Dear Atty. Duran-Schulze,
I just found out, “what if my partner was married and they have signed papers to prove it” but there was no actual wedding ceremony that took place. What should I do?
Dear Shuri,
In the event that there is no actual wedding ceremony that took place, your partner can assail his/her marriage before the proper Regional Trial Court where he/she is residing at least six months prior to filing a declaration of nullity of marriage.
Marriages are given the presumption of legality and only the courts can decree that the same is invalid or annulled.
In the Philippine setting, there are four ways of having a marriage dissolved, (1) by filling an annulment on a voidable marriage, (2) filing a declaration of nullity of marriage on a void marriage, (3) recognition of a foreign divorce, or (4) death.
An annulment of marriage annuals or declares a no longer valid marital union between a husband and a wife. This is different from a declaration of nullity, which applies to marriages that are void from the start.
What are the grounds for Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage (void from the very beginning)?
- marriage between parties below 18 years of age (even with parental consent),
- bigamous or polygamous marriages,
- lack of authority of the solemnizing officer,
- absence of a marriage license
- mistake as to the identity of one of the parties
- subsequent marriages where the declaration of nullity of a previous marriage was not recorded in the partition or liquidation of the properties of the spouses or where there was no distribution of the presumptive legitime of the children with the proper government registry
- psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the family Code.
Need further information and assistance? Talk to our Legal team at Duran & Duran-Schulze Law. Call us today at (+632) 8478 5826 or send an email to info@duranschulze.com for more information.