Does the wife have legal recognition of joint ownership if the husband is named on the land purchased with money contributed by both?
1. If the husband’s name is on the land purchased by both, does the law recognize the wife as a co-owner?
Article 33 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family provides regulations regarding joint property of husband and wife as follows:
- The joint property of husband and wife includes property created by the husband and wife, income generated from labor, production activities, business, yields, profits arising from separate property, and other lawful income during the marriage period, except for the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 40 of this Law; property inherited jointly by husband and wife, or given jointly and other properties agreed upon by the husband and wife as joint property.
Land use rights obtained by husband and wife after marriage are joint property of the husband and wife, except where either the husband or wife inherits separately, is given separately, or acquires them through transactions using separate property.
The joint property of husband and wife shall be under united ownership, ensuring the needs of the family and fulfilling the joint obligations of husband and wife.
In cases where there is no evidence to prove that the disputed property between the husband and wife is separate property of each party, such property shall be considered joint property.
Therefore, if the husband is named on the land that both contributed money to purchase, the law still recognizes it as joint property of the husband and wife.
2. Can the husband and wife agree that only one person’s name is on the land use certificate?
Article 34 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family provides regulations regarding the registration of ownership and use rights for joint property as follows:
1. In cases where the property is jointly owned by the husband and wife and the law requires the registration of ownership or use rights, the ownership certificate or use certificate must record the names of both spouses, except where they have other agreements.
- In cases where the ownership certificate or use certificate records only one spouse's name, transactions related to this property shall be conducted according to the provisions in Article 26 of this Law; if there is a dispute regarding this property, it shall be resolved according to Clause 3, Article 33 of this Law.
if you and your spouse agree that only one person’s name is on the land use certificate, it is still possible for one person to be named.
Sincerely!
