To help married couples understand property relations between them and preserve their legacy in handing it down to the next generations, Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (Sun Life Grepa), a major life insurer in the country, recently organized a webinar entitled “Yours, Mine, Ours: What You Need to Know About Conjugal Properties and Inheritance”.
The webinar provided practical guide on addressing many concerns about conjugal properties including: possible and compulsory heirs including absence of prenuptial agreement, rules governing conjugal partnership of gains and debts and obligations contracted by both parties.
Estate planning expert and guest speaker Atty. Nicasio Cabaneiro, an authority in the practice of taxation and commercial law with 40 years of teaching experience, said “the moment a person got married not only marital relationship is established but also property relationship. When a person marries, part or all of their property becomes conjugal property.”
Atty. Nic also highlighted how properties are transmitted by succession. “Properties may be transferred to the heirs either by testamentary or testate succession (by executing a will) or intestate succession (no will or “do nothing attitude”). It is more prudent and advisable to go for testate succession where there is a free portion, giving property owner more flexibility to give more to favored heirs. This is not possible in intestate succession since succession is determined by law and there is no free portion.” He also discussed the reasons couples entered a prenuptial agreement. “Prenuptial agreements are entered when there is significant age disparity between parties, when there is wide difference in wealth or indebtedness, and when one party has been married before and there is a desire to protect children from former marriage.”
In closing, Atty. Nic stressed the importance of smartly handling one’s hard-earned assets by planning for the future. “With a proper estate plan, estate tax may be reduced or avoided, you control and determine the future of your financial accounts and investments and ensure that your assets will go to the rightful heirs and beneficiaries.”
“In our current situation, it is essential to protect our assets and investments. More than anything, one lesson we can get from this pandemic is the wisdom of preparing a good future for our family in whatever stage of life we are in right now. We believe that the information presented in the webinar will help clients in making the best decisions possible to protect their families and ensure a bright future for them,” Sun Life Grepa President Richard S. Lim said.
Sun Life Grepa regularly holds free educational webinars on various financial literacy matters throughout the year. Visit www.sunlifegrepa.com, follow our official facebook page @sunlifegrepa or email sunlifegrepa@sunlifegrepa.com for inquiries.
