My fiancee and I secured a marriage license, but no marriage ceremony was ever celebrated. I learned, however, that my “wife” is already using my surname in her documents, including her passport. Am I considered as “married”?
No. A marriage license is valid only for 120 days, and any marriage contracted after that period is null and void. A woman cannot use his putative “husband’s” surname in the absence of a valid marriage. [See: Grounds for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage]
After a year of marriage, my spouse and I agreed that our marriage is getting nowhere, and that we should go find someone else. We prepared an agreement that we both want an annulment. Would this be of any help in the annulment process?
No. Agreement between the spouses is not a ground for annulment/declaration of nullity. On the contrary, as noted in a previous article, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) or the public prosecutor, as the case may be, is under legal obligation to make sure that there’s no collusion between the parties. In fact, the grounds for annulment or the annulment itself is one of the issues EXPRESSLY removed by law from the matters that could be settled or compromised.
Could I file a petition for annulment if my wife doesn’t agree?
Yes. The petition could still be filed, and the case could still continue, even if the other spouse (husband or wife) does not agree to, or even oppose, the petition. [See Procedure in Annulment of Marriage and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage]
What if I can’t find my spouse?
Under the rules, summons must be served on the other spouse. This is generally done by serving the summons, together with a copy of the petition, on the other spouse. However, in case the other spouse could not be found, resort could be made to service of summons by publication.
My wife (or husband) sent me a letter saying that “wala na akong pag-ibig,” “ginamit lang kita” or “let’s separate.” Are these sufficient grounds for annulment?
No. The law is always in favor of the validity of the marriage. A signed contract by the spouses that they agree to an annulment, as discussed above, is against the law, moral and public policy. Therefore, it is not valid.
My spouse, who is no longer a Filipino citizen, said that he/she will not object to end our marriage. Can I seek an annulment here in the Philippines or, if that’s not possible, a divorce in the United States or anywhere abroad?
Article 26 is clear that only the former Filipino (or the foreigner spouse) may seek a divorce abroad. In other words, even if a spouse is no longer a Filipino, the other spouse who is still a Filipino can’t validly seek a divorce. [See Mixed Marriages and Divorce: When One Spouse is a Foreigner, Divorce is Recognized even if Initiated by the Filipino Spouse]
I am a Filipino citizen, married to a foreigner. I discovered that my foreigner-spouse secured a divorce abroad and is now married to someone else. What should I do to be able to remarry? Is that unfair to the Filipino?
This definitely seems unfair to the Filipino spouse, as the foreigner spouse (or the spouse who is no longer a Filipino) could remarry after securing a divorce. The Filipino spouse, on the other hand, must get hold of the divorce decree and have it recognized in Philippine courts. Dura lex, sed lex. The law may be harsh, but it is the law. [See Process of Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree]
If my spouse is confined to a mental hospital for years now, can I use that as a ground for annulment?
Insanity is a ground for annulment, but it must be shown to be existent at the time of marriage (and, besides, it is subject to ratification by cohabitation). It could also be used to support the ground of psychological incapacity, but such must also be shown to be existent at the time of marriage and must appear to be incurable (among other requirements). Please note, however, that insanity is not synonymous with psychological incapacity.
How much will I spend for a petition for annulment or a petition for declaration of nullity? How long does it take?
These matters are discussed in a previous post. The amount of expenses depends on the grounds relied upon, as some grounds are relatively easier than the rest, like psychological incapacity. It also depends on the acceptance fee of the lawyer. The duration of the entire process also depends on a lot of things, e.g., the grounds relied upon, docket of the court, availability of the judge or the public prosecutor, postponements, etc. In other words, there’s really no fixed cost or duration.
I believe that my marriage is null and void because my spouse had a previous marriage. What should I do to remove my marriage file at the National Statistics Office (NSO)?
Nobody could simply “remove” any official record at the NSO, as this is a criminal offense. A petition for annulment or declaration of nullity must be filed in court and once a favorable decision is issued, the decree is registered with the pertinent civil registries and the NSO.
I’m separated from my wife for years now. I recently learned that she got pregnant by another man. Can this be used as a ground for annulment? Can I have custody over our child?
Infidelity is not a ground for annulment (please see the grounds for annulment in the previous post). At most, it could be a basis for legal separation or filing a case for adultery. As to custody, the Supreme Court already ruled that sexual infidelity, by itself, is not sufficient to grant custody over a child. Please read the previous post on the primary criterion in granting custody.
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If you can’t find the answers here, please refer to Part I, Part II, Part IV, Part V, or other related posts. See also Summary on Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decree in the Philippines. You can check the Related Posts at the bottom of each post. You can also use the Search function (also in the right sidebar).
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Hi,
I am planning to file a fixed annulment, the attorney that I am working is willing to help to file a fixed annulment as the normal processing of Regular annulment may take too long and there’s no assurance to win, that’s why I’d like to push this matter.
I’m currently leaving with my legal husband but I’m planning to file a fixed annulment so I can marry a US citizen as I’d really like to stay and work in the United States. I have two kids (6 and 8). My questions are :
1. What are the consequences on my end if I push a fixed annulment? Will my legal husband can file a case against me afterwards?
2. Will the custody of the kids will still be with me? Or can I hide this to my husband and bring the kids in the U.S to study?
Bottomline, I’d like to hide the fixed annulment to my husband as I’m planning to re-marry him after 5 years or so and we can stay in the States together with the kids but he might understand that now that’s why I’d like to hide it…I will just tell that I’ll be working in the States but in reality i’ll be marrying a US Citizen there.
Atty, my marriage was already declared null and void by the court. However,my ex-spouse is still using my surname. Is there any way for me to do so she would stop representing herself as still my wife?
Atty
Good day. Can I file a petition for annulment on grounds of “psychological incapacity” after more than 5 years of marriage?
Thank you. Hope to hear from you…
I married in Philippines. Can I file my annulment here in Australia?
Dear Attorney,
I am an OFW and married to my long-term live-in partner since August 2013. Our relationship had a lot of ups and downs. My wife has an uncontrollable and unbearable jealousy to every female around me though, I am not really into them or in short, I didn’t do any infidelities that would ruin our marriage or our relationship as a whole. These unpleasant things kept on occuring even since we were not married yet. I might say that if we were having a fight, it comes to a fierce situation wherein we physically hurt each other. But then, we usually end up alright and settled. However, whenever I go overseas for work, she keeps on nagging me about things that pisses her off which I usually find it without basis. I keep on telling and explaining to her thay I wouldn’t marry her if I didn’t love her or be faithful to her. If I just meant to be infidel to her, I wouldn’t have marry her at all. Every now and then, same things happen that gives me a hard time dealing with my everyday life abroad and I can’t even concentrate on my nor i am unable to sleep and eat well thinking about our continuous senseless arguments and fights. And now, just recently, she was posting a lot of escandalous statuses on facebook which humiliates me and my family (my mom, dad, etc.). And she also keeps on threatening me of ruining my career as well of my life and putting my entire family’s name into shame. Can this be a ground for filling an annulment of our marriage? Is she still entitled to receive my financial support despite of her very unpleasant actions? I am such in deep despair right now and I can’t do something about this matter for now for I am currently working abroad. I hope I could get some advise and aid from you.
Thank you.
Good am attorney.
I’m sarah in cebu city.I have question about validity anf the expiration of their marriage of his ex wife coz they almost 14th years they got separated. I want it to know if can get the marriage. Ghat I wanted. Pls.Help me.
and advice me coz I’m pregy.
In private only.
dear sir,
im a filipina married to indian man, we are married in philippines and we have the NSO marriage certificate. i want to annuled my marriage with MY HUSBAND because i find out tht he marry an indian girl in their country. pls sir advice me wht should i do grant the annulment
I got married in the Philippines Nov.2004 then Jan.2005 my wife went to US. We were away for a year. June 2006 I moved to US but my wife don’t want me anymore. We didn’t live together we were living in different states. After a year of being separated she filed a divorce in the state of Illinois. After the divorce we had no communication. 2010 I got married here in America and later became a U.S. citizen in 2013. My wife in the Philippines is also now a U.S. citizen. My question now is do I have to file an annulment in the Philippines if I plan to get married there?
Hi.I want to file an annalment.were separated 2 yrs.ago.I wamt to ask if what happen if he will not attend the hearing or respond any summon?
Yang, so long as summons is validly served, there is no need for the other spouse to reply to the summons or attend the hearings.
Sir just want to ask im not in good terms with my wife, i want an annulment but she is against it, she physical hurts me and keeps on accusing me of having an affair to another girl which is also not true, but everyday all we do is fight over and over, and i also find out that our marriage certificate is only register last last year and we’ve been married for 5 years, can i use it also as a ground in filling for an annulment including phsychological incapacity?
Dear James, as previously discussed in another post, the consent of the spouse is not required in cases for annulment or declaration of nullity. As to the proper ground, we cannot make a determination because, also as previously noted, we cannot render legal advice in the Forum.