G.R. No. 120594 June 10, 1997
ALFONSO TAN and ETERIA TEVES TAN, petitioners, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, SPOUSES CELESTINO U. TAN and ROSARIO DY KUSHIN and SPOUSES MAXIMO U. TAN and TERESITA SY TAN, respondents.
FACTS
On April 17, 1989, spouses Alfonso and Eteria Tan filed a case for partition and accounting against Alfonso’s brothers, Celestino and Maximo Tan, and their respective wives. They claimed to be co-owners of a 906-square meter residential lot in Cebu City, acquired around 1970, and sought partition of Alfonso’s alleged one-third share. They also sought an accounting for the Bel Air Auto Supply Company, a family business started in 1963. The private respondents (the brothers) countered that the business was dissolved in 1982 due to losses and Alfonso’s mismanagement, and that Alfonso had no remaining claim. They also asserted that the subject property was inherited by the three brothers from their mother, Trinidad Uy, and that Alfonso’s share was mortgaged to their sister. Alfonso Tan later filed a motion to dismiss, stating the case was filed at his estranged wife’s instance and he had no claim against his brothers, but the trial court denied it. During trial, Eteria testified the lot was bought during their marriage and the house was built with loan proceeds. The brothers claimed the property was inherited and the house built with an SSS loan secured by their mother. The trial court ruled the property was acquired by the three brothers by sale and ordered its partition, awarding one-third to the conjugal partnership of Alfonso and Eteria. The brothers moved for reconsideration, attaching an “Extrajudicial Declaration of Heirs and Adjudication of Properties” document not presented during trial, which indicated the lot was inherited. The trial court denied the motion. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, ruling the property was inherited and thus Alfonso’s exclusive property, not conjugal.
ISSUE
Whether the undivided one-third portion of the subject property registered in the name of “ALFONSO U. TAN, married to Eteria Teves” is conjugal property of the spouses or the exclusive property of Alfonso Tan acquired by inheritance.
RULING
The Supreme Court DENIED the petition and AFFIRMED the decision of the Court of Appeals. The undivided one-third portion is the exclusive property of Alfonso Tan, inherited from his mother. The Court held that while Article 160 of the Civil Code presumes property acquired during marriage to be conjugal, this presumption was rebutted by conclusive evidence. The Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT No. 46249) registered the property in the names of the three brothers, with Alfonso described as “married to Eteria Teves.” The Court noted that had it been conjugal, it would have been registered in both spouses’ names. Crucially, the title contained a condition subjecting the property to liabilities under Rule 74, Section 4 of the Rules of Court for two years from January 9, 1970, against the estate of the deceased Trinidad Uy, proving the property was acquired by succession. Acquisition by inheritance during marriage is a lucrative title, making it the exclusive property of the heir-spouse under Article 148 of the Civil Code. The petitioner failed to substantiate her claim that the property was purchased with conjugal funds or that the house was built with a loan they obtained.
