You thought you’ve found your perfect match. You thought your marriage is bound to last forever, or, at the very least, until the last breath. You’ve thought wrong, you say, and you now think of seeking legal remedy to end your marriage. Here are “steps” or suggestions in deciding whether to step out of the ring or not (for the court procedure, see Procedure in Annulment of Marriage and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage):
1. Make sure it is the last resort. As stated in a previous post, love and marriage are supposed to be forever. Try all options, like counseling, to make it work. If there’s no progress, weigh your options. On the other side of the scale is the reality that getting into another relationship or marriage, while the first marital bond is still existing, is a sure way of courting criminal liability (adultery, concubinage, bigamy). A subsequent petition for declaration of nullity/annulment of marriage is not a defense in the criminal action.
2. Realize that it will cost you. Getting out of marriage is sometimes more expensive than getting into one. Expenses include the fees for your lawyer or counsel, filing fees, professional fees for the psychiatrist or psychologist (if the ground is psychological incapacity), etc.
3. Discuss the custody of children, visitation rights, property arrangements and support. Custody over children and separation of properties in annulment are among the most bitter issues in annulment. As much as possible, discuss and agree on these matters beforehand.
4. Make sure to invoke a valid ground. Marriage is an inviolable social institution and any doubt is resolved in its favor. Hence, make sure there’s sufficient basis to go through the procedure discussed below.
5. Prescriptive period. Make sure that the petition is filed within the time provided under the law. There are separate rules for counting of the prescriptive period for each ground. [See Prescriptive Periods for Annulment of Marriage]
The procedure is provided under the Rules on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages. [See Procedure in Annulment of Marriage and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage]
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Hi atty. Pwede mag ask, how many months pa po ba ako maghintay pag natapos na sa court yong case ano pa ba next process? Kasi sabi ng lawyer ko tapos na sa court..confuse kasi ako sa sagot nya.
Hello Sir, I would like to file for an annulment but don’t know where to start. My hopefully soon to be EX husband and I were married back home but now we are residing in the states. Does filling for annulment should be done in Philippines?
Thank you for your time.
Hi po! May bf po ako ng 2005 at may binayaran po kami para magasikaso ng kasal at registration and all. On going po ang divorce nya from the time na kinasal kami ang sabi nung nag-aayos, ok lang daw kahit to follow na lang. Hanggang sa naghiwalay po kami. Nagbalikan kami 2014 and nagbalak ikasal ulet ng 2016. Akala namin hindi naregister ang kasal kaso naregister po pala. Kumuha ako ng copy ng requirements na napasa noon at wala nga doon ang divorce paper. Ano po dapat ko gawin?
do you know any lawyer here in paranaque that i can approach. my wife is asking for annulment and she is giving me up to may 2016 only to file the case. I do not know what to file but our issues is always money matters. we have agreed that we will do annulment case. will this be a crime?i mean fixing the annulment case.
Hi Atty! What will we do my sister live birth certificate was used by another person without knowing her? My sister was shocked because it shows on her cenomar that she was married..And the other person who used her live birth cert. doesnt want to cooperate with us. What kind of case we sue her? The girl now is in the USA and she ignore us. PLEASE ATTY. WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Atty,
I already went through the annulment process and already have my NSO marriage cert which says null and void. What are the next steps? What other documents do I have to update?
Thank you.
Dear Sir,,
I was separated for my husband long for almost 14yrs
Then, i was the only one was providing for my sons need,, for those years no financial support for my husband,, i was working abroad to keen my sons future,,
Tanong ko lng poh sa kaso ko ngayon panong hakbang ang ggwin ko para po mwalan ng visa ang kasal nmin ng asawa ko? Meron po akong ntangfap n balita na willing nmn poh ang asawa ko na pumirma sa mga papekes n kaylangan ko para po mpawalang bisa ang kasal nmin,sa katunayan poh meron npo siyang bgong pamilya at anak,, need kpo ang advice niyo, salamat po,
Dear Atty Fred i learned from friends that my foreign husband has filed an annulment . He is only staying in the philippines because i signed a request for him to stay in the philippines every five (5) years. Because of irrevoncilable differences i left him and came back here in the UK. He is now an overstaying alien. The property where he is staying is on my name. What eill happen to the property?
Can a man be charged of abandonment after 4 years of no support for the child after having been separated because of unresolvable conflict with the wife?
To all atty.,
Paano po b kung kasal ako sa judge on 2011 at from that hindi na kami nagkita hindi rin sya nagbigay ng support at palagi na kaming nag-aaway. paano po b ako mag aaply ng annulment kasi ayaw ko na sanang gamitin yong apelyedo niya, gusto ko na rin ng baong buhay..