“I was 20 years old when I got married, but my parents didn’t know that I was married. Is my marriage valid?” This is one of the discussions or questions, submitted through the comments in various posts, which centers on the validity of marriage without the knowledge or consent of parents. This is a general discussion on parental consent and parental advice.
PARENTAL CONSENT VS. PARENTAL ADVICE
“Parental consent” and “parental advice” are different legal concepts and CANNOT be used interchangeably. The “parental consent” or “parental advice”, as the case may be, is required during the application for a marriage license.
- Parental consent is required when either or both of the contracting parties are between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21).
- Parental advice, on the other hand, is required if either or both of the contracting parties is/are between the age of twenty-one (21) and twenty-five (25).
PARENTAL CONSENT: EFFECT OF ABSENCE
The marriage is voidable, subject to the filing of a petition for annulment. In other words, the marriage is valid until annulled. There are two limitations:
- 1. It could be filed only on behalf of the party who is between 18 and 21 at the time of marriage. [See Grounds for Annulment of Marriage]
- 2. The petition could no longer be filed after the concerned party reaches 21 and freely cohabited with the other, and both lived together as husband and wife. The marriage is considered ratified if no petition is timely filed. [See Prescription of Actions]
PARENTAL CONSENT IF CHILD BELOW 18
The marriage of a person below 18 years of age, even with the consent of the parents, are void ab initio (void from the very beginning). Capacity to marry of both parties is an essential requisite of marriage, the absence of which renders the marriage null and void. [See Grounds for Declaration of Nullity]
PARENTAL CONSENT: EFFECT OF ABSENCE
The validity of the marriage is not affected. If the parties do not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the marriage license shall not be issued till after three (3) months following the completion of the publication of the application. If the marriage license is issued before the lapse of this period, then the responsible parties shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.
PARENTAL CONSENT: HOW GIVEN
The applicants shall exhibit to the local civil registrar, during the application for a marriage license, the consent to their marriage by their father, mother, surviving parent or guardian, or persons having legal charge of them, in the order mentioned. The consent may be: (1) manifested in writing by the interested party, who personally appears before the proper local civil registrar; or (2) in the form of an affidavit made in the presence of two witnesses and attested before any official authorized by law to administer oaths.
PARENTAL ADVICE AND MARRIAGE LICENSE
A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the effect that such advice has been sought, together with the written advice given, if any, shall be attached to the application for marriage license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn statement.
Parental advice or consent is required in the issuance of a marriage license. The local registrar may choose not to issue a marriage license for lack of parental consent. A marriage solemnized without a valid marriage license is void from the beginning (unless it falls under the exceptions). It doesn’t matter if the parents gave their consent. [See Marriages Exempt from Marriage License Requirement]
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If you can’t find the answers here, please refer to Part I, Part II, Part III or other related posts. You can check the Related Posts at the bottom of each post. You can also use the Search function (also in the right sidebar).
I was only 19 when i got married , my husband is a foreigner and we dont get along together.He abandoned me for almost 1 year now infact when he get back in the U.S he sent me an email saying we are done and stuff like that.My question is does the email he sent me is big enough to file for an annulment? Could i possibly ask the court for a “presumptive death of spouse” (absent of spouse)??? I am really stuck in my marriage life and i want to have freedom and be free,please help me:(
keep the faith! do good and be free, true love is where you feel comfortable and free in every aspect of life. God bless I will pray for you.
Hello aquamarrine22 me and my girlfriend wants to get married without her parent’s consent. Can you please advise me how you the wedding thing. We love each other. Sorry for your situation. Thank you for your help.
In June 1986, in our province, I was already 5 months pregnant, I was 14 1/2yo then, my mother signed a consent for me to be married because I was pregnant (the guy was 18yo then). My mother (who is already separated from my father) who signed the consent died a year after. Since, I was the eldest, after I gave birth, I left the kid with her grandparents and continued studies through scholarship and find work to support my brothers and sister. Eversince, I am using “single” (the same as the guy)as my marital status. Now, my father came back to us and want to help us to go abroad, I found out after 23 yrs that in my cenomar, that the marriage was registered. What shall I do? Can you please help me? My father wants to do something about it but also don’t know how. Thank you.
Good day, I am 25 yrs old and my girlfriend is 19 yrs of age. We want to get married as soon as possible before the year ends but the problem is her parents doesn’t like me… They don’t want to give us permission. Is there anything we can do to get married without their consent. I don’t want to commit fornication with my girlfriend.. We want to enjoy things inside marriage. Please help us.. Thank you very much.
I got married at 18 and my husband is 17 years old when we got married.Right now we are separated for 8 years. Do I need to file an annulment even Im leaving here abroad? Right now theres someone asking me to marry. Do i have a right to marry again?
If both of you were married after Aug 1987
You can file for a petition for nullity of marriage.
hi atty.
Good day I was married last Aug.22 2008 by civil wedding,and it was done by 12noon by 2pm he was going home as we agred to separate after he signed the marraige contract,i get pregnant and i force him to marry me.but he was 24 that time and i was 25 he did not secured a parent consent and im the one who provide a parent consent for him i use other person as his guardian and the LCR accept it,until now we have no comunication..plz help me can i use as a grounds for annulment ,the absence of parent consent.?his parents has no knowledge that we got married…tnx a lot..
I have a friend who married a 32 year old guy. She is only 18 years old. Is their marriage valid? There was no parent consent in her part. How can she make the marriage null and void? Thanks soo much! 🙂
i got married when i’m 18yo. i have no parental consent back then. im now 23yo and would want to have an annulment. me and my husband are now not living together for 2 yrs now. can lack of parental consent be a ground for an annulment?
i’m able to get a copy of our marriage certificate so i believe that it was registered even if i have no parental consent that time.
i was married when i’m 23. my husband is also 23 that time.we were asked to provide a parent’s consent.he has made his father signed but forged the signature of my mother. we separated after 6months. and can a person be considered psychologically incapacitated when he is of aged 25 yet he is not thinking responsibility only computer games? at age of 25, he is acting as if 12 year old boy. can these be grounds for an annulment?
is my parents consent valid when i was 21, i forged the signature of my mother for the parents consent?and at that time when i got married my parents and my wife’s parents didn’t know that we got married is our marriage valid?is it a ground so i can file for nullity of marriage or annulment?
Good day atty!
I was married 2005, somebody acquired a marriage license for us (my husband & I) in our city hall. Our mayor that time officiate our ceremony & the witnesses signed in our marriage contract was our friends & they are persons other those who were supposed to be our “ninong” & “ninang” written in our marriage certificate/contract. I would like to ask if our marriage was valid?
hi!
i got married last Sept 2001, but i can’t remember having a marriage license, we just went to the Civil Registry Office and the City Registrar solemnized our wedding, after almost 3 weeks we got the copy of our marriage contract, how will i know if there was a marriage license? is the City Registrar authorized to conduct or solemnized wedding inside the Civil Registry Office?
thanks!
Dear Atty,
I would like to know it the following reasons are grounds for annullment or considered the marriage null and void?
1. No parental consent or advise for the marriage. The parents didnt know that they are getting married.
2. The contracting parties signed the marriage certificate without the presence of the solemnizing officer and vise versa.
3. No marriage ceremony happened at the date, time and place indicated in the certificate.
4. The spouse (man) falsified the signature of their parents.
5. They are relative, on the 5th degree.
Thank you very much
Good Day Atty.
Ask ko lang po kung pede mapawalan ng bisa ang marriage namin ng ex wife ko.. we gor married yr 2008 because I have to leave the country that time. and because we were only 20 then, kumausap kami ng fake parents para magsign ng contract at humarap sa city mayor. the signature there is different from the signature of our real parents.
tanong ko lang po sana kung is there a way para mapawalang bisa namin yung marriage contract na yun for us to live separately na… napagusapan na namin ang bout dito and we both want this.
thanks..
Hello,
I am a US citizen, who married a filipino wife. She was 19yrs at time of marriage. During the process of getting a marriage license.. i recall the office wanting both her Father & Mothers consent. There seemed to be a problem, and my wifes mother seemed to take care of things.. then she signed the paper.. later we got the marriage license.
I learned that i believe they claimed the father has been gone and living someplace else in the Philippines, for a long time. That part is true. But i believe they claimed that they do not know how to contact him or find him. That part is very false.. they do know and have some contact with him. So, i am not sure, but i believe they falsly did our papers for our marriage.
Does this fact give an option for being nulidity?
The mother did sign and give her consent.. and from what i have learned after the marriage.. i believe the mother had somewhat pushed the daughter to marry me.. because she thought i was a rich foriegner. The wife had no intention of coming to the US as agreed, and just used me for what they could get.
So, im trying to figure out if this fact can be used for nulidity of the marriage from the beginning… or if i must look to the annulment process (wich we have several qualifications for), in order to be free to marry a good filipino lady in the future.
PS.. as i am not a filipino citizen.. am i allowed to file for either of these possibilities, or will i need to get the wife to file them, as she is the filipino citizen?
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Dear Atty.,
I am pregnant when we got married at the age of 22, my husband’s side doesn’t want us to be married, so we decided to fraud their signature and their parents consent. Now, we are facing problems that sometimes goes to decision of separation. He is working abroad and I am working here in Philippines, My question are (1) Can we apply for annulment or nullity of marriage? (2) What about the custody of our son even if we don’t have yet the approval of my petition or if I haven’t file yet? (3) Is’t okay if I don’t give or show my son to his family during visits or whether they want my son to stay with them for a while?
(4) How about the support of my son?
Thank you.
good day! I am married for almost a year. I married without the permission of my parents. It’s a civil wedding. I was 20 years old that time. Now, I am close to 22. and had an affair with another man. My husband found out. I want a legal separation of my husband. Omission is one of the reason why i want a separation. what should i do?
good day atty!
I am married for almost a year. I married without the permission of my parents. It’s a civil wedding. I was 20 years old that time. Now, I am close to 22. and had an affair with another man. My husband found out. I want a legal separation of my husband. Omission is one of the reason why i want a separation. what should i do?
thank you 🙂
Hi atty. i got married at the age of 21. I was threatened only to marry her and my mother did not sign the consent for the marriage but my brother signs on her behalf. Is my marriage void?
Dear Atty.
my ex-husband and i got married when i was 25 & he is 24, we only asked someone from his family (not his father nor mother)specifically, aunt to sign the parental advice since he is only 24. sa huwes lang po kami kinasal. we got married kahit we know po na ayaw ng parents nya. kaya absent din po sila nung wedding namin.
after about 3yrs, we got separated pero hindi pa namin nafifile ang annulment.
ask ko lang po if VALID PO BA ANG KASAL NAMIN ESP. WALA PONG PARENTAL ADVICE? pwede po bang iyon ang grounds ng pagfile ng annulment? pano po kung VALID pa rin ang wedding, ano po ang dapat namin gawin?
IN ADDITION, MERON KAMING NAKUHANG MARRIAGE LICENSE KAHIT NA MAY PROBLEM SA PARENTAL ADVICE BECAUSE OTHER FAMILY MEMBER LANG ANG NAGSIGN. pwede ba namin gawing grounds na hindi mother or father nya ang nagsign ng parental advice? pero di ko maisip bakit kami naisyuhan ng marriage license kahit ganon ang nangyri, though, hindi naman kasi namin sinabi na tutol ang parents nya..
Good afternoon Atty.,
My fiance and I asked for our parental advice, however, they said that they will not sign the paper. Can we still acquire marriage license? And how can we acquire? Thank you
Good day Sir,
I have friends who are living together and planning to get married. Last year they applied for marriage license in Urdaneta City hall but the authorized personnel refused to issue a marriage license because the woman is just 21 year old and the authorized personnel said that they have to present parent’s consent because of her age and the personal added that parent’s consent is needed for those who are in the age span of 18-25.
This year, she turned 22 and they really want to be married as soon as possible. Are they still subjected under the requirement of presenting parent’s consent?
Does this law about the difference between “parent’s consent” and “parent’s advice” vary from place to place here in the Philippines or it should be implemented nationwide?
Thanks sir
I was 17yrs old when i got married to the 10yrs older than me..they change my age to 18yrs old with my parents consent to change my age and my marraige was not sucessful i became a battle wife….i was seperated for 17 years is it posible reason for annulment please help
good day i was married last august 27 2008 by solumning he was going home as we agred to seperate after the signed the marriage contract i force him to marry me but i was 21 years old sept i was 22 years old did not parent consent
my parents consent has no knowledge that we got married…
thanxs
Hi,
My boyfriend and I are planning to get married soon, however both of our parents are not giving there consent with it mainly because I am a bread winner and he is was considered still very young by his family (his lola loves him so much, in a ridiculous manner!)
I am 23 he is 21. Can someone help me ? I am still unclear with this “parent concent” issue though i was able to read the article on this blog. I would really appreciate a reply in haste. Thank you !
good pm atty. I was married last may 08, 2015, 2 weeks after marriage my husband decided to work far from me, after a month of stay in his workplace we just had a simple fight and told me THE MARRIAGE IS OVER and there was no communication already., after this i learned that he is wid someone else already(GAY), what will i do?is dis a ground for legal separation?
Im kaye 26 years old, and got married last may 13 2015, pirmahan lng po sa harap ng mga ilang testigo at judge, magkalive in n din po kami 4 yrs n po sa aug. Is my marriage with him is valied?? Kasi po nalaman ku nung araw n kinasal kami ang sabi nia hiwalay n daw sila ng naging gF nya habang kami ay magkalive in, pagkatapos po nun nitong july nalaman ku na hindi pa po pala cla hiwalay, nakita ku po sila isang gabi kaya po kinumpronta ku po sila, kinausap ku po sila ng maayus, peru ang ginawa ng babae nia ay sinaktan aku, wala po akung medical record sa ngyari n un dahil narin po sa pakiusap ng asawa ku para huwag n lumaki ang gulo, pagkatapos po ng insidente na yun nakatanggap aku ng mga chat sa Facebook na paninirang puri mula sa babae at pinsan ng babae ng asawa ku, at ilang pagbabanta n rin n papatayin nila ang asawa ku, hanggang ngayon nakakatanggap aku ng mga teks at ilang tawag na pangungulit ng babae sa asawa ku n huwag siang iwan, 17 yrs old lng po ang naging babae ng asawa ku, anu po b ang maari kung gawin para matigil n ang babae nia at kahit n ang asawa ku ay maturuan ng leksyon, nagdadrugs din po pala ang asawa ku kea may mga usapan kami na minsan ay nasaktan nia aku verbally and physically
hi im reggie 22 of age and my girlfriend is also 22 of age were planning to be married on civil i just want to know if can we be married even we dont make or submit parental advice. please help me thank you.
Hello Atty.,
Good Evening po!..I just want to ask if i could file an annulment prior to grounds of lack of parental consent and falsified the signature of my parents..I was 20 when i was married on that time and my parents dont want me to get married that time..And now we’ve been seperated by my ex-wife for 4yrs and we haven’t seen each other for the past 4yrs..I want to be free with this kind of situation..
Can you help me with this matter Atty.? I need a legal advice regarding this matter..
Thanks.
Good day Atty.
I’m 27 years old and my boyfriend is 24 years old. I believe that one of the requirements in the application for our civil wedding is “parental advice” since he fall under age 21-25. I would like to know what other alternative would it be because both he’s parents are deceased and he has no older siblings to be as he’s guardians. if he failed to submit the parental advice, will our marriage be considered void?
Is it okay to marry my fiancee without any approval of her parents and she’s only 22 years old right now? and I’m only 23 years old. Coz her parents and her whole family are against in our plan to have a wedding next year. I hope I can get your answer. Thank you so ,uch
Hello Atty.,
I want to file an annulment to my husband. We’ve been married for 9 months now. What am I going to do? I can’t live with him anymore. I think he has abnormality in he’s mind. Is there a chance to make our marriage invalid or void? Please help me Attorney 🙁
Rose
Atty. I’m 17 years old and can I marry a 51 years old foreigner with just my father consent?
i am 18 and my fiance and i already planned to get married. is it possible for us to get married without parental consent?
Good day! We need parental advice since we’re both 25 yrs old. We want to know how to make the document. Do we just create it in our own words and just have 2 witnesses sign it or do we need help from an attorney to put it in writing? Thank you so much! If anyone has sample, it would be great!
How is parental advice submitted during the application for marriage license?
A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the effect that such advice has been sought, together with the written advice given, if any, shall be attached to the application for marriage license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn statement.
—- in relation to the statement above, what if there isn’t any sworn statement submitted, does this void the marriage?
Dear Attorney,
I got married 3 months after my 18 birthday, the guy is already 21. We live together for only 1 month then he return to his mothers home. For less than 1 year we have an on and off communication before we completely loss contact. After 5 years, I found out that he already have a live-in partner and already have a child, but I’m not aware if they are married. After a year I met a man and we live together for 5 years now and have a child. Can I nullify my previous marriage and how much would it cost?
I don’t understand why everyone’s asking for legal advice here on the comments section, when
1. Philippine Laws on Marriage, Annulment, and Legal Separation are available online for you to read
2. lawyers charge for legal advice, and obviously won’t do it for free on the comments section of a blog
If these matters are important enough for you, get off the internet and hire a lawyer to ask questions from. It’d also help a great deal if you research more and read on marital laws by yourself, so some of your questions will already be addressed before you actually hire a lawyer.
Good Day!
I have a cousin who were married at the age of 14 years old? She was born 1967 and got married in 1982? Was their marriage legal? What will she do to make this marriage null and void? Her husband right now is having a child to another woman.
Please advise.
Thanks!
Hello atty,
I had i friend who was 21 and was forced to get married to a 21 year old girlfriend, ( the parent of who forced)
This boy has no parent consent. The purpose of marriage is the girl was attempting to commit suicide. When the boy’s parent informed by the girl, they were accepted for the sake of the baby. They marriage was micerable to the point that they don’t live together the boy lives the parents house and the girl lives just by the compound of boy’s resident, they don’t live like a married. Until they had a big fight. The girl sue the boy for accusing her as playgirl. Is there any case to file for the girl or parents for the no consent marriage that make his life miserable? They are 35 at present.
Hi Atty.
Good evening!
I have a friend who has a girlfriend and pregnant that time when they are both 17 years old, the parents of his girlfriend insist him to marry her without his parent consent. He just brought by the gf’s parents to cityhall or church but he told them that he will never sign and dont want to get married yet without his parent concent and he told them to wait until they reach 18 years of age. A few days or weeks passed by my friend and his gf fought together with the gf’s father, so he decided to come back to his parents and tell them to check in NSO (National Statistics Office) if it was really filed and then they found out that it was filed without his parents concent and they are both 17 years of age.
I just want to ask if my friend can get their marriage be null and void due to falsification of documents such as 17 years old shall not be married unless with the concent of the parents and his parents doesnt provide sign and letter a letter of concent and was not advised that their son will got married?
Let me know the possible action to be provided soon because they are not seeing and not living each other for more than 14 years.
Thank you so much,
i was only 17 yrs old when i got married that was june 3 1999, and my partner was 24 yrs old dat time.i just want to ask if our marriage is valid.? because i was seperated for almost 8 yrs. Can i get married again? this question is always bothering me..i was young that time that is why i didn know whats happening.i only knew is that im getting married.aside frm that i was not yet prepared of what will happen afterwards pls i need to know whats the real status of marriage….
What if ung lalaki po sinampahan ng seduction abduction ng family ng babae then naglabas ng warrant galing sa trial court at nakapag bill ung lalaki,tapos po nag tanan ung kinasuhan at ung babae (kusa po sumama ung babae na 17 yrs old) at nagpakasal po sila sa probinsya without consent ng family nung babae kasi hindi nila alam but the time na nalaman ng papa ng babae nagsampa po siya ng kaso questioning the married of her 17 yrs old daughter without knowing and giving their consent is this still valid attorney? Thankyou po
good day po. me and my bf are planning to have a secret marriage. im alrealy 23 and my bf is 28. need pa po ba ng parent consent? Still studying po ako. pano po yung apelyido pag grumaduate ako. valid parin po ba ang apelyido ko ng pagkadalaga kapag? thanks for the response po.
Hi po..nabuntis at nagkaanak po ako at the age of 17 at dahil dun ikinasal po ako nung 2007 s edad n 18yrs old pero wlang parents consent or parents advise..ang pumirma po bilang guidance ko during that time ay yung kmag anak yta yun nung napangasawa ko….pero di ko po siya kaanu ano…valid po b ang kasal ko nun??? Nung time po n nagsasama na kami bilang mag asawa ay sinasaktan nia ako sa tuwing mag aaway kami…meron nga po minsan na binato niya sa akin yung “binangon” (salitang ilonggo) tawag nila sa malaki at mabigat n kutsilyo na ginagamit pangputol ng malaking kahoy..buti nalang nkailag ako kaya yung “binangon” eh bumaon sa may pinto at hindi sa akin…minsan sinasakal niya rin ako sa leeg pg pinipigilan ko siya umalis ng bahay pag gabi dahil natatakot ako maiwan na 2 lang kami ng anak ko na noon ay sanggol palang…..ang mga yun ay nangyari nung nasa probinsiya pa nila kami…at nang makabalik na kami sa lugar ko dun nman madalas siya naglalasing at sinasaktan pa rin ako pag lasing na…..yung peklat na bunga ng pagbato niya ng pala sa akin ay hanggang ngayon andito pa…sa bandang gilid ng kaliwang mata ko…..nambababae din siya…..at ang huling away namin ay nung hindi ako pumayag na magpasiping dahil meron siya nilagay na hikaw sa kanyang ari……yung araw din n yun ay umalis siya at di na bumalik ulit……mahigit 5yrs na ang nakakaraan…..at ang 2kong anak sa kanya ay magisa kong itinataguyod…..sa ngayun may bago n ko kinakasama at ganun din nman siya nakita ko lang sa fb….ang tanong ko po….ang mga nabanggit ko po ba ay pwedeng magpawalang bisa sa kasal namin???hihintayin ko po ang inyong tugon…mraming salamat po…..
Dear Atty,
I married at 25 while my exhusband is on his 24 when we got into civil marriage. Is our marriage valid if the affixed parental advice is not his biological parents and just asked for his uncle and aunt to sign it since his parents do not agree with our marriage?
Also we are now separated for 4.5 years without any knowledge of his whereabouts. Can i file an annulment now or is it automatic annulment since both of us never attempted to contact each other ever since?
Good day atty, I got marriage at the age 16 years old, January 8 1988 date of our marriage, my husband and i are separated 14years ago, both of as have own family now, can I file void marriage? ‘coz I’m under age that time
I am 23 years old,I’m planning to get married on april or may this year,, I learned that i have to ask my parents for a parent advice, they are both aware on my plan and they are not against with it.my problem now is my father cannot provide me such for he is in abroad and too far from the embassy. what can you suggest for alternative? can my mother provide me advice alone?
hello, what if one of my parents could not attend because she is working abroad. May we be able to proceed our civil wedding?
If parental consent is needed, this is done by an Affidavit of Parental Consent.
good day sir and maam
im 22 years old and my boyfriend is Chinese
do i need parental consent or advice but my mother already died and i doesn’t know is my father
who can give me a parental advice or consent
How about when my parents have been separated since i was 10 and i dont have either of them to give me their consent for my marriage, whose consent must i present? I dont have guardians too as ive been living alone. I am still 24yo.
Thank you!
Hi Althena, parental consent is needed if the age is between 18-21. Between 21-25, only parental advice is needed. Absence of parental advice does not affect the validity of the marriage. As noted in the post: “If the parties do not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the marriage license shall not be issued till after three (3) months following the completion of the publication of the application.” Good luck.
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