by Atty. Mysa Jade J. Mejica | September 2026

As the recent controversy on pre-nuptial agreements or ‘pre-nup’ made headlines months ago, let’s talk about what a pre-nup really is. 

Marriages in the Philippines are governed by the Family Code. A marriage is a special contract that permanently binds a man and a woman as family. Being a special contract, its nature and consequences are set by law. However, the law understands that those who want to share a life together do not always wish to share everything. Before stepping into the marriage, the parties can always agree on how they should own properties brought into, acquired during, or after, the marriage. 

Beginning 3 August 1988 when the Family Code took effect, property relations between a husband and a wife shall be based on, firstly, marriage settlement executed before the marriage, otherwise, the system of Absolute Community. 

Marriage settlements refer to prenuptial agreements, or simply put, the written agreement between future spouses on their properties. This allows couples to freely decide on how they will share or divide what they own. Whether they want to pool all their resources together or just some of it, make certain assets exclusive, fix allowances, it is up to the couple, as long as the agreement only relates to their properties. This set-up especially appeals to families that prefer to keep their financial affairs within blood relatives.  

BUT as the word suggests, prenuptial agreements have to be executed before marriage, if not, absolute community applies. Important to note as well that prenups have to be registered in the local civil registry where the marriage contract is recorded as well as in the proper registry of deeds. 

Without a prenup, the default property regime is absolute community. This is what most of married  have, wherein both spouses are owners of all the property that they individually own at the time of the celebration of the marriage and of whatever they will own afterwards, save for a few exceptions such as property inherited during marriage, those for personal use, and property acquired before the marriage by a spouse who has legitimate descendants from a former marriage. 

All said, before rushing into the married life, it’s good for couples to have a serious conversation as to how they want their financial future to be like. Talk to a lawyer today and explore the possibilities.