Text of the provision

Art. 144. Separation of property may refer to present or future property or both. It may be total or partial. In the latter case, the property not agreed upon as separate shall pertain to the absolute community.

(213a)

Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.

What this article means

Separation of property is flexible. The spouses can apply it to property they already own, property they will acquire, or both. And it can be total (everything is separate) or partial (only some property is kept separate).

The important catch is what happens to the rest under a partial arrangement: whatever the spouses did not agree to keep separate falls into the absolute community. Silence defaults to sharing — so a partial separation must spell out exactly what stays separate.

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment. The annotation, case summaries and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. Whether this provision applies to a particular marriage depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your situation can assess.