Legal Q&A
Plain answers to the questions Filipinos ask most about family, land, money, work and disputes, each with an example. General information, not legal advice.
Notarization
What Does a Notary Actually Do, and Why Do I Need One?
A notary public is a lawyer licensed by a court to witness signatures. When a notary checks your ID, watches you sign or confirm your signature, and records it in their book, your paper becomes a public document. Courts and offices can then rely on it without asking you to prove the signatures are real. That is why the LTO, banks, the Registry of Deeds and courts ask for notarized papers. The notary does not check whether what the document says is true.
What Do I Need to Bring to the Notary?
Bring the complete document with every blank filled in, not yet signed if it is an affidavit. Bring enough copies, because the notary usually keeps one. Bring a valid government ID with your photo and signature. Everyone who will sign must come too, each with their own ID, plus any witnesses the document names.
What IDs Does a Notary Accept?
Bring at least one current ID from a government office that shows your photo and signature, such as a passport, Driver's License, PRC ID, UMID, SSS card, Postal ID or National ID. A cedula alone is not enough because it has no photo. If you have no ID at all, the rules let people who know you vouch for who you are under oath.
Does the Person Signing Have to Go to the Notary in Person?
Yes. Every person who signs must be in front of the notary in person when the document is notarized, with a valid ID. A notary may not notarize for someone who is not there, even if you are their child or spouse and bring their ID. If the signer is sick, the notary may go to them in a hospital. If they are abroad, they can sign at a Philippine consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.
Can I Get a Document Notarized Online?
Yes, from 19 October 2026, if the notary has a separate permission to notarize online and uses a platform the Supreme Court has approved. You can appear in the same room with a PDF, or by video call. Paper documents signed in ink, wills and depositions cannot be notarized this way. If you are abroad, you must be at a Philippine embassy or consulate.
What Is the Difference Between a Jurat and an Acknowledgment?
There are two main ways to notarize a document. If you swear to it (a jurat), you sign in front of the notary and swear that what the paper says is true. This is for affidavits. If you confirm you signed it (an acknowledgment), you tell the notary that the signature is yours and that you signed of your own free will. This is for deeds, contracts and Special Powers of Attorney. Either way, you must go to the notary in person with a valid ID.
Can I Use a Notary From Another City?
Yes. You can have a document notarized by any notary, wherever you live and wherever the property is or the document will be used. What matters is that the notary notarizes it inside the area of the court that licensed them, and that the place written at the top of the document is where you actually signed it. A notary licensed in Makati may notarize in Makati, but not in your house in Cavite.
What Is the Notarial Register, and What Do the Doc, Page and Book Numbers Mean?
The notarial register is the notary's official record book. Every notarization must be written in it at the time it is done, and you sign or thumbmark it too. The Doc. No., Page No., Book No. and Series at the bottom of your document say where in that book your entry is: the entry number, the page, which volume of the register, and the year. Each month the notary sends a copy of the entries to the Clerk of Court, so a notarization can be traced later.
How Do I Spot a Fake Notary?
A real notary is a lawyer licensed to notarize by a Regional Trial Court for one city or province. They will ask you to appear in person, check your ID, have you sign their record book, and print their commission details under their signature. If someone notarizes without seeing you, without a record book, or with a stamp that has no commission number or expiry, treat it as fake. You can check any notary with the Office of the Clerk of Court of that city's or province's Regional Trial Court.
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Document Notarized?
There is no single price for the whole country. The price depends on the kind of document, where you are, and whether the notary only notarizes it or also writes it for you. Many local lawyers' groups (IBP chapters) publish a price list for their area, and a Deed of Sale is often charged as a percentage of the price. Ask for the price before you start, and ask for an Official Receipt.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Document Notarized?
For a complete document, with every signer present and carrying a valid ID, notarization is often done the same day, sometimes while you wait. It takes longer if the notary has to write the document for you, if a signer is missing, or if many people must sign. If the document is going abroad, add the time for the court's certificate (CANA) and the DFA apostille.
How Do I Get a Copy of a Notarized Document I Lost?
Start with the notary who notarized it. They must give a certified copy of their record to anyone who asks and pays the fee. If you cannot reach the notary, or they have died or retired, go to the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) where the notary was licensed. Notaries send that office copies of what they notarize every month. Bring the document, page, book and series numbers if you have them.
Can a Notary Refuse to Notarize My Document?
Yes. In some cases the rules say a notary must refuse: if a signer is not there in person, cannot be properly identified, does not seem to understand the document or to be signing freely, if the document has blanks, or if the notary is a party to it or a close relative. A notary may also decline if they believe the deal is illegal. Usually the fix is simple: bring the missing person, ID or information, or go to another notary if the problem is a conflict.
Family and Inheritance
Who Inherits When a Parent Dies Without a Will?
The surviving spouse first takes their own half of what the couple owned together. That half is not inheritance; it was already theirs. The other half, plus anything the parent owned alone, is the estate. If there are children, the estate is divided equally among the spouse and the children, each getting the same share. The eldest does not get more, and sons and daughters get the same.
Is There Divorce in the Philippines?
For most Filipinos, no. There is no general divorce law for marriages between two non-Muslim Filipinos. A marriage can instead be declared void (never valid from the start) or annulled (cancelled) by a court, which frees you to remarry, or you can ask for legal separation, which does not. Two exceptions exist: Muslim Filipinos can divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, and a Filipino married to a foreigner can have a divorce obtained abroad recognized by a Philippine court.
How Much Child Support Can I Ask For?
The law sets no fixed amount or percentage. Under the Family Code, support is in proportion to the resources of the parent who gives it and the needs of the child, and it goes up or down as these change. Both parents share the duty. A child born outside marriage has the same right to support from the father once he is shown to be the father.
Can My Child Use the Father's Surname If We Are Not Married?
Yes, if the father admits in writing that the child is his. Under Republic Act No. 9255 (RA 9255), a child born outside marriage may use the father's surname once he has recognized the child, on the Birth Certificate or in a signed admission, and an Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) is filed with the civil registrar. The child stays illegitimate (born outside marriage) and remains under the mother's parental authority (her legal right and duty to decide for the child). If the parents later marry each other and had no legal impediment (a legal reason they could not marry, such as already being married to someone else) when the child was conceived, the child can be legitimated, which makes them legitimate.
What Do Live-In Partners Own Together?
It depends on whether you were both free to marry each other. If you were, Article 147 of the Family Code applies: your wages are owned in equal shares, and property bought while living together is presumed owned equally, even if only one name is on the title and even if one partner took care of the home instead of earning. If one of you was still married to someone else, Article 148 applies: you own only what you can prove you actually contributed to. Either way, a live-in partner is not an heir when the other dies without a will.
Who Gets Custody of the Children When Parents Separate?
If the parents cannot agree, a court decides, and it looks at what is best for the child. A child under seven stays with the mother unless the court finds a serious reason to rule otherwise. A child seven or older may say which parent they prefer, and the court considers it. A child whose parents were never married is under the mother's parental authority (her legal right and duty to decide for the child). The parent who does not keep the child can usually still visit.
Can My Husband or Wife Sell Our Property Without My Consent?
No. If the property belongs to both of you as a married couple, your spouse cannot sell it, mortgage it or give it away without your written consent or a court's permission. A sale without either is void (it has no legal effect) under the Family Code (Articles 96 and 124). That is true even if the title is only in your spouse's name. Property that belongs to your spouse alone, such as land they inherited, is different: they can generally sell that without you.
How Do I Fix a Wrong Name or Birthday in My PSA Birth Certificate?
Go to the civil registry at your city or town hall. Under the law, the civil registrar can fix an obvious typing or spelling mistake, change a first name for allowed reasons, and correct a wrong day or month of birth or a wrong sex entry that was plainly a typing mistake. You file a sworn petition (a written request signed under oath) and show other records with the correct entry. A wrong year of birth, a different surname, or anything that changes your status needs a court case.
Can My Child Travel Abroad With Only One Parent?
Usually yes. If the parents are married to each other, the child can travel with either parent without a DSWD Travel Clearance. If the parents are not married, the child can travel with the mother without one, but travelling with the father alone generally needs a Travel Clearance. A child travelling alone, or with a grandparent, aunt or anyone else who is not a parent, needs a clearance and the parents' written consent.
Land and Housing
Can We Sell Land That Is Still in a Dead Parent's Name?
Yes, but all the heirs must take part, and what the parent left must be settled first or at the same time. All the heirs either settle the estate (the property left behind) first and then sell, or sign one notarized Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement with Sale (an agreement outside court that divides the estate and sells the land to the buyer at the same time). Either way, the Estate Tax Return must be filed and the BIR's eCAR (its certificate that lets the title move) issued before the title can move. One heir acting alone can sell only their own share, not the whole lot (Civil Code, Art. 493).
Is It Safe to Buy a "Rights Only" Lot?
It is risky, and you should check before you pay. A "rights only" lot has no title, only a Tax Declaration or a paper from the seller. A Tax Declaration shows who pays the amilyar, not who owns the land. The land may be public land that can never be titled, may already be titled to someone else, or may be claimed by others. You only get whatever rights the seller actually has.
Can My Landlord Evict Me Without Notice?
No. A landlord cannot remove you on their own, even if you are behind on rent or your lease has ended. They must give you a written demand to pay or comply and to vacate (leave), go through the barangay if you both live in the same city or municipality, and then file an ejectment case (a court case to make you leave). Only the court sheriff, acting on a court order, can put you out. But if you really owe rent or your lease is over, the court can order you to leave and to pay.
Is a Deed of Sale Valid Without a Notary?
Yes, between the buyer and the seller. A sale of land signed by both of them is binding on them even if no notary saw it. But it is not enough to put the title in the buyer's name. The BIR and the Registry of Deeds accept only a notarized deed, and until the sale is registered, it does not protect you against other people who later deal with the land, such as a second buyer.
Who Pays the Taxes When You Sell Land?
By law, the seller pays the 6% capital gains tax, the local transfer tax, and the costs of making and registering the deed, unless the two of you agree otherwise. In practice, many sales split it: the seller pays the capital gains tax, and the buyer pays the 1.5% documentary stamp tax, the transfer tax and the registration fees. Whatever you agree, put it in the Deed of Sale, because the BIR and the city or province will want the taxes paid in full no matter who agreed to pay.
What Is the Maceda Law, and Does It Protect Me If I Stop Paying for My House?
The Maceda Law, Republic Act No. 6552 (RA 6552), protects people who buy a house, lot or condo unit and pay the seller in instalments. If you fall behind, you get a grace period to catch up. If you have paid for at least two years and the sale is cancelled, the seller must give back at least half of what you paid. The seller can cancel only 30 days after you receive a notarized notice. It does not cover a housing loan from a bank or Pag-IBIG.
Can My Neighbour Block the Only Path to My Lot?
If you only passed by permission (pakikisuyo), the owner can usually close the path. But if your lot is boxed in by other lots with no proper way out to a public road, the Civil Code lets you demand a right of way through a neighbour's land, on the route that does the least harm, and after you pay them for it. If a right of way was already agreed in writing, granted by a court, or noted on the title, the neighbour cannot block it.
Money and Debts
Can I Go to Jail for Not Paying a Debt?
No, not just for being unable to pay. The Constitution says no person shall be imprisoned for debt. A lender can sue you to collect, and a court can order you to pay with interest, but it cannot jail you for the unpaid amount. It is different if you issued a check that bounced, or got the money through deceit: those can be crimes under separate laws.
What Happens If My Check Bounces?
The person you paid can file a criminal case under Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 (BP 22), the Bouncing Checks Law, and you still owe the money. But if you pay the full amount within five banking days after you receive a written Notice of Dishonor (a written notice that the check bounced), the law can no longer presume (assume) that you knew your account was short, which usually defeats a BP 22 case. If convicted, the court may impose a fine, jail, or both; the Supreme Court prefers a fine in proper cases.
What Can an Online Lending App Legally Do If I Cannot Pay?
A lending app may remind you, send Demand Letters, report to credit bureaus (companies that keep records of how people pay their loans) as the law allows, and sue you to collect. It may not threaten you, insult you, lie that you will be arrested, call at unreasonable hours, or message the people in your contact list other than the guarantors you named (people who agreed to pay if you do not). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) bans these practices, and the Data Privacy Act bans using your contacts and photos to shame you. You still owe what you validly borrowed.
Is a Loan Valid If Nothing Was Written Down?
Yes. A loan made by word of mouth is a valid loan, and the borrower must pay it back. What you lose without a written agreement is the interest: interest you only agreed on verbally cannot be collected. You will also need other proof that the money was handed over and was a loan, such as receipts, chats or GCash records.
How Much Interest Can a Lender Charge?
There is no fixed legal limit today: the old maximum rates (interest ceilings) have been suspended since 1982. But a lender can charge only the interest that was agreed in writing, and courts cut down rates they find shockingly high, such as 5-6 lending or 5% a month and up. When a rate is struck down, or none was written, the court usually applies the legal rate of 6% a year.
Do I Have to Pay My Husband's or Wife's Debts?
It depends on what the money was for. A loan your spouse took that benefited the family, such as for food, school fees, a hospital bill or the family business, can be paid from what the two of you own together. A purely personal debt, like gambling losses, is your spouse's alone. Your own name is not on the loan unless you signed it, so a lender cannot simply make you pay from your own salary for your spouse's personal debt.
Do Children Have to Pay a Parent's Debts After They Die?
No, not from your own money. A person's debts are paid from what they left behind, their estate. The heirs receive only what is left after the debts are paid. If the debts are bigger than the estate, the unpaid balance is not passed on to the children, the spouse or anyone else, unless they signed the loan themselves as co-borrower or guarantor.
Work
What Should Be in My Final Pay, and When Do I Get It?
Your final pay, often called "back pay", is everything your employer still owes you when the job ends. It usually includes your unpaid salary, your 13th month pay for the months you worked that year, and the cash value of your unused service incentive leave, plus anything else your contract or company policy promises. Under DOLE Labor Advisory No. 06, Series of 2020, it must be released within 30 days from the day you leave, and a Certificate of Employment must be given within 3 days from your request.
Can My Employer Fire Me Without Notice?
Generally, no. A regular employee can be dismissed only for a just cause (something the employee did, like serious misconduct or fraud) or an authorized cause (a business reason, like redundancy or closure), and the employer must give written notice. For a just cause, that means two written notices with a real chance to explain in between. For an authorized cause, it means written notice to you and to DOLE at least 30 days before the last day, usually with separation pay.
Who Gets 13th Month Pay, and How Much?
If you work for a private employer, are not a manager (a rank-and-file employee), and worked at least one month in the calendar year, you are entitled to 13th month pay under Presidential Decree No. 851 (PD 851), whatever your employment status. It is at least one-twelfth of the basic salary you earned in the year, paid on or before 24 December. Kasambahay get it too, under the Domestic Workers Act.
Am I Entitled to Overtime and Holiday Pay?
Most private-sector workers are. The normal workday is 8 hours. Work past that is overtime, paid at least 25% more per hour on an ordinary day. If you work on a regular holiday, you get at least double your daily pay; if you work on a special non-working day or your rest day, at least 30% more. Managers and some field workers are not covered by these rules.
Can My Employer Deduct From My Salary?
Only some deductions are allowed. Your employer may deduct what the law requires, like withholding tax and your share of SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG, plus union dues and payments you agreed to in writing. Deducting for a shortage or a loss is allowed only if you were clearly shown to be responsible and given a fair chance to explain first. Anything else is generally an illegal deduction you can claim back.
When Do I Become a Regular Employee?
Usually after six months of probation (a trial period), or right away if you were not told on day one that you were on probation. If you do work that is usually necessary or desirable to the employer's business, you are generally a regular employee, whatever your contract calls you. The main exceptions are real project work, seasonal work, and a fixed term you truly agreed to. Being rehired again and again for the same job can be a sign you are already regular.
What Are the Rights of a Kasambahay?
A kasambahay has a right to a written contract, a wage not lower than the minimum wage for domestic workers in the region, at least 8 hours of rest a day and 24 hours in a row off each week, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG coverage after a month of work, 13th month pay, and 5 days of paid leave a year after a year of service. The employer cannot ask for a deposit for things that might break, and can end the job only for reasons the law allows.
Abroad and OFWs
How Do I Sign Papers for the Philippines While I Am Abroad?
You have two usual ways. You can sign in person at a Philippine embassy or consulate, where a consular officer notarizes it like a notary back home. Or, if the country you are in is a member of the Apostille Convention, you can sign before a local notary there and then get an apostille from that country's government. Either way, send the original paper home, not a scan or a photo.
What Can I Do If My Recruiter Did Not Send Me Abroad?
If the agency signed you up for a job abroad and then did not send you without a valid reason, the law can treat that as illegal recruitment, even if the agency has a license. You can also ask for the money you paid back, since the law treats failing to return your processing costs, when it was not your fault you did not leave, as illegal recruitment too. Report it to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and keep every receipt and message.
Is My Marriage Abroad Valid in the Philippines?
Generally yes. Under Article 26 of the Family Code, a marriage held abroad that followed that country's laws and is valid there is also valid in the Philippines. There are exceptions: for example, if either of you was under 18, already married to someone else, or closely related. To get the marriage on your Philippine records, file a Report of Marriage at the Philippine embassy or consulate, which is later sent to the PSA.
What Help Can an OFW's Family Get From OWWA?
If the OFW is an active OWWA member, the family can usually ask OWWA for help in hard times: welfare assistance (for example, when the worker is sick or in trouble), death and disability benefits, scholarships and education help for children, and livelihood programs. Membership costs US$25 per contract, and the law says the employer pays it. Amounts and rules change, so check OWWA's current amounts before you file.
Neighbours, Police and Courts
Do I Need to Go to the Barangay Before Filing a Case?
Usually, yes, if you and the other person are individuals who actually live in the same city or municipality. Under the Katarungang Pambarangay (barangay justice) rules of the Local Government Code, most disputes between them must first go through barangay conciliation (settlement talks at the barangay). If you do not settle, the barangay issues a Certificate to File Action (its go-signal to go to court), and only then can you file in court. There are exceptions, such as cases involving the government, people living in different cities or towns, and more serious crimes.
How Do I Collect a Small Debt in Court?
If they owe you up to ₱1,000,000, not counting interest and costs, you can file a small claims case. You file it in the local trial court for your city or town (the first-level court: the Metropolitan, Municipal, Municipal in Cities or Municipal Circuit Trial Court). Send a written demand first, and go to the barangay first if you both live in the same city or municipality. No lawyer may appear for either side at the hearing, the judge decides within a day, and the decision is final.
What Should I Do If I Was Scammed Online?
Call your bank or e-wallet right away, through the hotline in its official app or website, and report the transaction. Under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, they may hold the disputed money for up to 30 days, but only if you report fast. Then save every screenshot and receipt, and report to the CICC hotline 1326, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or the NBI Cybercrime Division. Do not pay anyone who promises to "recover" your money for a fee.
What Are My Rights If I Am Arrested?
You have the right to stay silent and the right to a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, the state must give you one for free, usually from the Public Attorney's Office (PAO). You cannot be hurt, threatened or kept in a secret place, and anything you are forced to say cannot be used against you. Your family, a doctor and a priest or pastor may visit you, and in most cases you can ask to go home on bail while your case goes on.
Can I Be Sued for a Facebook Post?
Yes. A post that publicly accuses a named or recognizable person of a crime, a vice or something shameful can be cyber libel, a crime under the Cybercrime Prevention Act. It carries a heavier penalty than libel in a newspaper. Calling someone a "magnanakaw" or "scammer" on Facebook, even in a group or a "parinig" post where everyone knows who you mean, is risky unless you can prove it is true and you posted it for a good reason. Simply liking or sharing someone else's post is generally not cyber libel, but adding your own accusation can be.
What Should I Do After a Road Accident?
Stop, stay and help. Check if anyone is hurt and call 911 for an ambulance and the police. Do not drive away: a driver who leaves without helping the injured faces a heavier penalty. Take photos, swap names and license details, and get a police report. Medical costs for people hurt can be claimed from the vehicle's compulsory insurance (CTPL) without proving who was at fault, up to a set limit. Any areglo (settlement) should be written down and signed, with receipts for every payment.
How Do I Get a Protection Order Against an Abusive Partner?
Go to your barangay hall and ask for a Barangay Protection Order (BPO). The barangay captain should issue it on the same day, and it lasts 15 days. For longer and wider protection, ask the Family Court for a Temporary Protection Order, issued on the day you file, and then a Permanent Protection Order. The law protects women who are or were married to, living with, dating or in a sexual relationship with the abuser, or who have a child with them, and also the woman's children. If you are in danger right now, call 911.