Guzman Tañedo & Acain - Philippine Annulment Law Made Easy

Primary Contact

316 Mile Long Building

Amorsolo Street

Legaspi Village

Makati City

1200 Philippines

Telephone: (632) 8941441

TeleFax: (632) 8124296

e-mail: gtalaw@gtalawphil.com

Office Hours

9:30AM to 5:30PM PH Time

Monday - Friday

www.gtalawphil.com

ANNULMENT 101: Philippine Annulment Law Made Easy

LESSON II: DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

A petition to declare the marriage void presupposes that the marriage was void or invalid from the beginning. Legally, it can be said that the marriage did not even exist. But there are so many questions about this issue like, do you need to file the Petition if your marriage did not even exist from the beginning? The answers that you have been looking for can be found below.

Q. What are the grounds to declare the marriage void?

GTALAW: The grounds to declare the marriage void are as follows:

1. Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians;

2. Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;

3. Those solemnized without license unless exempted by law.

4. Those bigamous or polygamous marriages.

5. Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other;

6. Assuming that you caused the annulment of your first marriage. However, you get married immediately without waiting for issuance of the Final Decree of Annulment. Your second marriage can also be voided by the Court.

7. Psychological Incapacity of the husband or wife, existing at the time of marriage, which prevents him or her from complying with the essential marital obligations of marriage, even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after the solemnization of the marriage.

8. Incestuous Marriages (between ascendants and descendants; between brothers and sisters whether full or half blood).

9. Marriages between relatives:

a. between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree;

b. between step-parents and step-children;

c. between parents-in-law and children-in-law;

d. between the adopting parent and the adopted

child;

e. between the surviving spouse of the adopting

parent and the adopted child;

f. between the surviving spouse of the adopted

child and the adopter;

g. between an adopted child and and a legitimate

child of the adopter;

h. between adopted children of the same

adopter;

i. between parties where one, with the intention to

marry the other, killed the other person’s

spouse, or his or her own spouse.

Q. I just found out that my husband was married before and I have obtained a marriage contract from the NSO to prove this. It was also confirmed when I confronted my husband about this. Do I still have to file a Petition? Can I also file a criminal case against my husband? Can his ex-wife file a criminal case against me? What is my defense, if any?

GTALAW: Although your marriage was void from beginning, the law still requires you to obtain a declaration of absolute nullity of your marriage by filing a petition in court. Yes, you can also file a criminal case for Bigamy against your husband. Yes, his ex-wife may file a criminal case for bigamy against you and your husband. But your defense is lack or absence of knowledge regarding his prior marriage or absence of criminal intent.

Q. What happens if I will get married without having my first marriage declared void?

GTALAW: Your second marriage will be invalid for being bigamous. The sad thing is, you will be facing another criminal case for bigamy

in so far as your second marriage is concerned.

Q. Is there a time limit for me to file a Petition to declare the marriage void?

GTALAW: The action to declare the marriage void shall not prescribe. Meaning, you can file the petition anytime during your lifetime.

Q. My lawyer told me that my second marriage was void from the beginning. I totally disagreed because the Court has already issued a Decision declaring my first marriage void from the beginning. I also showed him the Court Decision and an Entry of Judgment from the same Court. But my lawyer still insists that my second marriage was void because I failed to obtain a final decree of annulment from the Court? Is my lawyer correct?

GTALAW: Yes, your lawyer is correct. It appears to us that you have not completed the process before you can validly contract a second marriage. You should have brought the Court Decision and Entry of Judgment for recording at the Local Civil Registrar where your first

marriage was recorded. After the recording, you should have gone back to the Court to show proof that the Court documents were already recorded in the Local Civil Registrar. The Court will then issue a Final Decree of Annulment. Since you failed to follow this process, your second marriage is void.

:: Related Topics

Lesson I: Annulment of Marriage

Lesson II: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

Lesson III: Issues About Marriage License

Lesson IV: Issues About Psychological Incapacity

Lesson V: Court procedure and evidence to prove psychological Incapacity

Lesson VI: Solutions for Petitioners Working Overseas

Lesson VII: Issues after the issuance of Annulment Decision

Lesson VIII: Divorce obtained by former Filipino citizens

Lesson IX: Our Fee Structure