- How long must my spouse abandon me before I can file for legal separation?
- Who may file the sworn statement of reappearance that ends a subsequent presumptive-death marriage?
- What must the officiant swear to after marrying someone at the point of death?
- Can I annul my marriage if I was forced or threatened into marrying?
- Can I annul my marriage because my spouse hid a past criminal conviction?
- Can I annul my marriage if my spouse hid a drug addiction before we married?
- Can I annul my marriage if my spouse is physically unable to consummate it?
- Can I annul my marriage if my spouse had an incurable STD when we married?
- Can I annul my marriage if my spouse was mentally unsound when we married?
- Can a judge grant our annulment just because we both agree to it?
- I married at 19 without my parents' consent but lived with my spouse willingly after turning 21 — can I still annul the marriage?
- My spouse was mentally unsound when we married but recovered and we freely lived together afterwards — is the ground for annulment lost?
- Can I get legal separation if my spouse attempted to murder me?
- After a presumptive-death second marriage is terminated, can the spouse who acted in bad faith inherit from the innocent spouse?
- Can I be charged with bigamy if I remarried thinking my first marriage was void but never obtained a court declaration?
- What happens if both people in a second marriage knew the first spouse was still alive?
- Can a DSWD or city social worker apply for a protection order for me?
- I left home and now live in another city — can I apply for a protection order there?
- Can I ask for a protection order inside a case I have already filed, or must it be a separate petition?
- Can I be forced to live with my spouse in the Philippines?
- Can I get a protection order during a legal separation case without waiting out the cooling-off period?
- Can I get copies of the medical records of my injuries from the clinic that examined me?
- Can I keep my new address out of the protection order application if giving it would put me in danger?
- The Punong Barangay is not around — can anyone else issue a barangay protection order?
- Can I still be granted a permanent protection order if the criminal case against him was dismissed?
- Can I take paid leave from work to deal with my VAWC case, and how many days?
- Can my doctor, counsellor or therapist apply for a protection order for me?
- Can my employer refuse to give me the leave the VAWC law grants?
- Can my parents apply for a protection order for me?
- My sister is being abused and will not act — can I, as her sibling or cousin, file the petition for her?
- Can neighbours who saw what happened apply for a protection order if I am too afraid to do it myself?
- Can someone who is not a lawyer come with me to the barangay proceeding?
- Can we agree to our own terms for our marriage instead of following the law?
- Can the Punong Barangay or a kagawad file the petition for a protection order for me?
- Can the court be told about abuse he committed against other people, not just against me?
- Can a police officer apply for a protection order on my behalf?
- My fiance works abroad and cannot come home — can we get married by proxy?
- Do we need to show a cedula or residence certificate to get a marriage license?
- Can I find out if my partner already applied for a marriage license with someone else?
- Are the children of a void marriage legitimate in the Philippines?
- What must be proven to marry without a license under the five-year cohabitation exemption?
- Can spouses agree on facts to shortcut the trial and get a legal separation decree more quickly?
- Is concealing a pregnancy by another man a ground for annulment?
- Is hiding a drug addiction before the wedding considered fraud that makes a marriage annullable?
- Is concealing homosexuality before the wedding a ground for annulment as fraud?
- Can a court exempt a spouse from the duty to live together because the other spouse is based abroad?
- Will the court try to get us back together before granting legal separation?
- Can I go to court if my spouse's behavior is endangering our family?
- How long do I have to file for annulment after the threats that forced me to marry stopped?
- How long do I have to annul my marriage if I married underage without my parents' consent?
- Is there a prescriptive period for filing an annulment based on physical incapacity to consummate?
- How many years after the wedding can I file to annul my marriage over my spouse's STD?
- How many days does an officiant have to report a deathbed marriage to the registrar?
- How soon must the officiant send our marriage certificate to the civil registrar?
- Is there a deadline to file for annulment in the Philippines?
- How long do I have to file for legal separation in the Philippines?
- Is a deathbed marriage still valid if the dying spouse recovers?
- Can someone marry on their deathbed without a marriage license?
- Should I go to the barangay first, or can I go straight to a judge to ask for protection?
- Do I have to face him at the barangay before a barangay protection order can be issued?
- Do I have to file separate applications for a temporary and a permanent protection order?
- Do I have to pay filing fees to apply for a protection order?
- Do we need witnesses at our wedding for it to be legally valid?
- If I file to annul my first marriage, will that automatically pause a bigamy case filed against me?
- My aunt wants to apply for a protection order for me — does she need my consent?
- Does the hospital or clinic have to give me a medical certificate for free after examining my injuries?
- Does the six-month cooling-off period still apply to my legal separation case if I alleged abuse?
- Can I file for legal separation because my spouse is a drug addict or habitual alcoholic?
- What happens if the dying party cannot sign the marriage certificate during a deathbed marriage?
- What happens to property and inheritance after a decree of legal separation?
- Can the civil registrar collect extra charges on top of the official marriage license fee?
- Is there a government-appointed lawyer who must appear in every annulment or nullity case?
- What happens if spouses cannot agree on where to establish the family domicile?
- Can first cousins legally marry each other in the Philippines?
- Can I file for legal separation if my spouse pressured me to change my religion?
- What does my foreign fiance need to submit to get a marriage license here?
- I discovered the fraud but kept living with my spouse after — can I still annul our marriage on the ground of fraud?
- Is a marriage license free if we can't afford the fee?
- If we believed in good faith that our solemnizing officer had authority to marry us but they did not, is our marriage still void?
- What are the legal grounds for annulment of marriage in the Philippines?
- After a marriage is annulled, must the wife who was the guilty party go back to her maiden name?
- After legal separation is granted, can the court still order the guilty spouse to give support to the innocent one?
- He controls all our money even though we are not poor — can I still be given a PAO lawyer?
- How long does a barangay protection order last?
- How long does a permanent protection order stay in force, and can it ever be lifted?
- How long does a temporary protection order last before it has to be renewed?
- How soon can the court issue a temporary protection order after I apply?
- I know a legal impediment to someone's upcoming marriage — can I stop the civil registrar from issuing the license?
- I cannot afford a lawyer — will one be provided for my protection order hearing?
- Is a marriage between blood relatives void even if their relationship is illegitimate rather than legitimate?
- Can my spouse's infidelity alone qualify as psychological incapacity for annulment?
- Does having an affair count as sexual infidelity for legal separation purposes?
- If I am the innocent spouse in an annulled marriage, can I keep using my former husband's surname?
- Can the innocent spouse in a terminated presumptive-death marriage revoke an irrevocable insurance designation made in favor of the bad-faith spouse?
- Is my protection order still valid if I move to another province?
- The abuse happened years ago — is it too late to ask for a protection order now?
- Can two people of the same sex legally marry in the Philippines?
- Is there a shelter I can go to with my children, and who provides it?
- What do we need to file with the court if we reconcile during our legal separation case?
- Can we just agree on the facts to speed up our legal separation case?
- Can my legal separation case be dismissed if I already forgave my spouse?
- Does the five-year deadline for legal separation run from when the cause occurred or when I discovered it?
- If my spouse repeatedly battered me over several years, does the five-year period run from the first or the latest incident?
- Does legal separation let me remarry in the Philippines?
- Can I live apart from my spouse once I file for legal separation?
- Is a marriage between brother and sister ever legally valid?
- Do both of us have to appear in person before the solemnizing officer to have a valid marriage?
- Besides age, what legal impediments under the Family Code automatically make a marriage void?
- Do we have to pay documentary stamp tax on our marriage license papers?
- Is a marriage valid if there was no solemnizing officer present?
- Can we marry without a license if we have lived together for five years?
- Can we marry without a license if there's no way to reach the civil registrar?
- Is it legal to marry my own adopted son or daughter?
- Can I marry another child adopted by the same parent who adopted me?
- Can I marry my former spouse's parent after my spouse dies?
- Can I marry my stepfather or stepmother?
- Can a military commander marry soldiers in a combat zone without a license?
- What is the minimum legal age to marry in the Philippines?
- Do Muslim Filipinos need a marriage license to marry validly?
- My wife walked out of our home for no reason — am I still legally required to support her?
- Can a court deny legal separation because both spouses are guilty of the same or similar wrongdoing?
- Does our marriage have to follow a specific religious rite to be legally valid?
- After legal separation, can the spouse at fault still inherit from me through intestate succession?
- If I had already named my spouse in my will and we are later legally separated on account of their fault, is the bequest automatically cancelled?
- Can we skip the marriage license if we lived together for five years but one of us was still married to someone else for part of that time?
- Do I need my parents' written consent to marry if I'm only 19 years old?
- My parents work abroad — can they consent to my marriage through an affidavit instead of appearing at the civil registrar?
- Will my marriage license be delayed if my parents disapprove of who I'm marrying?
- Is being physically abused by my spouse a ground for legal separation?
- Does the physical incapacity to consummate the marriage have to be permanent and incurable to annul on that ground?
- Is legal separation barred if more than five years have passed since the act that gives the ground?
- Can I use my annulment decree instead of a death certificate to get a new marriage license?
- What proof do I need that my spouse died before I can get a new marriage license?
- What counts as psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code?
- Must psychological incapacity have already existed at the time of the marriage, or can it develop years later?
- Does getting back together cancel our legal separation decree?
- What happens to a pending legal separation case if the spouses reconcile before the court issues a decree?
- What must be recorded in the civil registry and the property registry before a spouse from an annulled marriage can remarry?
- Why do I need to register my annulment judgment with the registry of property?
- Will the civil registrar still issue our license if they know something is wrong with our application?
- Can a relative file to annul a marriage because one spouse is insane?
- I remarried without first recording the annulment judgment and property partition — is my second marriage valid?
- Can I remarry right away once my annulment is granted?
- Can I remarry if my first marriage was void but never annulled?
- What information is legally required to appear on our marriage certificate?
- After legal separation, is my spouse's designation as beneficiary of my life insurance automatically revoked?
- Does my second marriage end automatically if my first spouse turns out to be alive?
- Is sexual perversion by a spouse a ground for legal separation under the Family Code?
- Can a ship captain legally marry two passengers while at sea?
- Why do I have to wait six months before my legal separation case can be heard?
- Is our marriage valid if the person who solemnized it had no authority?
- Can I file for legal separation if my spouse secretly married someone else?
- Can I file for legal separation if my spouse tried to push our child into prostitution?
- Is homosexuality a ground for legal separation in the Philippines?
- Is my spouse being sentenced to prison a ground for legal separation?
- How long must a spouse be missing before I can remarry in the Philippines?
- If my spouse is unfaithful and neglects their duty to the family, what legal remedy does the Family Code provide?
- Can an annulment or nullity case be decided by default if my spouse does not appear in court?
- My fiance is a refugee with no embassy here to certify him — how can he still get a marriage license?
- My spouse had a sexually transmissible disease when we married — must it be serious and apparently incurable to justify annulment?
- Does a subsequent marriage end automatically when the absent spouse physically returns, or only once the affidavit of reappearance is recorded?
- Can I sue my brother over our inherited land without first trying to settle it within the family?
- What surname do children conceived before a marriage annulment decree use after the annulment is granted?
- How long must a spouse be gone from the family home before the law presumes they have abandoned their family?
- Is two years of absence enough to remarry if my spouse disappeared in a disaster?
- If my spouse was already married to someone else when we wed, is our marriage void?
- Up to what degree of blood relationship between collateral relatives does the Family Code prohibit marriage on grounds of public policy?
- Is a marriage void if one party killed the other's prior spouse specifically to be free to marry them?
- Is a marriage void if one party married believing the other was a different person?
- Is a marriage void simply because the parties had no marriage license when they wed?
- Is my second marriage void if I remarried before recording and completing the partition of my first marriage's property?
- Can the surviving spouse of an adopted child marry the adopter after the adopted child dies?
- Is a marriage void if one party was under 18, even if both parents gave their consent?
- What happens if he does not show up at the hearing for a permanent protection order?
- What happens if my temporary protection order expires before the court decides on a permanent one?
- No one has acted on my protection order application — is anyone answerable for that delay?
- What details do we have to disclose on our marriage license application?
- What surname options does a married woman have — is she required to take her husband's surname or may she keep her maiden name?
- Which city or town's civil registrar issues our marriage license?
- Who is allowed to file an annulment case when the ground is that the party was 18 to 20 and married without parental consent?
- Can I get a protection order without a lawyer, and who has to help me fill out the application?
- What does the law require during the marriage ceremony itself?
- Who decides where the family lives under Philippine law?
- Who is supposed to receive the original copy of our marriage certificate after the wedding?
- Are both spouses responsible for family expenses in the Philippines?
- Does a wife who has been granted legal separation have to change her name?
- Will my name and address become public if I file a VAWC case?
Answers · Family & Annulment
Family & Annulment
187 answered questions on family & annulment under Philippine law. Every answer quotes and links the provision that governs it.