Living Together Relationships

Live-in relationships or arrangements are mostly common nowadays in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationships equally as married ones.

The question is: Do both parties knows their own rights? I was once in a situation where I am questioned being a 'wife' legally, and whew! It was like I  was blown some icy cold water. Yeah, right? I was so confident thinking that albeit the fact that we are not married, still I believe I hold the rights as a 'wife'.

But that was just I believe. It does matter that we know our rights even if we are not legally tied with our partners. So I want to share recently revised laws here in the Philippines for live-in partners or common-law marriage.

Art. 147. When a man and a woman who are capacitated to marry each other, live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or under a void marriage, their wages and salaries shall be owned by them in equal shares and the property acquired by both of them through their work or industry shall be governed by the rules on co-ownership.

Art. 148. In cases of cohabitation not falling under the preceding Article, only the properties acquired by both of the parties through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in common in proportion to their respective contributions. In the absence of proof to the contrary, their contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to be equal. The same rule and presumption shall apply to joint deposits of money and evidences of credit.

To read the whole article about these laws, just click here  Common-law Marriage( Live-in Relationships)

 I would also like to share this law with regards to women and their children.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9262

AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms.- As used in this Act:

(e) "Dating relationship" refers to a situation wherein the parties live as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or are romantically involved over time and on a continuing basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary socialization between two individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship.