Good Evening Gents ( and Ladies ). My wife and her two sisters have been given 2 plots of land between the 3 of them, via her late father's family. One of them is 30 meters by 30 meters. They both appear to be in the region of Valencia. We are told the process of transfer will be slow. If my wife became a British citizen, would she lose her rights? Also, how to split two lots, 3 ways? Thanks
No, she would still be able to own a certain amount of land. Phils government website will have details. The rest, can't advise on. Hopefully someone else can. We bought an acre of land earlier this year. Just about finished the paper trail now.
As Graham said, former Filipino citizens are limited on size of land ownership. 1000 square metres for urban land and 1 hectare for rural land ownership. Even if she became a British citizen she can reacquire her former Filipino nationality.
Which Valencia? There are many places with that name. Subdividing an existing lot is going to be frustrating, fairly costly (in fees and "tea money") and very time-consuming - and all on variable scale depending on whether the land is titled and the titled owner is alive. You need to find a surveyor and have a fresh survey conducted of the existing lot. If it is straight forward then the surveyor can set the new concrete monuments to mark the boundaries. However you'll need to allow around a year or so to get it all done - and that's the best case.
Agree with Markam...The sisters also have around 6 months to pay inheritance tax from the time they inherited the land before they incur penalties. Shouldn't be that much but of course depends on the land value.. Never heard of a Filipino losing land over the portions allowed once they have lost their citizenship..
Thanks Folks. The plots have been handed down from the late grandmother and have bypassed the father as he died some time ago and have been automatically inherited by the three sisters. Other similar plots have gone to other grand children. One plot is in town in Valencia (near Dumaguete) about 1000 sq metres and the other is in the provinces. None of the 3 sisters need the plots so they have presented a pleasant problem. And are looking at what to do with them and how to go about it. I believe they intend to consult a lawyer on the legal stuff. But in the meantime they, between them, are trying to understand what they have inherited and associated complexities. The sisters are amicable in their stance with each other on this so no issues there.
