Unwritten Rule #4

If a buyer purchases a property when he is single, the title will reflect his marital status as "single."

But if by the time he sells the property, he's married, he would have to do the following things before the sale is consummated:

1. Change the marital status of his TIN to married with the BIR

They need to submit a certified copy of the marriage certificate for this. If he were married in another country, he would have to get the marriage certificate authenticated by the Philippine Consul. So it would be best to do this as soon as possible.

2. Execute an additional document called "Affidavit of One and the Same Person." This document will explain that he was still single when he first purchased the property. If it's the wife who first bought the property, it's also likely the title would present her maiden name.

Without these two documents, government agencies won't process the title transfer.

The legal reason is that the spouse becomes a rightful co-owner of the property upon marriage (assuming they were married before August 1988) based on the Absolute Community of Property.