Cohabitation Agreement (Philippines)

A Cohabitation Agreement in the Philippines records the bargain between the parties, fixing their respective rights, duties and remedies.

Philippine law takes a nuanced approach to cohabitation. The Family Code provides two distinct regimes depending on the capacity of the parties. Article 147 applies when the man and woman are capacitated to marry each other — meaning neither has a valid, subsisting marriage to another person and there is no other impediment — and they live together exclusively as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or under a void marriage. Under Article 147, wages and salaries earned by each party are owned by them in equal shares, and property acquired by both parties through their work or industry is governed by co-ownership rules. Article 148 applies when the parties are not capacitated to marry each other — for example, one or both are already married to someone else. Under Article 148, only properties actually acquired by both parties through their joint contribution of money, property, or industry are co-owned in proportion to their respective contributions.

A Cohabitation Agreement is distinct from the Joint Affidavit of Cohabitation executed under Article 34 of the Family Code, which is a sworn statement attesting to five continuous years of cohabitation for the purpose of exempting the couple from the requirement of a marriage license when they subsequently decide to marry. The Cohabitation Agreement is a property and financial contract, not a civil registration document.

With the Philippine House of Representatives passing HB 9349 (divorce bill) at second reading in May 2024 — though not yet enacted — and the continuing prohibition on divorce, many Filipinos who are in second relationships while a prior marriage is undissolved enter cohabitation arrangements that are legally governed by Article 148 of the Family Code. A Cohabitation Agreement in this context can protect the financial contributions of both partners and prevent disputes over jointly acquired assets in the absence of marital property rights.

The legal framework governing the Cohabitation Agreement (Philippines) in Philippines draws on several key statutes and regulatory bodies. Under Philippine law, the Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386) governs contractual obligations. The Revised Corporation Code (Republic Act No. 11232) regulates corporate entities through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) govern employment matters. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) protect personal data. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) administers tax obligations under the National Internal Revenue Code. Parties executing a Cohabitation Agreement (Philippines) in Philippines should confirm the document reflects current law, including any amendments enacted since the original drafting date. The Civil Code of the Philippines (RA 386) sets the foundational requirements.

A Cohabitation Agreement in the Philippines is needed whenever two persons who are not legally married to each other begin living together and want to establish clear rules about property ownership, financial contributions, and the handling of assets if the relationship ends.

A Cohabitation Agreement is needed when two persons who are legally free to marry each other choose not to marry — whether due to personal preference, religious reasons, or practical considerations — and wish to protect their individual financial contributions to the shared household, real property purchased together, or business ventures undertaken jointly.

A Cohabitation Agreement is required when one partner in a live-in relationship contributes substantially more to the acquisition of shared property — for example, by providing the down payment for a house while the other contributes monthly mortgage payments — and both want to document their respective contributions and ownership shares under the co-ownership rules of Articles 484 to 501 of the Civil Code.

A Cohabitation Agreement is needed when one person is already married to someone else but is in a stable second relationship, and the cohabiting partner wants to protect their financial contributions to jointly acquired property from being claimed by the legal spouse or the legal spouse's heirs under the rules of Article 148 of the Family Code.

A Cohabitation Agreement is required when same-sex partners who cannot marry under current Philippine law (no same-sex marriage legislation as of 2026) wish to document their property rights, financial responsibilities, and separation arrangements to the extent permitted by the co-ownership provisions of the Civil Code.

A Cohabitation Agreement is needed when partners in a live-in arrangement acquire real property together and need to document the co-ownership structure for the Register of Deeds (LRA) when registering the property under both names, or when one party will be named alone on the title but the other has contributed financially.

A valid Cohabitation Agreement in the Philippines must contain the following components to be enforceable between the parties.

Parties: Full legal names, ages, civil statuses (single, widowed, legally separated, or married — the latter being relevant to the Article 147 vs. Article 148 regime), nationalities, addresses, TINs, and cedula details. The parties' capacity to enter a contract under Article 1327 of the Civil Code must be confirmed — both must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind.

Property regime declaration: An explicit statement of the applicable property regime — Article 147 (capacitated partners) or Article 148 (parties with impediment to marry) — and a declaration of how property will be owned between the parties. If both are free to marry each other, the agreement may stipulate equal co-ownership per Article 147; if not, contributions-based co-ownership per Article 148.

Inventory of present property: A schedule of each party's individually-owned property as of the commencement of cohabitation — real property with TCT/CCT numbers, vehicles with LTO registration, bank accounts, and significant personal property — to establish the pre-cohabitation baseline and avoid later disputes about what was jointly acquired.

Future property rules: How property acquired during the cohabitation will be owned — whether equally or in proportion to documented contributions — and how joint purchases will be documented (receipts, joint bank account records, written acknowledgments).

Financial contributions: Monthly household expenses (rent, utilities, food, insurance), who pays which expenses, and how unequal contributions will be tracked or equalized.

Separation provisions: How jointly acquired property will be divided if the relationship ends — sale with equal division of proceeds, buyout by one party at fair market value, or third-party appraisal — and the process for resolving disagreements.

Children: If the parties have or expect children together, a brief reference to child support and custody arrangements, noting that these are governed by the Family Code and cannot be waived by private agreement.

Notarization: Both parties' signatures with cedula and TIN details, and the notary's jurat under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice (A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC).

Additional compliance elements for a Cohabitation Agreement (Philippines) used in Philippines include: Under Philippine law, the Civil Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 386) governs contractual obligations. The Revised Corporation Code (Republic Act No. 11232) regulates corporate entities through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Labor Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 442) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) govern employment matters. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) protect personal data. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) administers tax obligations under the National Internal Revenue Code. Forms-legal.com provides this template as a starting point for Philippines-compliant documentation.