04. Cohabitation Without the Benefit of Marriage

Luis and Rizza, both 26 years of age and single, live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage. Luis is gainfully employed. Rizza is not employed, stays at home, and takes charge of the household chores.

After living together for a little over twenty years. Luis was able to save from his salary earnings during that period the amount of P200,000.00 presently deposited in a bank. A house and lot worth P500,000.00 was recently purchased for the same amount by the couple. Of the P5000,000.00 used by the common-law spouses to purchase the property, P200,000.00 had come from the sale of palay harvested from the hacienda owned by Luis and P300,000.00 from the rentals of a building belonging to Rizza. In fine, the sum of P500,000.00 had been part of the fruits received during the period of cohabitation from their separate property. A car worth P100,000,00, being used by the common-law spouses, was donated just months ago to Rizza by her parents.

Luis and Rizza now decide to terminate their cohabitation, and they ask you to give them your legal advice on the following:

(a) How, under the law, should the bank deposit of P200,000.00, the house and lot valued at P500,000.00 the car worth P100,000.00 be allocated to them?

(b) What would your answer be (to the above question) had Luis and Rizza been living together all the time, i.e. since twenty years ago, under a valid marriage?

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