Short answer. Yes. Under Article 92 of the Family Code, property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title — including donations — is normally excluded from the absolute community, but the donor, testator, or grantor may expressly provide that it shall instead form part of the community property.
What the law says
Property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title by either spouse, and the fruits as well as the income thereof, if any, unless it is expressly provided by the donor, testator or grantor that they shall form part of the community property
Family Code, Article 92 — What Is Excluded from the Community. Read the full provision →
The default: gifts during marriage are excluded
Article 92 of the Family Code lists what is excluded from the absolute community of property. First on that list is "Property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title by either spouse, and the fruits as well as the income thereof." A donation is a gratuitous title — property received for free. So when a parent gives land to a married child, or when anyone donates property to a spouse during the marriage, that gift normally stays outside the community and belongs exclusively to the receiving spouse. Even the income the donated property generates is excluded.
The donor's option to include it
Article 92 carves out an important exception: the exclusion does not apply "if it is expressly provided by the donor, testator or grantor that they shall form part of the community property." This means the person making the gift has a choice. A parent who wants to donate land to both spouses jointly — rather than exclusively to their married child — can say so in the deed of donation. That express statement overrides the default exclusion and makes the donated property a community asset, shared between both spouses.
The choice must be express
The exception requires an express provision. A vague or implied intention to benefit both spouses is not enough to bring the donation within the community. The deed or instrument must affirmatively state that the property shall form part of the community. If the deed is silent — even if the donor privately intended the gift to benefit the whole family — the default exclusion applies. Anyone drafting a deed of donation for a married recipient who wants to include both spouses in the benefit should state this explicitly and unambiguously.
Other items excluded under Article 92
Article 92 also excludes property for the personal and exclusive use of either spouse — with one notable exception: jewelry, which forms part of the community property regardless. It further excludes property that a spouse acquired before the marriage if that spouse had legitimate descendants from a prior marriage, along with the fruits and income of such property. Together, these exclusions define the boundary between what belongs to the community and what remains personally owned by one spouse, and all of them are subject to what the parties or donors expressly provide in their instruments.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Crispin Burgos D. Bariata vs. the Honorable Ombudsman Conchita C. Carpio-morales, Joselito A. Ojeda, and Dulde R. Quinto-ojeda, G.R. No. 234640, February 1, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Lucila David and the Heirs of Rene F. Aguas, namely: Princess Luren D. Aguas, G.R. No. 241036, January 26, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Heirs of the Late Apolinario Caburnay, et al. vs. Heirs of Teodulo Sison, namely, G.R. No. 230934, December 2, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Brigido B. Quia vs. Rita C. Quiao, et al, G.R. No. 176556, July 4, 2012 — read the decision on LawPhil →