Building Conjugal Land Property Family Code Reverse Principal

III.

a) Maria, wife of Pedro, withdrew P5 Million from their conjugal funds.  With this money, she constructed a building on a lot which she inherited from her father. Is the building conjugal or paraphernal?  Reasons. (5%)

SUGGESTED ANSWER:

It depends.  If the value of the building is more than the value of the land, the building is conjugal and the land becomes conjugal property under Article 120 of the Family Code.  This is a case of reverse accession,  where the building is considered principal and the land, the accessory.  If, on the other hand, the value of the land is more than the value of the building, then the ordinary rule of accession applies where the land is the principal and the building, the accessory.  In such case, the land remains paraphernal property and the building becomes paraphernal property.

NOTE:  the rule on reverse accession is applicable only to the regime of Conjugal Partnership of Gains in both the Family Code and the New Civil Code.  The foregoing answer assumes that CPG is the regime of the property relations of the spouses.