[Full text of A.M. 02-11-10-SC below. See also Procedure in Annulment of Marriage and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage and Residence: Guidelines to Validate Compliance with Jurisdictional Requirement (Annulment, Declaration of Nullity, Legal Separation)]
A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC
RE: PROPOSED RULE ON DECLARATION OF ABSOLUTE NULLITY OF VOID MARRIAGES AND ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES
R E S O L U T I O N
Acting on the letter of the Chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Rules of Court submitting for this Court’s consideration and approval the Proposed Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages, the Court Resolved to APPROVE the same.
The Rule shall take effect on March 15, 2003 following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation not later than March 7, 2003
March 4, 2003
—————————-
RULE ON DECLARATION OF ABSOLUTE NULLITY OF VOID MARRIAGES AND ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES
Section 1. Scope – This Rule shall govern petitions for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriages and annulment of voidable marriages under the Family Code of the Philippines.
The Rules of Court shall apply suppletorily.
Section 2. Petition for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriages.
(a) Who may file. – A petition for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriage may be filed solely by the husband or the wife. (n)
(b) Where to file. – The petition shall be filed in the Family Court.
(c) Imprecriptibility of action or defense. – An Action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of void marriage shall not prescribe.
(d) What to allege. – A petition under Article 36 of the Family Code shall specially allege the complete facts showing the either or both parties were psychologically incapacitated from complying with the essential marital obligations of marriages at the time of the celebration of marriage even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its celebration.
The complete facts should allege the physical manifestations, if any, as are indicative of psychological incapacity at the time of the celebration of the marriage but expert opinion need not be alleged.
Section 3. Petition for annulment of voidable marriages. –
(a) Who may file. – The following persons may file a petition for annulment of voidable marriage based on any of the grounds under article 45 of the Family Code and within the period herein indicated:
(1) The contracting party whose parent, or guardian, or person exercising substitute parental authority did not give his or her consent, within five years after attaining the age of twenty-one unless, after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabitated with the other as husband or wife; or the parent, guardian or person having legal charge of the contracting party , at any time before such party has reached the age of twenty-one;
(2) The sane spouse who had no knowledge of the other’s insanity; or by any relative, guardian, or person having legal charge of the insane, at any time before the death of either party; or by the insane spouse during the a lucid interval or after regaining sanity, provided that the petitioner , after coming to reason, has not freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;
(3) The injured party whose consent was obtained by fraud, within five years after the discovery of the fraud, provided that said party, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, has not freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;
(4) The injured party whose consent was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue influence, within five years from the time the force intimidation, or undue influence disappeared or ceased, provided that the force, intimidation, or undue influence having disappeared or ceased, said party has not thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;
(5) The injured party where the other spouse is physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other and such incapability continues and appears to be incurable, within five years after the celebration of marriage; and
(6) Te injured party where the other party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable, within five years after the celebration of marriage.
(b) Where to file. – The petition shall be filed in the Family Court.
Section 4. Venue. – The Petition shall be filed in the Family Court of the province or city where the petitioner or the respondent has been residing for at least six months prior to the date of filing. Or in the case of non-resident respondent, where he may be found in the Philippines, at the election of the petitioner.
Section 5. Contents and form of petition. – (1) The petition shall allege the complete facts constituting the cause of action.
(2) It shall state the names and ages of the common children of the parties and specify the regime governing their property relations, as well as the properties involved.
If there is no adequate provision in a written agreement between the parties, the petitioner may apply for a provisional order for spousal support, the custody and support of common children, visitation rights, administration of community or conjugal property, and other matters similarly requiring urgent action.
(3) It must be verified and accompanied celebration of marriage.
Section 4. Venue. – The petition shall be filed in the Family Court of the province or city where the petitioner or the respondent has been residing for at least six months prior to the date of filing, or in the case of a non-resident respondent, where he may be found in the Philippines at the election of the petitioner.
Section 5. Contents and form of petition. – (1) The petition shall allege the complete facts constituting the cause of action.
(2) it shall state the names and ages of the common children of the parties and specify the regime governing their property relations, as well as the properties involved.
If there is no adequate provision in a written agreement between the parties, the petitioner may apply for a provisional order for spousal support, custody and support of common children, visitation rights, administration of community or conjugal property, and other matters similarly requiring urgent action.
(3) it must be verified and accompanied by a certification against forum shopping. The verification and certification must be signed personally by me petitioner. No petition may be filed solely by counsel or through an attorney-in-fact.
If the petitioner is in a foreign country, the verification and certification against forum shopping shall be authenticated by the duly authorized officer of the Philippine embassy or legation, consul general, consul or vice-consul or consular agent in said country.
(4) it shall be filed in six copies. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition on the Office of the Solicitor General and the Office of the City or Provincial Prosecutor, within five days from the date of its filing and submit to the court proof of such service within the same period.
Failure to comply with any of the preceding requirements may be a ground for immediate dismissal of the petition.
Section 6. Summons. – The service of summons shall be governed by Rule 14 of the Rules of Court and by the following rules:
(1) Where the respondent cannot be located at his given address or his whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry, service of summons may, by leave of court, be effected upon him by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines and in such places as the court may order In addition, a copy of the summons shall be served on the respondent at his last known address by registered mail or any other means the court may deem sufficient.
(2) The summons to be published shall be contained in an order of the court with the following data: (a) title of the case; (b) docket number; (c) nature of the petition; (d) principal grounds of the petition and the reliefs prayed for; and (e) a directive for the respondent to answer within thirty days from the last issue of publication.
Section 7. Motion to dismiss. – No motion to dismiss the petition shall be allowed except on the ground of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter or over the parties; provided, however, that any other ground that might warrant a dismissal of the case may be raised as an affirmative defense in an answer.
Section 8. Answer. – (1) The respondent shall file his answer within fifteen days from service of summons, or within thirty days from the last issue of publication in case of service of summons by publication. The answer must be verified by the respondent himself and not by counsel or attorney-in-fact.
(2) If the respondent fails to file an answer, the court shall not declare him or her in default.
(3) Where no answer is filed or if the answer does not tender an issue, the court shall order the public prosecutor to investigate whether collusion exists between the parties.
Section 9. Investigation report of public prosecutor. – (1) Within one month after receipt of the court order mentioned in paragraph (3) of Section 8 above, the public prosecutor shall submit a report to the court stating whether the parties are in collusion and serve copies thereof on the parties and their respective counsels, if any.
(2) If the public prosecutor finds that collusion exists, he shall state the on the finding of collusion within ten days from receipt of a copy of a report The court shall set the report for hearing and If convinced that the parties are in collusion, it shall dismiss the petition.
(3) If the public prosecutor reports that no collusion exists, the court shall set the case for pre-trial. It shall be the duty of the public prosecutor to appear for the State at the pre-trial.
Section 10. Social worker. – The court may require a social worker to conduct a case study and submit the corresponding report at least three days before the pre-trial. The court may also require a case study at any stage of the case whenever necessary.
Section 11. Pre-trial. –
(1) Pre-trial mandatory. – A pre-trial is mandatory. On motion or motu proprio, the court shall set the pre-trial after the last pleading has been served and filed, or upon receipt of the report of the public prosecutor that no collusion exists between the parties.
(2) Notice of pre-trial. – (a) The notice of pre-trial shall contain:
(1) the date of pre-trial conference; and
(2) an order directing the parties to file and serve their respective pre-trial briefs in such manner as shall ensure the receipt thereof by the adverse party at least three days before the date of pre-trial.
(b) The notice shall be served separately on the parties and their respective counsels as well as on the public prosecutor. It shall be their duty to appear personally at the pre-trial.
(c) Notice of pre-trial shall be sent to the respondent even if he fails to file an answer. In case of summons by publication and the respondent failed to file his answer, notice of pre-trial shall be sent to respondent at his last known address.
Section 12. Contents of pre-trial brief. – The pre-trial brief shall contain the following:
(a) A statement of the willingness of the parties to enter into agreements as may be allowed by law, indicating the desired terms thereof;
(b) A concise statement of their respective claims together with the applicable laws and authorities;
(c) Admitted facts and proposed stipulations of facts, as well as the disputed factual and legal issues;
(d) All the evidence to be presented, including expert opinion, if any, briefly stating or describing the nature and purpose thereof;
(e) The number and names of the witnesses and their respective affidavits; and
(f) Such other matters as the court may require.
Failure to file the pre-trial brief or to comply with its required contents shall have the same effect as failure to appear at the pre-trial under the succeeding paragraphs.
Section 13. Effect of failure to appear at the pre-trial. – {a) If the petitioner fails to appear personally, the case shall be dismissed unless his counsel or a duly authorized representative appears in court and proves a valid excuse for the non-appearance of the petitioner.
(b) If the respondent has filed his answer but fails to appear, the court shall proceed with the pre-trial and require the public prosecutor to investigate the non-appearance of the respondent and submit within fifteen days thereafter a report to the court stating whether his non-appearance is due to any collusion between the parties. If there Is no collusion, the court shall require the public prosecutor to intervene for the State during the trial on the merits to prevent suppression or fabrication of evidence.
Section 14. Pre-trial conference. – At the pre-trial conference, the court:
(a) May refer the issues to a mediator who shall assist the parties in reaching an agreement on matters not prohibited by law.
The mediator shall render a report within one month from referral which, for good reasons, the court may extend for a period not exceeding one month.
(b) In case mediation is not availed of or where it fails, the court shall proceed with the pre-trial conference, on which occasion it shall consider the advisability of receiving expert testimony and such other makers as may aid in the prompt disposition of the petition.
Section 15. Pre-trial order. – {a) The proceedings in the pre-trial shall be recorded. Upon termination of the pre-trial, the court shall Issue a pre-trial order which shall recite in detail the matters taken up In the conference, the action taken thereon, the amendments allowed on the pleadings, and except as to the ground of declaration of nullity or annulment, the agreements or admissions made by the parties on any of the matters considered, including any provisional order that may be necessary or agreed upon by the parties.
(b) Should the action proceed to trial, the order shall contain a recital of the following;
(1) Facts undisputed, admitted, and those which need not be proved subject to Section 16 of this Rule;
(2) Factual and legal issues to be litigated;
(3) Evidence, including objects and documents, that have been marked and will be presented;
(4) Names of witnesses who will be presented and their testimonies in the form of affidavits; and
(5) Schedule of the presentation of evidence.
(c) The pre-trial order shall also contain a directive to the public prosecutor to appear for the State and take steps to prevent collusion between the parties at any stage of the proceedings and fabrication or suppression of evidence during the trial on the merits.
(d) The parties shall not be allowed to raise issues or present witnesses and evidence other than those stated in the pre-trial order.
The order shall control the trial of the case, unless modified by the court to prevent manifest injustice.
(e) The parties shall have five days from receipt of the pre-trial order to propose corrections or modifications.
Section 16. Prohibited compromise. – The court-shall not allow compromise on prohibited matters, such as the following:
(a) The civil status of persons;
(b) The validity of a marriage or of a legal separation;
(c) Any ground for legal separation;
(d) Future support;
(e) The jurisdiction of courts; and
(f) Future legitime.
Section 17. Trial. – (1) The presiding judge shall personally conduct the trial of the case. No delegation of the reception of evidence to a commissioner shall be allowed except as to matters involving property relations of the spouses.
(2) The grounds for declaration of absolute nullity or annulment of marriage must be proved. No judgment on the pleadings, summary judgment, or confession of judgment shall be allowed.
(3} The court may order the exclusion from the courtroom of all persons, including members of the press, who do not have a direct interest in the case. Such an order may be made if the court determines on the record that requiring a party to testify in open court would not enhance the ascertainment of truth; would cause to the party psychological harm or inability to effectively communicate due to embarrassment, fear, or timidity; would violate the right of a party to privacy; or would be offensive to decency or public morals.
(4) No copy shall be taken nor any examination or perusal of the records of the case or parts thereof be made by any person other than a party or counsel of a party, except by order of the court.
Section 18. Memoranda. – The court may require the parties and the public prosecutor, in consultation with the Office of the Solicitor General, to file their respective memoranda support of their claims within fifteen days from the date the trial is terminated. It may require the Office of the Solicitor General to file its own memorandum if the case is of significant interest to the State. No other pleadings or papers may be submitted without leave of court. After the lapse of the period herein provided, the case will be considered submitted for decision, with or without the memoranda.
Section 19. Decision. – (1) If the court renders a decision granting the petition, it shall declare therein that the decree of absolute nullity or decree of annulment shall be issued by the court only after compliance with Article 50 and 51 of the Family Code as implemented under the Rule on Liquidation, Partition and Distribution of Properties.
(2) The parties, including the Solicitor General and the public prosecutor, shall be served with copies of the decision personally or by registered mail. If the respondent summoned by publication failed to appear in the action, the dispositive part of the decision shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation.
(3) The decision becomes final upon the expiration of fifteen days from notice to the parties. Entry of judgment shall be made if no motion for reconsideration or new trial, or appeal Is filed by any of the parties the public prosecutor, or the Solicitor General.
(4) Upon the finality of the decision, the court shall forthwith issue the corresponding decree if the parties have no properties.
If the parties have properties, the court shall observe the procedure prescribed in Section 21 of this Rule.
The entry of judgment shall be registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage was recorded and In the Civil Registry where the Family Court’granting the petition for declaration of absolute nullity or annulment of marriage is located.
Section 20. Appeal. –
(1) Pre-condition. – No appeal from the decision shall be allowed unless the appellant has filed a motion for reconsideration or new trial within fifteen days from notice of judgment.
(2) Notice of appeal. – An aggrieved party or the Solicitor General may appeal from the decision by filing a Notice of Appeal within fifteen days from notice of denial of the motion for reconsideration or new trial. The appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal on the adverse parties.
Section 21. Liquidation, partition and distribution, custody, support of common children and delivery of their presumptive legitimes. – Upon entry of the judgment granting the petition, or, in case of appeal, upon receipt of the entry of judgment of the appellate court granting the petition, the Family Court, on motion of either party, shall proceed with the liquidation, partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses, including custody, support of common children and delivery of their presumptive legitimes pursuant to Articles 50 and 51 of the Family Code unless such matters had been adjudicated in previous judicial proceedings.
Section 22. Issuance of Decree of Declaration of Absolute Nullity or Annulment of Marriage.” (a) The court shall issue the Decree after;
(1) Registration of the entry of judgment granting the petition for declaration of nullity or annulment of marriage in the Civil Registry where the marriage was celebrated and in the Civil Registry of the place where the Family Court is located;
(2) Registration of the approved partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses, in the proper Register of Deeds where the real properties are located; and
(3) The delivery of the children’s presumptive legitimes in cash, property, or sound securities.
(b) The court shall quote in the Decree the dispositive portion of the judgment entered and attach to the Decree the approved deed of partition.
Except in the case of children under Articles 36 and 53 of the Family Code, the court shall order the Local Civil Registrar to issue an amended birth certificate indicating the new civil status of the children affected.
Section 23. Registration and publication of the decree; decree as best evidence. – (a) The prevailing party shall cause the registration of the Decree in the Civil Registry where the marriage was registered, the Civil Registry of the place where the Family Court is situated, and in the National Census and Statistics Office. He shall report td the court compliance with this requirement within thirty days from receipt of the copy of the Decree.
(b) In case service of summons was made by publication, the parties shall cause the publication of the Decree once in a newspaper of general circulation.
(c) The registered Decree shall be the best evidence to prove the declaration of absolute nullity or annulment of marriage and shall serve as notice to third persons concerning the properties of petitioner and respondent as well as the properties or presumptive legitimes delivered to their common children.
Section 24. Effect of death of a party; duty of the Family Court or Appellate Court. – (a) In case a party dies at any stage of the proceedings before the entry of judgment, the court shall order the case closed and terminated, without prejudice to the settlement of the estate in proper proceedings in the regular courts.
(b) If the party dies after the entry of judgment of nullity or annulment, the judgment shall be binding upon the parties and their successors in interest in the settlement of the estate in the regular courts.
Section 25. Effectlvity. – This Rule shall take effect on March 15, 2003 following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation not later than March 7, 2003.
I have a question that I would like to raise since it is related to the issue of annulment of marriage.
In 1995 I had a “secret marriage” with my then girlfriend. She left for the States and after a year we separated since she married another guy in the States. I checked with the Civil Registrar and found out that our marriage was legal. So I filed an annulment case which was granted by the court in 1998.
In 1998, before the final judgment of my annulment was granted,I re-married and me and my wife with our two kids are living together now for almost 10 years. But every so often, my wife will nag me that our marriage is void since it was done before the final judgement of my annulment case was granted.
My questions are:
1. What can I do to make our marriage legal if it is illegal or void since it was done before the annulment judgment was rendered?
2. Do I need to marry her again and can we be granted marriage licenses if we want to marry again to make it legal?
I would be very happy to here from you your views on this issue.
if a man who was previously married, to a woman who is also previously married (each of their spouses are still living, and their previous marriages are both valid), is there a possibility that in some way, they could be “safe” from prosecution since both of them are offenders? is there a statute of limitation for bigamy? the man reconciled with his 1st wife and the 2nd wife is vengeful. the only thing that is stopping her from filing a bigamy case against the man is the fear of facing the same charges. since in this case, the only “victims” are wife no.1 and husband no.1 and both are not complaining, is there a way that the man can be immune from prosecution if the 2nd wife files a case? what if she is insanely desperate and is prepared to go to jail just so the man and his 1st wife will have a miserable life? what should the man and wife no. 1 do in order to prevent/avoid problems that may arise if wife no.2 becomes insanely vengeful? thank u.
hello atty.
when can we say that the reason for annulment is irreconcilable differences?I have problems regarding the reasons why i must file for an annulment since, is habitual insults from your husband enough to file for an annulment?because that can be categorized i think as emotional abuse.
Atty Fred, i just wanna know if there will be additional filing fees charged by the Civil Registries when the decision and decree is registered?
I was fooled being married to a man who is married.
The story is, I gow married 2007 march and he submitted a fake CENOMAR authenticated byt he NSO and DFA.
Upon gatherign the documetns, I got teh original marriage certificate of me and the 1st marriage original certificate of marrieg of him with his 1st wife in 1995. so therefore my marriage to him is null & void! Right?
I want to know whata re the legal grounds, isnt the article 349 (bigamy) I want him to pay the thigns that he does, he ruined my documents and even teh immigration found that he is marreid so i withraw the sponsorship. todate he was tellign he filed an annulment what would be the case why is it that I didnt receive the petition from his filling so I can answer it?. Can I go ahead and file. I want a clear case, I want him to be in jail, pay me for the fees, fix my documents. I am innocent here & his mother told me that he hire a fixer at teh NSO, he works in Dubai, can he be deported for this? I want a justice for this. I hope you can help me as I would like to start it now.
thank you so much
E. Reyes
We have a similar situation. I was also fooled by my husband into getting married with him. He showed me a fake cenomar, fixed our marriage ceremony at the Manila City Hall. Now all my documents are also under his name except for my passport. What can we do?
I was fooled being married to a man who is married.
The story is, I gow married 2007 march and he submitted a fake CENOMAR authenticated byt he NSO and DFA.
Upon gatherign the documetns, I got teh original marriage certificate of me and the 1st marriage original certificate of marrieg of him with his 1st wife in 1995. so therefore my marriage to him is null & void! Right?
I want to know what are the legal grounds, isnt the article 349 (bigamy) I want him to pay the thigns that he does, he ruined my documents and even teh immigration found that he is marreid so i withraw the sponsorship. todate he was tellign he filed an annulment what would be the case why is it that I didnt receive the petition from his filling so I can answer it?. Can I go ahead and file. I want a clear case, I want him to be in jail, pay me for the fees, fix my documents. I am innocent here & his mother told me that he hire a fixer at teh NSO, he works in Dubai, can he be deported for this? I want a justice for this. I hope you can help me as I would like to start it now.
thank you so much
E. Reyes
my father and my mother have a voidable marriage on February of 1988 (I said its voidable because there is no ceremony, there is no witnesses, they just signed the marriage contract and the day after get a witness to signed the marriage contract. Also after the signing of the marriage contract they not live together.) and then later that year November 1988, my mother entered to another marriage to a foreigner. (my father has no problem with this marriage because he has his another family with 3 kids).
Then after 2 years the foreigner died and my mother got a pension from US Social Security and US Veterans. But after 5 to 6 months of pension it was stop because of the reason that their marriage is void because of the first marriage.
atty. i have a questions.. Is there any way, to legalized the second marriage in order for my mother to get her pension back?
Thank you.
Jun Dizon
Dear Atty.,
A couple married without a license, claiming that they have been living-in together as husband and wife for 5 years (but in fact, they only lived-in for 6 months). They have not submitted an affidavit stating their living-in together (which is a requirement for no-license marriage). Will this be considered as grounds for declaration of nullity of their marriage? Thank you.
I’ve been to a quickly marriage Dec 1999. I’m not aware of applying marriage license or even signing it. He left me for another woman and after my still birth January 2000. After 1 year, out of my depression i work abroad but before i leave i checked NSO for marriage contract but no avail. October 2004 i married my boyfriend in the Phils. I got a CENOMAR copy from the NSO. We are living here in abroad now. The problem just arise this year when i’m getting some papers in the NSO i just found out the i have an existing marriage contract from my previous marriage but not on my direct name (mispelled name)
Please enlighten me on what i will do.
Thank you very much.
My wife and I don’t have communication for more than seven years now.I heard form my in laws that she was living in with another foreign man in Singapore where she works as caregiver. She also abandon her children since she went abroad in 2001 and wasn’t giving any financial support to them.We were civil married of March 1996 in a regional court in Lipa, Batangas. Due to indifferences and incompatibility, we decided to separate and she grabbed the opportunity to work overseas in 2001 to make our decision realistic. She stopped communicating as early of 2002.
As of now, I am not planning to sue them or ask for any financial support. I can support for my two sons who are now first and second year high school. All I want is to be married again to a woman whom i really love since college days.
Question: do i still have to file annulment? I don’t even know where she is , her address, her number has been changed and her in laws don’t want to cooperate.What will I do, please help…
dear Atty,
a good day to you,i have a problem that i want to ask,pls answer me,i have been married last 1995 in the civil wedding(shotgun)after the ceremony of the judge at the same day i went home and i told the girl to go to her home,since then and upto now we are not living together,and i heard that the girl has already married to another guy six years ago and living on her family,atty,is my marrage to her invalid or void?will i able to get married again?pls enlighten me..thank you
dear atty.
I got married last october 12, 2006. I and my family were fooled by my husband story that he’s case in annulment to his 1st wife is already in the process, just waiting for the finality. He sounds so convincing and actually he was able to show me a legal document stating that he & his first wife is no longer connected and that he should give an amount of 15k/month for his obligation to his son (he had a 13 year old son). It was fast…my mistake is I easily believed him. After we got married, civil wedding…his real attitude finally showed to the point that I could not take the way he treated me anymore. Worst, I discovered that he’s been using drugs (shabu) & is very drug dependent already. I left him. We had a son who’s turning 2 this month.
Aftersuch, some of his cousins contact me. Finally, the truth came out. Me & my family were fuming with anger when we found out that there had never been an annulment case with his first wife. We have a marriage record at the NSO & civil registrar, I want to know if my marriage with him is null and void. Please advice me on what to do…thank you so much!
Hi, just want to ask if I need to request a Declaration of Nullity of Marriage or should I just ignore my first marriage and remarry? We were married with my “ex” without a marriage license, but we signed a contract together with our witnesses. Our marriage was presided by a Judge but the Judge didn’t know that we didn’t have the requirements yet. She thought everything were ok. But she still proceeded with the ceremony provided we will comply with all the requirements needed to make our marriage valid. However, we failed to comply, and we just ignored it until we got separated (we lived together for only 3 months only). Given this situation, do I still need to do my aforementioned question before I remarry? Thanks for your help. God bless.
Dear Atty,
Good day! i would like to request for a legal consult regarding my present marriage. I am currently separated with my wife and wanted to file for annulment. I have decided to make this action due to one important reason… My freedom.
Been married for 7 years and our marriage was somewhat you’ll say not an ideal one. I got her pregnant in 2003, and during that time i am under the impression that my child will not bear my name if im am not married with my “wife”. As a decent thing to do, I have propsed for us to get married but she refuses and decided to go back to her province to think things through, after a week she came back and accepted the offer (by the way she was may girlfriend then from 2000). We got our civil marriage in our province in Nueva Ecijia. after our marriage we started to live as husband and wife unfortunately it didn’t work out that way it was supposed to be. and it even gotten worst when she delivered our child. my mother-in-law was staying with us that time (she was separated too). through her short comings and have seek comfort of friends, mostly going out and drinking, just an excuse to release my pain. after 2 years, my wife threaten me that she’s going to leave me if i will not change my life style. I was afraid that i will not be able to see my daughter again, so i call my father who was then an OFW and seek for a better oppurtunity outside the country. Fortunately i got a job in Saudi Arabia and after a few months i invested some money for them to follow me. My entire purpose is for us to get closer and maybe give some spark on our relationship. but it didn’t turn out that way, we argue in a lot of things and we don’t even act as a married couple. she doesn’t even say she loves me (that was from the time we got married). day by day i always hope that something will change but nothing seems to work. till it gotten worst and this year when i came in the Philippines for our annual vacation. I just hit my limit. i can no longer take the fight arguments and even the verbal abuse. She even let me sleep outside my own house. that is why i came back in saudi arabia by myself. Oh by the way, in our seven years of marriage, from the time she got pregnant (2003) up to last quarter of 2008,we didn’t have any sexual contact. only just in the next years she allows me to sleep with her, but i need to beg for it before she even consider and its all scheduled. We have no passionate moment, no romance in our 7 years and nothing but heartaches and bitterness.
there are more detailed things in my story but i wont go that deep for now. My question is how to file my case and what possible grounds should i consider? i heard that both parties need to agree before filing an annulment case? what if she didn’t sign or refuses? what are my alternatives?
currently i am still in contact with them because i am continuously supporting my daughter. One inportant fact, my wife and my in law connived without me knowing that part of my educational plan was wasted and not paid. therefore, the educ plan was void and we can no longer collect anything for my daughters education.
Please do provide me with your best consult in filing this case.
Thank you very much.
Dear Atty. Fred,
Pwede po bang paki explain nito ng section na ito:
Section 3. Petition for annulment of voidable marriages. –
(a) Who may file. – The following persons may file a petition for annulment of voidable marriage based on any of the grounds under article 45 of the Family Code and within the period herein indicated:
(1) The contracting party whose parent, or guardian, or person exercising substitute parental authority did not give his or her consent, within five years after attaining the age of twenty-one unless, after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabitated with the other as husband or wife; or the parent, guardian or person having legal charge of the contracting party , at any time before such party has reached the age of twenty-one;
gusto ko pong malaman kung anong pwede kong gawin para mapawalang bisa ang secret marriage namin ng dati kong boyfriend. Wala pong parental consent and I was only 17 when I signed the marriage certificate. We do not have marriage license either. Please tell me what to do. I am already 22 and it’s the only time that I found someone whom I believeve can help me with this concern. My asawa na po ang ex boyfriend ko at may anak na sila but the problem was may certificate of marriage po kami sa NSO and his wife do not know wbout it. But all the documents I am using right now states that I am single. I want to end our marriage ASAP. Because therte might be a time that I might find someone who will ask me to marry him and I do not want to put him into trouble. I want to be happy too. Thank you
what if there’s no love anymore, can it be a reason for annulment
.hi.i need advice on what to do about a marriage contract.my ex and i both signed papers for marriage. and we were declared “married” right away. we never signed the papers in front of any presiding judge nor any officiating official. in short there was never any marriage that took place.it was supposed to be a “non appearance” marriage .according to the person who got us to sign it.. my ex and i are not in good terms now . he even remarried now .but when we checked NSO, we were able to obtain a marriage cert. what should we do?is our marriage nulled and void?, since there never was any marriage that took place and what will be the repercussions to all the people that were supposed to be our ” sponsors” and signed the document ? and what will also be the repercussions to us? pls help me.we have a son whom he never gave any assistance. we dont live together for the last 6 yrs.i just want to be free from him. is it also possible to change my sons last name to mine?pls advise.godbless
I had been married thrice to the same person. The court has declared my 1st marriage as VOID AB INITIO and my 2 succeeding marriages with the same person as mere scrap of paper because they both happened before the petition.
Whenever I secure a copy of the 1st marriage from the NSO, it states that marriage is void. When I get a copy of the last marriage, it doesn’t show any remarks on it about the status of the marriage. what should I do to make sure that all my marriages are no longer in effect because my ex husband and i are not together anymore?
The petition made was to correct the entry on the marriage certificate because my age was 23 instead of 19 but the judge declared it void. I am actually happy about it yet unsure of the steps i should take because my ex husband and his family are all telling me that the 2 other marriages are still in effect even if they were mentioned as MERE SCRAP OF PAPER on the final decision from court.
I don’t want to have any legal impediment if in case I would decide to marry again. Please help me. Thank you so much.
good day
i filed a bigamy case against my husband last march 2011 and waiting for resolution at the city prosecutor office. can i already file a petiton fornullity of mariage at the family court already? (ground bigamous marriage – he contracted in 3marriages already and i’m the 3rd marriage.) will it affect my case if the family court already declared the marrriage null and void?
and also i renewed my passport oct 2010 but since I am aware that the marriage is null and void i declared that i am single status. yesterday i applied for the passport of my child and they told me that i should have submitted the marriage cert on my renewal in 2010 since it appeared in my child’s birth certificate that i am married.what step can i do? should i submit it? even it is null and void?
Good Day! I am here to consult if my marriage is Void.
I was married on 2002, I was 19 then. My Husband and I had two children. Through the advance technology nowadays, I Googled the information entered in our Marriage license.(e.g.; my address at the time of marriage, place of marriage, the solemnizing officer). I was shocked to find out that “my address” was not an existing address. it was rather a municipal hall. And our “place of marriage” was also a non-existing place..
I started to feel worried, some of my friends knew about this and told me that it was a total void. They even suggested me to get a CENOMAR. One thing more, when we got married, I really do not remember applying or having any requirements needed to marry. The person who solemnized our “marriage” was once a Local Official, He even typed the title “Reverend” before his name. Is this all legal? Is my License valid? Am I still single? Please let me know..Thank you.
I would like to ask. I am the second wife. My husband filed an annulment before the second marriage. He got the decision of nullity sometime in November 1999. He is not aware that copies should be provided to nso. He got also the Certificate of Finality which needed to be filed to nso as well. In year 2000, we got married knowing that his previous marriage had been annulled. The marriage was registered to NSO. My husband went to US for work. we had a child. In year 2006, i went to nso in Manila to get a copy of his previous marriage’s license and found out that in Manila, he is still legally married to his wife because the cert of finality wasnot registered. Is our marriage in 2000 valid or not? Is my husband considered single up to now? do we need to remarry?
atty. fred,
first was looking at the feeds or blogs here and got really interested…i am separated for almost 2 years and wants to get out of the marriage, my ex had a first marriage before we got married. should i file for nullification of marriage or annullment im a bit confused here and wants to know which will be faster on processing???
thank you so much…
Dear Atty.
Isa po akong ofw,may itatanong lang po ako tungkol sa aking “Civil Marriage”. May marriage license po kami sa aking asawa, kaso po nuong schedule na po sa kasal namin, pagpunta po namin ng munisipyo ay wala po duon ang mayor na magkakasal sa amin, binigay lang po ng city administrator yong marriage contract namin at yong marriage contract ay may perma na ng mayor, at pinapunta kami duon sa registrar’s office upang duon pipermahan namin ng asawa ko at ng dalawang witness namin ang marriage contract. Wala pong ceremony na nangyayari.valido po ba ang kasal namin? Ano po ang dapat kong gawin para po mapawalang bisa ang kasal namin? sana po atty.mabigyan mo ako ng sapat na paliwag tungkol dito. maraming salamat po.
dear attorney,
i have never been married but have for kids. my children using no middle initial.i took cenomar 2010 and i was single but now i asked my kid to get a new cenomar 2013 and it was written there that i married january 1996. what should i do since im working overseas where to file and how long it will take process of nullity of marriage.thank you
Hi, Good day,
Gusto ko lang pong malaman kung null & void ung kasal ko, ikinasal po kami Sept. 19, 1990. sa Pasay City Hall.
Ang nakalagay po sa Date ng kasal namin ay Sept. 20, 1990, hindi po kami dumaan sa kahit anong requirements bago ikasal, hindi po kami nagseminar at nag counceling, hindi rin po kami kumuha ng Marriage License, Ang nakalagay po doon sa Marriage Contract Ay iniissue ito sa Carmona City Hall.
iniverify ko po sa Civil Registry ng Carmona ang Marriage License namin, At nalaman ko po na magkaiba ang Marriage License Number at Date of issue ng nasa Marriage Contract namin,
at ng nasa Marriage License Number & date of issue na nakarecord sa Civil Registrar sa Carmona City Hall.
Null & Void po ba ang kasal namin?
Please Enlighten me
Thank You very much.
Does anyone know where I can find a blank court proof form to fill out?
Dear Atty,
I need to know what is my “legal last name.” I was first married to a Filipino man, after a long separation I got remarry to a foreigner but my second marriage was a bigamist one. Shortly after my second marriage my first husband passed away as a OFW.
My question is this; can I retake legally my maiden name, and if so what must I do to make it righfully “legal”? Because my second husband want to remarry me, but this time lagelly. Thank you so much for answering.
Sincerely,
Unknown last name
Dear Atty Fred,
Please enlighten me naman po.
I have a foreigner boyfriend pero divorce siya sa una nyang Pinay x-wife at dito sila kinasal sa Pinas,Pero ang nag file nang divorce sa place sa foriegner si X Pinay wife nya. tanong ko po atty. kung Kelangan paba ni Foreigner na mag file sa court para makasal siya ulit dito sa Pinas or pwede na pong hindi na at okay na yung Legal Capacity to contract marriage at translated Divorce decree niya.
please naman po need ko malaman at ano ang una namin dapat gawin para makasal kami dito sa Pinas..
Maraming Salamat po.
I am an American who got married in Cebu city in 1992. The day of the wedding my new bride ran off with her boyfriend and baby, which I did not know about .We never consummated the marriage with sex. I left the country two days later and never had contact with the family. The family owned businesses and had above average income and owned several homes. its been over 26 years and I figure the family immediately filed for an annulment / void marriage. If I return now to a different province, Negros, and together with my Philippine fiancée fill for a marriage license, will my name appear in any national registry for past marriages ? And is there any way to find out if the family filed for an annulment/void in 1992? I do not remember the full name of the lady I married or do I remember the date or month of the 1992 wedding? Is there any way I could find out if an annulment/void was filed just with my full name and year of past marriage in 1992?
Hi! Atty,
Gusto ko lang po malaman kung ano po pwede kong gawin nalaman ko po na tatlo po kaming pinakasalan ng asawa ko and nalaman ko rin po na pangalawa yung kasal namin. Hindi pa rin po annul yung 1st marriage nya in time of our marriage, then he had already another marriage. Gusto ko po sana mag file ng annulment . is CENOMAR of him indicating that he had three marriage is enough evidence for annulment?
I am a Taiwanese married to a Filipina. Would like to find out if the following circumstances would constitute our marriage to be null and void:
1. During our civil oath of marriage at the City Hall in Manila, only the secretary faced us and only requested for our name and address. Afterwards, were told that we will receive our marriage certificate in a few days. There were no oath taking that took place.
2. Our marriage certificate states that my citizenship was Filipino instead of Taiwanese.
3. We have been separated for almost 20 years now and I don’t know the whereabouts of my spouse.
With those circumstances, what are chances that the marriage is null and void, and if so, do I need to do something or can I go ahead and just re-marry?
Thanks and hoping for a favorable response.
D
Gusto q po sana itanong kung valid po ang kasal kapag ung wlang pirma ang nakalagay sa NSO. Kc nung kumuha aq ng authenticated na marriage contract sa NSO nakita q wla kaming mga pirma ng asawa q pati mayor at ung mga witness. Ang natandaan q lng po is nung kinasal kmi ang nag officiate ng kasal nmin ung vice mayor. Tapos ung date dn po na nakalagay sa NSO is different sa totoong date n kinasal kmi. Pwede q ba ifile for null and void ang kasal nmin.
pwede po magtanong kasi po may balak po ako magpakasal yung bf ko kasi 17 years ng hiwalay sa kanyang asawa, kahit daw walng annulment mkakapagpakasal daw po kami. may nagsabi na pari at attorney pati judge. gagawa daw po cl ng kasulatan ksm daw ang fiscal barangay atpb ipa null and void daw nila ang kasal totoo po ba ito kesa daw gumastos ng malaki. ano po ang tawag dito legal po b ito? magiging single po b ang nso nya. salamat
Dear Atty. Fred,
My marriage is void because of the existence of previous marriage and the wife is still living.
I want to get married again but i cannot get cenomar from nso.
Will you be willing to help me get a declaration of void marriage cert from the family court? And how much would you charge?
I am a single parent, raising a 16 year old daughter.
Hope to here from you soon.
Sincerely,
Nelia
Mobile no.: 0947-1032189
hi. atty.
i have a question.
I was born 1981.
1998 when I was 17 I got married. I faked my birth certificate, from 1981 I changed it to 1980, I needed to do it because I can’t get married if I’m just 17.
so now, my NSO birth certicate states that I was born on1981. and in my NSO marriage certificate states that I was born 1980.
is my marriage valid?
my husband will file a case, will it be Annulment or Absolute Nullity of mariage?
and can he file a case against me for fraud and falsification of Documents?
pls. answer my questions, I’m troubled and so afraid… thank you
Good day, Sir.I wish to inquire on what should be the thing for me to do if I wish to apply for the declaration of nullity of my marriage. My “husband” and I got married in December 2010 at the Consulate General’s Office here in the Middle Est but he deliberately submitted for our Marriage License Application a fake CENOMAR. He bought it from an anonymous contact in the Philippines for the amount of PHP60,000.00. His annulment court resolution was released in only October 2014 — since his petition for Annulment for his first marriage has been fled a few months after we got married, I think it is sometime in April of May of 2011. We have separated (since he left me here) in the Middle East in January 2015 — he absconded from work and run away from loans and credit card responsibilities. And he has an immigration in the country where I am still based and actively working wile he returned to the Philippines and got a job back there. After I returned to work abroad in January 2012 — he had stopped supporting our common child financially citing that I am very much capable to support the child myself.
I am hoping to have everything properly settled legally. Hope you can advice me on the best thing to do.
The birth certificate of my husband is fake when we get married. Is the marriage certificate can be void? We checked the marriage contract is registered but his birth certificate is not registered.. we are already separated and now I don’t want to use his family name. We don’t have children. What should I do?
Thank you