thrust of his many points was that non-citizens pretty much have no rights locally when it comes to land ownership. In his previous life he was a director in the legal department of a large corporation. As a qualified 'legal eagle' he had a total responsibility for many contracts. He did this work for 12 years. He thought he could hack it legally, but was mistaken. He did agree that in principle a very cleverly constructed usufruct agreement might be an interesting delaying tactic for foreigners buying land in the name of their spouse or girlfriend. It might provide some protection allowing them to continue to stay on the land under certain conditions, such as if the citizen spouse passed away first, or in some cases of divorce. (mind you no divorce in Pinas) His overall view was that, as always, there is enough "wiggle room" in the RP statute to allow any court to hold whatever view it cared in a particular civil case if it so desired. Civil cases can be very long winded. If you (like he) are married and things get ugly, you may not legally need to leave the home during the civil proceedings, but the spouse and other family members can make you wish you had left. He also mentioned (though not proven) that any such contract/agreement would need to be fully 'signed up' prenuptially, since all property purchased by the married couple during the marriage is legally seen as community property by default. A long term lease, a deed of donation, a deed of sale, or any other document that might be seen to transfer possession / control / rights of a property to the other spouse is most likely going to end up as a worthless scrap of paper. If ever you would be legally contested you would lose. His basic conclusion was that unless you are totally happy to give land and property to your spouse, then it's better to delay buying land/property together for 3 years, and only then do it if you have become prepared to give it outright as a gift. Otherwise renting is the best and most sensible option. His story experience not mine. Bear in mind he still has many dark thoughts about his marriage, money, property and...... No offence. Just his experienced reflection. Albeit under the influence of alcohol and still sharp memories. Guenther, are you able to provide any commentary on instances where the marriage got ugly and the usufruct agreement worked as it should? Still curious.
The only exception for foreigners is purchase of a condo which is not actually a purchase of land but neither is it actually a purchase of the condo, it is really a 50 year lease on the unit and most of them are overpriced now anyway. Question is does it make economic sense to invest that much money in a property or are you better of earning interest on your capital and just paying rent until you die. I have a friend who has been out there for 13 years now, runs a (now) large successful business and he has always rented and an expensive rent at that 50,000 a month for a condo in the centre of Makati. As you say Peter it ultimately does boil down to one's willingness to be kind and generous to one's partner and for a Filipino spouse long term security will always be a big concern.
I totally agree as regards providing for the one you love....be it your partner or your children. I still think that in the long run you'll make a much better investment for their future by keeping the bulk of your joint assets OUT of the Philippines. There's some lovely property to rent out there, and the beauty of it is that you can also move on quickly if next door's Karaoke gets out of hand. Meanwhile your investments/property in the UK is earning for the whole family, and in the event of a split in future years, you both have the peace of mind that a 'proper' legal system will do the dividing up.
Yes, as your friend quotes, things can get very nasty in legal battles. And naturally those things are settled prior to marriage also. I do not want to go as far as to say it could serve also as a test of commitment of the other partner, but having written that... ( I am actually a very optimistic person, not that anybody gets me wrong here ) Now back to this USUFRUCTU and practical experiences. I am currently living in a "divorce" with my second ex wife, and i do live here in Balamban Cebu. And i do that since 2 years while my ex most probably has tried (according to my "info" ) to get a hold on that. To no avail so far, the only thing she lastly insist on is selling and divide the spoils equally which is a los a part of this agreement. But nobody can force me to sign. Now, since i am a member of the order of the Knights of Rizal and exposed to other brothers of this fraternity ( All of the Judges in Cebu are Knights too..) this may pout me in a special position, but nethertheless, this was the advise given to me by them. In my case even 'post-marriage". Latest status (yesterday) is that she has given up to run from lawyer to lawyer, maybe also because the Lawyer/Notary who drafted the USUFRUCTU is well known. As i am also well known. I am feeling pretty confident still. But then, i am an optimist. Well, if i would be the other way round, i would probably still sit somewhere in Germany and live a grumpy boring life. Joke..
The Condo deal is certainly another possibility, as well as some Subdivision project where the property itself remains in the name of the developer but the building itself is owned by the foreigner. Which open ways to other legal solutions. There are kazillions of possibilities, often solutions are provided to the large developers themselve. And they continue to target foreign clients, mainly now Japanese and Koreans, but also Chinese. most crucial point is that the land remains to 60% in Pinoy hands. now one could argue, they are all out for the cheat, but in due fairness, how realistic is that ?
Personally, I will not buy any more property in Pinas. I will rent a place that suits and move on to another rental if need be. Maybe not for everyone but perect for me.
its a good choice anyway. depending on where one lives, to build a house and all that runs into millions and one can get very good rentals for 10 or 15k. Now calculating the lifetime of a building to about 20 years... WHY BUY ? the same applies even in Germany, where over 60 percent of people never would even think about buying condos and houses, insite of the huge Tax benefits given by the Government... I did buy house and lot in the Province for about 20k US$, And its maybe "amortized" in 10 years, but then, its also my business location. And i plan to have kids one day too.... But for the average "joe"... not really feasable !
its a good choice anyway. depending on where one lives, to build a house and all that runs into millions and one can get very good rentals for 10 or 15k. Now calculating the lifetime of a building to about 20 years... WHY BUY ? the same applies even in Germany, where over 60 percent of people never would even think about buying condos and houses, insite of the huge Tax benefits given by the Government... I did buy house and lot in the Province for about 20k US$, And its maybe "amortized" in 10 years, but then, its also my business location. And i plan to have kids one day too.... But for the average "joe"... not really feasable !
