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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I am the petitioner for my marriage to be nullified. If the result comes out to be positive means granted. Do I still need to support my ex? as he has he has a job of his own and our son is 34 yrs old now and have also a stable job?
I am presently residing here at Canada for 9 years and I was been separated with my husband for 5 yrs he was included before to application of petition here in Canada with my kids but hence I confirmed that he was a child with the other woman and he abondoned my kids for 2 years and half I don’t have any choice not to file a divorce here for me to continue the sponsorship of my kids..last year he begun contacting my kids again and giving them some support..I am glad that he his doing that but the thing is he went back to Phillipines from Saudi Arabia to get married with the mother of his son last March 2015..I was confuse because I know that when you do the Merriage at the church the man should secure the CENOMAR and he did it..and I know 100% that our Merriage is valid..is their Merriage are valid? Because the was using the name of my ex husband and what I know according to Saudi Law that they can’t live together unless they were showing a prof that they are legally married.
Good day… married po ako sa japanese last year nagpakasal kami sa japan sept 2016. He is 60 and im 25. My spouse applied for my eligibility to get visa twice syang na reject ng immigration saying na hndi daw po totoong kasal kmi dahil malaki ung age gap at may tumawag sa immigration at nagsabing hndi daw po totoong kasal kami we kasal po kmi at totoong nagpakasal kami anu po dapat kong gawin para mabigyan ako ng eligibility nsa hospital ngayun asawa ko at walang ibang pwedeng magalaga sa kanya what legal action can i do about it please let me know.. Thank you. I will wait for your legal advice. ? please help me
What if the spouse is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, is it a valid ground for annulment?
I need your help, I met my wife (not legally married) 17 years ago she was married with 4 children but was abandoned by her husband so she kept her children. the husband did not support them for 3 years or so. she worked to fed her children. She stopped working since we stay together until she died lately. we had 2 children by us. i am a muslim by religion and i was also married with children by my first wife, which i also help and support them. she had some death benefits from sss since i let her continue to paying her due with sss using her married name since they are not legally separated. she filed affidavit of abandonment with sss purposely to have her husband out as beneficiary. and add three (3) of her new children to it. please help me if i can be an automatic beneficiary or who? thanks
I am s filipina married to US citizen last Feb, 2010. After few months same year, nbi and fbi agent came and took him and brought him back to US. I taught its only about overstaying in Philippines because he didn’t pay to stay longer. He been staying 3 months without paying to the immigration. Later the nbi told me that he is fugitive and have felony case in US and i don’t knew about it. Im just shock and how did it happen that he able to get a capacity to marry since he have the case. He didn’t comeback anymore until now.
What will I do? Are the papers from nbi records enough evidence so I can file in court to dissolve my marriage to him? If i need to file for annulment, what grounds I will use?
Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to hear answers from my question.
Hi ,
My wife left me 3 years ago with my 2 year old daughter with no reason and i have met a new love recently. My wife is threatening me that she will file a case against me and my girlfriend.. we talked about our marriage and she told me in the presence of several witnesses that she doesn’t want to go back with me and I same as with her.. but still she is threatening me. What legal cases can she file against me and my girlfriend?
My husband and I got married in the Philippines 2 years ago. He is a Sri Lankan. I moved to Sri lanka after we celebrated our 2nd year wedding anniversary. I found out that he is married here and has 2 children. He obviously married the girl before we had our wedding. What shall I do before and after I leave this country, Sri lanka? How can I annul my marriage in the Philippines? Please let me know soon because I am leaving Sri Lanka soon.
good day Atty, una ngpasalamat aq kc meron ganitong, topic advice, ganito po kc story a ng life q naun, I need ur advice, may fiance po kc aq naun at ng leave in kami about 5years now, at ngaun Plano namin mgpakasal dito sa pilipinas, pwo may aswa na sya dati, at d cla annul, pwo wala na sila contak sa unah aswa nya, pwo ng file ng divorce ang fiance q, ask q lang po may possible po bah, nah pwd sya ikasal ulit dto, sa pinas, pls Atty, I need ur advice,
Can i file annulment?
My wife has an unstable emotional behavior and always have emotional and physical outburst. And with fights everyday, leading us to psychological depression, and what gots worst is that because she cant control it, my son can always witness our fight. I believe my son already has a emotional trauma. I warned already my wife before to control herself infront of our son, but still nothing happens. So i decide to leave leave necessarily to avoid more arguments and fights. Because of this, i have been consulting some psychiatrist because i have a severe anxiety and depression which greatly affect my day to day life and work. I am just supporting them, by send money to palawanshops. We have been separately for more than a year. I wanted to move on but, i need to annul our marriage. I really wanted to annul. There is no hope of reconciliation, baka kasi yong anger and outburst nya, masabayan ko at maka masaktan o mapatay ko siya dahil di ko nakaya magpasensya.
Hoping for your advice. Salamat po