Is a lawyer needed for the transfer of land title ownership from the Philippines to a USA citizen? -

My sister-in-law [currently living in California] owns a plot of land in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines and is willing to sell it to me. Given that my wife (Filipina citizen) and I (USA citizen) will be co-owners of the property and listed as such on the title, is a lawyer required for the proper transfer of ownership?

Yes. The registry of deeds and the bureau of internal revenue (BIR) will not rely on any informal documents stating the official transfer of land property without proper verification and witness of an attorney and other parties involved. If it were accepted, anyone could just use any word processor to fabricate a document without legal proof of backup to acquire land property fraudulently. An attorney will look over the documents to verify and question any inconsistencies, suspicions on supporting documentation to clarify the legal ownership as well as verify your identities to legally acquire the property. 40% to you (usa) and 60% ownership to your wife (PI citizen). If you re Filipino American, look into getting dual citizenship so you can have the priviledge to own and acquire property as a Filipino citizen. You should also do your homework to acquire offical receipt of property taxes paid on the property to clarify ownership as well as requesting to see and verify the official title records on the lot from the local registry of deeds. You should also visit the land property to verify the property boundaries with a local land surveyor. Land surveyors can produce original blueprints of your property which is also required. A contract written and signed by an attorney will give the prior owner and you and your wife the comfort and the legal protection on a contractual agreement for the legal transaction between the purchase price of the lot and the square meters of land property it is worth. Good luck!

Not necessarily. You are disqualified from owning real property in the Philippines, as you are an American citizen, unless you have applied and have been a certificate of dual citizenship. Only your wife is qualified to own real property. But you can try anyway, if you encounter problems in the titling of the property in the Register of Deeds, that s the time you will need a lawyer to take care of the problem. But you should commit the donation to your wife if your sister-in-law would allow it. Former Filipino citizens are only allowed to acquire real property by hereditary succession, not by sale or donation or any other mode. I hope I helped....

It won t hurt to have an attorney because the laws on property transfer between a former Spanish colony and the U.S. are not perfectly in sync. A lawyer specializing in international law may be able to smooth the transaction and the transition. Land transfers can be tricky, and you often don t find out there s a problem until years down the road.