Co-ownership of land

Co-ownership of land "My father and his sister Jean inherited a one-hectare farmland from their parents. My father died in 2002 and my Aunt Jean died single in 2003. In 2000, Aunt Jean sold her share to me. In 2004, I occupied an area of almost 5,000 square meters and built a building on it. My only brother communicated to me his desire to divide the land equally between us. I told him that we could not equally divide the whole hectare because Aunt Jean sold her share to me. I presented to my brother the deed of absolute sale that Aunt Jean and I signed, but he insisted on his claim and said that the sale was invalid because our father did not give his consent to the sale. Is my brother correct? JeacilleDear Jeacille, In the absence of partition or division between your father and your aunt, a co-ownership exists on the farmland that they inherited from their parents. This is in consonance with Article 484 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, which states that “there is co-ownership whenever the ownership of an undivided thing or right belongs to different persons.”Correlative thereto, Article 493 of the same code states: Each co-owner shall have the full ownership of his part and of the fruits and benefits pertaining thereto, and he may therefore alienate, assign or mortgage it, and even substitute another person in its enjoyment, except when personal rights are involved. But the effect of alienation or the mortgage, with respect to the co-owners, shall be limited to the portion, which may be allotted to him in the division upon termination of the co-ownership.”Thus, your aunt may validly sell her proportionate share of 5,000 square meters. In the case of Tabasondra, et al. vs Constantino, et al. (GR 196403, Dec. 7, 2016), the Supreme Court through Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin stated: “x. Under a co-ownership, the ownership of an undivided thing or right belongs to different persons. Each co-owner of property which is held pro indiviso exercises his rights over the whole property and may use and enjoy the same with no other limitation than that he shall not injure the interest of his co-owners. The underlying rationale is that until a division is made, the respective share of each co-owner cannot be determined and every co-owner exercises, together with his co-participants, joint ownership over the pro indiviso property, in addition to his use and enjoyment of the same.“Although the right of a heir over the property of the decedent is inchoate as long as the estate has not been fully settled and partitioned, the law allows a co-owner to exercise rights of ownership over such inchoate right. x:“In the instant case, Laurencia was within her hereditary rights in selling her pro indiviso share in Lot 2798. However, because the property had not been partitioned in accordance with the Rules of Court, no particular portion of the property could be identified as yet and delineated as the object of the sale. Thus, interpreting Article 493 of the Civil Code providing that an alienation of a co-owned property ‘shall be limited to the portion which may be alloted to (the seller) in the division upon the termination of the co-ownership,’ the Court said:“...Pursuant to this law, a co-owner has the right to alienate his pro-indiviso share in the co-owned property even without the consent of the other co-owners. x” Applying the above-cited decision in your situation, your aunt validly sold to you her proportionate share of the farmland. Thus, your brother’s claim that she cannot sell her share without the consent of your father is without legal basis. You and your brother may divide equally the proportionate share (5,000 square meters) of your father.This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to " - https://www.affordablecebu.com/