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]
- Twin-Notice Rule and Procedural Requirements in Employment Termination Proceedings - June 3, 2020
- When Travel Pass is Needed for Interzonal Travel during Community Quarantine - June 1, 2020
- Can Companies Compel Employees to Work during the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Impose Disciplinary Sanctions - May 29, 2020
Hi atty,
Just wanted to ask according sa nabasa ko..need ng psychological test..kasali nba un sa payment ng nag file ng annulment…?
Or any other test,kasali nba un sa package fee sa abogado?
Sir, I just want to ask if I can file an annulment while iam here in abroad?
And 9 years na kaming walang communication ng dati kung asawa dnarinxa nagpapakita sa aming mag ina in with in 9 years wla po syang supporta. Kasal po kami. At now po gusto ko mag file ng annulment kasi mayroon na akong nahanap ng bagong makakasama sa buhay. What im going to do sir to annual my marriage?I hope you can help me sir.
Hi sir pedi po ba ako maka file ng annulment,?dto po aq sa abroad now, walang work asawa q,tas di nia sinusuportahan anak namin at ang asawa q doon sa nanay nia nakatira ngayon,dahil di rin cla magkasundo ng nanay q,
hi po
im currently here in Canada and I need my annulment papers from the phil. it was filed last nov 17 2008. she got married already last 2010 to a foreigner. all I need is the court decision na nagsasabi na annul na kami. I was able to get a NSO paper na nagsasabi na annul nai ako but still I need a court decision. can someone do it for me and magkano po ang magagastos ko nito
Hello po ask ko po paano po process gagawin ko po gusto ko po ipa annul kasal kahit po sa city hall kami naikasal pero yung date ng kasal iba lumabas sa marriage contract like july 25,2002 naging oct 22,2002…nakipag hiwalay po ako dahil may babae po sya sa abroad at nagka anak po sila mag 3years na po kami hiwalay at para po mabago ko po lahat ng documents ko like passport po thank you po
Hello po atty, ako po ay nagpakasal sa taong kasal na pala sa una,,, pero yung kasal po namin ay naka registered sa NSO. Ngayon po ay hiwalay napo kami, plano ko po sana mag file ng nullity of marriage. Pero sabi po ng atty na pinuntahan ko anullment daw po ang i file ko… tama po bang anullment ang i file ko o may ibang process sakaso ko. Salamat po ng marami
Hello,
I am a Filipina living here in the US. I just recently married my boyfriend here in the US and we are planning on getting married there in the Philippines next year or 2018. However, upon trying to register my marriage here in the US with the Philippine embassy, I was required to get a CENOMAR from NSO. I received my CENOMAR but it says there that I am married. I have never gotten married my entire life (except for my now husband here in the US) and was shocked to see my ex-boyfriends name listed as my spouse in the documents. How can I remedy this? Is there a way to void this? I don’t have any contact with my ex anymore and is not planning on looking or contacting him. What are the ways in how I can declare this marriage void? Also, what documents do I need to provide as proof? All my legal documents says I am single. I never cohabitated with my ex and have no idea how this record came up as I have never signed any marriage document? How long will correcting this record take? Thank you.
Hi Atty.,
I would like to thank you for having this forum and I have read some articles already which are definitely enlightening.
Anyway, I have some questions which I hope you won’t mind answering as I already tried a “search” but could not find the related articles…
I was married (church) in 1996, had a son but separated from my 1st wife in 1998.
My ex-wife was able to secure a “church annulment” but was not able to “finalize everything” due to lack of funds.
I re-married (civil) in 2003 and currently have kids with my 2nd wife.
My ex-wife and I decided and about to start the process to finalize our annulment now that we have the funds. My questions are:
1. What happens to my 2nd marriage once my annulment is granted/finalized? I know it is not valid anyway because I know my annulment wasn’t finalized then but is there any repercussion if we just get married (legally) again after my annulment is finalized? Do we just proceed normally as per process like 2 people getting married for the first time or will the process be different?
2. What happens to my son with my ex-wife once the annulment is finalized? How does this affect him? He is already 22 years old now and I am still financially supporting him as he does not have a job.
3. What happens to my kids with my 2nd wife? How does this affect them once my annulment is finalized? And if ever, is there anything I have to do?
4. My ex-wife and I have not bought any property so technically speaking, we do not have any “conjugal properties” to speak of. BUT, my 2nd wife and I have bought some properties for ourselves, under our names of course. How does this affect these properties? Are these still considered conjugal? Is there anything I should do once my annulment is finalized?
Many thanks in advanced for your advise.
Arcanine
Hello po Atty.
Tungkol po ito sa bestfriend ko na nag pakasal siya sa lalaking ang alam niya po ay Single pero my una po palang asawa at my anak po sila isang batang lalaki. Nalaman nalang ng bestfriend ko ng kumuha siya ng cenomar at my una nga siyang asawa napakasalan. Yung kasal po ng bestfriend ko ay sa huwis lang po sa probinsya namin. Tapos ngayun my dalawa po siyang anak na lalaki. At hiwalay narin po sila noong nalaman niya na my unang asawa ang kanyang Husband. Ang problima po niya Atty. ay paano niya mapawalang bisa yung kasal po nila. Gusto po niyang malaman kung anong kailangan niya na mga papelis para ma umpisahan po niya. Maraming salamat po.
Please me on how and where can I file n annulment while overseas. Can I approach the Philippine Embassy here in Australia to file an annulment? If so, please advise me on where I can obtain an application form to file.