A married couple built and managed apartments on land the wife had received as a gift from her father prior to the marriage with the land and apartments recorded on her name only, but the income from these apartments was deposited into a joint bank account. After 23 years the couple divorced and the husband contended that half of the rights are his.
The Supreme Court held that the land and the apartments are joint property and are thus equally owned by the couple. The presumption of joint ownership states that a couple, who live together and maintain a common household, is presumed to have the property accumulated during their life together belonging to both, in equal parts, unless their intention was different. Generally, assets that belonged to one spouse before the marriage or were received as a gift or inheritance are not deemed part of the joint property. However, if the couple behaved in practice as if the asset belonged to both, sometimes, ignoring the separation over the years may turn even an asset that is not part of the presumption of joint ownerhip into a joint asset. Here, the assets were not separately handled, the husband was actively involved in managing and developing the asset over the years, and the income generated from the assets was deposited into a joint account. Therefore, the land given to the wife as a gift before the marriage and the apartments built thereupon became part of the joint property to be divided equally in the divorce.