Winning the case is not the last step. Until a specific set of things happen after the decision — finality, and then registration — the marriage has not yet been officially undone in the civil registry, and the parties are not free to rely on the new status. This page covers what happens between the decision and the moment the decree is actually usable.
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The decision becomes final fifteen days after notice, if nobody moves against it
The decision becomes final upon the expiration of fifteen days from notice to the parties, and entry of judgment follows if no motion for reconsideration, motion for new trial, or appeal is filed within that period by either party, the public prosecutor, or the Solicitor General.
A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC, the Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages (2003), Section 19. Read the source →
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An appeal needs a motion for reconsideration first, then a notice of appeal within fifteen days of its denial
No appeal from the decision is allowed unless the appellant has first filed a motion for reconsideration or a motion for new trial within fifteen days of notice of the judgment. Only after that motion is denied does the fifteen-day period to file the notice of appeal itself begin to run, counted from notice of the denial.
A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC, the Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages (2003), Section 20. Read the source →
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The Decree itself is issued only after the property split and the children's shares are settled
Once judgment is entered — or, on appeal, once the appellate court's judgment is entered — the Family Court proceeds, on motion of either party, with liquidation, partition and distribution of the spouses' properties, including custody and support of common children and delivery of their presumptive legitimes, unless those matters were already resolved in an earlier proceeding. The court issues the Decree of nullity or annulment only after the judgment entry, the approved property partition, and the delivery of the children's legitimes are all on record.
A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC, the Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages (2003), Section 22. Read the source →
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Register the Decree within thirty days — that registration is what makes it the official record
The prevailing party must cause the Decree to be registered in the civil registry where the marriage was recorded, in the civil registry of the place where the Family Court sits, and with the national civil registry agency, and must report compliance with this requirement to the court within thirty days of receiving the copy of the Decree. The registered Decree, not the decision alone, is what serves as the official evidence of the nullity or annulment.
A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC, the Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages (2003), Section 23. Read the source →
A decision that has become final but whose Decree has not yet been registered still leaves the civil registry showing the marriage as intact. Chasing the registration step through to completion — not just winning the decision — is what actually changes a party's civil status on paper.