My lawyer suggested I try to have both of us declared psychologically incapacitated to double the chances of success, but I refused. I was afraid such a designation would damage my chances of getting a job or custody of my daughter.
I wanted a second opinion. But making such a claim is not an innocuous formality. Trying to show psychological incapacity is an adversarial process in civil court, aimed at proving beyond a reasonable doubt that one spouse was exhibiting behavior indicating an inability to take on the responsibilities of marriage. It means stating in public court all the reasons—both trivial and consequential—why you cannot stay married to your spouse.
It involves psychological tests and, in some cases, witnesses. It encourages a petitioner to exaggerate problems—to declare a once-loved partner an alcoholic as opposed to someone who occasionally came home drunk, or a chronic womanizer as opposed to someone who once had an affair. This kind of hassle can be avoided for the right price, however.
I paid this lawyer in installments as my case dragged on. Michelle got her annulment in six months. I waited four years. Michelle had to appear in court only once.
I spent years using up vacation days for intermittent court appearances. Michelle took the stand to answer only one question: her name. I withstood a barrage of inquiries from a judge. It was a harrowing experience, forcing me to dredge up years of bad, buried memories. Cost of Annotation 7.
Miscellaneous Costs. Understandably, this is the biggest component of the cost. Just like any legal case, more experienced attorneys generally charge more. Experience normally carries with it expertise and higher likelihood of success. Cost is also higher with firms made up of a number of attorneys as compared with solo practitioners and types of billing structure. Law firms can charge on a per hour or fixed fee basis while individual lawyers generally charge fixed fees. Another billing system is the lump sum fee where a law firm or lawyer will charge a large if not the entire fee up front.
Clients are usually apprehensive of agreeing to this because they feel that it would be harder to hold the lawyer accountable as the case moves forward. A happy compromise is the payment plan which has become popular with the budget-conscious and our overseas workers. Custody, property, and support issues included in the core annulment process will add on to the cost because of the additional time and effort necessary to resolve these issues.
The Family Code has allowed what is known in more mature jurisdictions like the United States as bifurcation or the separation of these issues with the main case for annulment or divorce. Section 21 A. This normally has two parts, the cost of the report and the appearance fee of the psychologist as a witness in the annulment process.
The written Psychological Evaluation Report itself could be as low as 25 thousand pesos to thousand pesos. The appearance fee will depend on where the psychologist or psychiatrist is based relative to the venue or the place of filing of the case. This could be between 2 thousand pesos to 10 thousand pesos per hearing.
The biggest portion of the filing fee is the docket fee which in annulment cases that do not involve custody, property or support is a standard 2, pesos. Add on costs will see some variation depending on the venue or place of filing. Total will be between 4, to 4, pesos. All annulment cases in the Philippines will involve service of summons, notices, and other court papers like orders and decisions. The summons, by law, can only be done by the Sheriff.
All other notices and papers can be mailed by the court. The fee of the sheriff is already included in the filing fee paid when the Petition is docketed with the court. Rule , Revised Rules of Court in the Philippine s. The above provision of law effectively solved this legal impasse by allowing for the publication of the summons in those cases where the respondent could not be located or whose whereabouts are unknown.
Costs depend on the newspaper which is assigned by the court. The large national broadsheets could charge 40 to 60 thousand pesos especially in those cases where the court required the publication of the entire petition, which is actually contrary to the law. Local newspapers have charged between 10 to 20 thousand pesos. There are courts that will even require the publication of the decision which could also add to the cost. A certificate of finality is obtained from the court which rendered the decision which is then endorsed to the Civil Registrar of the city or municipality where the court is situated then to the Office of the Civil Registrar where the marriage is registered, and finally to the Philippine Statistics Authority PSA which is the central repository of recorded marriages in the Philippines.
This is optional since the government agencies involved should move it along the system. However, left on its own, the process can take a good 6 months or more to complete. Additional professional fees and regulatory costs total between 10 to 20 thousand pesos.
One should likewise be aware of other out of pocket expenses like printing, mailing, transportation, and stenographic fees. The quick answer is it may take 2 years to complete the process on the average. But this is not a hard and fast rule and one must understand what goes into the handling of a case. This is the most frequent question about annulment in the Philippines. People who are thinking of having their marriages annulled are immediately concerned about how long it will take for their cases to go through the judicial system in the Philippines, which is reputedly not the fastest in the world.
We discuss the possible bottle necks in the process below:. Most cases in the Philippines are initiated by a complaint or , in the case of an annulment, by a Petition filed in court. Normally, before one gets to the point of filing the Petition, a party seeking to annul his or her marriage must go through the process of a psychological evaluation by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist.
Marcos, G. However, in practice, most if not all family courts would still like to have a professional basis in deciding whether or not to annul a marriage. Judges are, after all, not qualified to determine the psychological capacity of the parties to a marriage. This part of the process alone is not a quick one. Through the years, trial courts have imposed certain requirements like inviting the other spouse to participate in the psychological evaluation and having a corroborating witness to support the testimony of the Petitioner.
While these sound simple enough, often the whereabouts of the other spouse is unknown. After 10 to 20 years of separation this can only be expected to happen.
There are psychologists who feel uncomfortable proceeding without having the opportunity to at least interview the other spouse. The other component is the corroborating witness. While there is nothing in the law which specifically requires a witness to validate what the Petitioner has expressed to the psychologist or psychiatrist, courts have routinely sought a witness to support an annulment.
The corroborating witness must at least know both parties to the annulment and has a general knowledge of what happened during the marriage which will justify the annulment. It may be safe to say that judges will not require somebody a blow by blow eye witness of the relationship.
All things considered, it may not be unreasonable to expect the psychological evaluation portion alone to take 3 to 6 months to complete, unless the other spouse can easily be located and the witness interviewed quickly by the psychologist. After the release of the Psychological Report, the chosen attorney will proceed to coordinate the drafting of the Petition itself based on this , the marital history and the documents submitted. How quickly the Petitioner can turn in these requirements will impinge on the length of time it takes to process their annulments.
Recently, the Supreme Court has included in the requirements the documents which will prove the residence of the Petitioner such as the Notarized Barangay Certificate and Notarized Sketch of the Address, and other proofs of residence. While the timeframes mentioned here are by no means absolute and are mere approximations, we are already on the 9th month or the entire gestational period for a human being to be ready to be born on this earth, and we have not even filed the Petition itself.
Once filed, the Petition is raffled to a family court. Initial notices will be sent to the attorney and the Office of the Solicitor General. Then the summons is issued and assigned to a sheriff to serve to the Respondent or the other spouse.
Unlike an annulment, a voided marriage occurs when the marriage was invalid from the beginning. For example, if one spouse was under 18 years of age when married, that marriage is void by law. Additionally, if an unlicensed official performed the marriage ceremony, then that marriage is void.
Legally ending a marriage in the Philippines is not an easy task. Although the movement supporting divorce has increased, it could take years for the Philippines to permit absolute divorces. If you are seeking to end a marital relationship in the Philippines, consider hiring a skilled attorney who is familiar with the local laws.
This portion of the site is for informational purposes only. The content is not legal advice. The statements and opinions are the expression of author, not LegalZoom, and have not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accuracy, completeness, or changes in the law.
Divorce In and Outside of the Philippines Article 15 of the New Civil Code imposes the prohibition of divorce on Filipinos married in their home country, no matter if the couple lives in the Philippines or abroad. Following an annulment, custody of children under the age of 7 is automatically awarded to the mother. There are no standards in child support or spousal maintenance to maintain her previous standard in society.
This would constitute a valid divorce in the Philippines and would therefore give both parties capacity to remarry under Philippine law. Until recently, this applied only to mixed nationality couples of Filipino marriages.
The rule has broadened and now includes Filipinos who have become naturalised in a foreign country and seek a legally binding divorce. If one of the parties to the marriage is a foreign national, i. Despite living overseas, most British expatriates will still qualify to use the English court system should they choose to. For many people this would be their first choice of jurisdiction due to the basis of equality which the English courts employ; however, if they currently reside in the Philippines, this may well be the only option open to them.
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