What are the grounds for annulment?

1. Lack of parental consent in certain cases. If a party is 18 years or over, but below 21, and the
marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parents/guardian. However, the marriage is
validated if, upon reaching 21, the spouses freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as
husband and wife.
2. Insanity. A marriage may be annulled if, at the time of marriage, either party was of unsound mind,
unless such party after coming to reason, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
3. Fraud. The consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards, with full
knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
Fraud includes: (i) non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a
crime involving moral turpitude; (ii) concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the
marriage, she was pregnant by a man other than her husband; (iii) concealment of sexually
transmissible disease or STD, regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the marriage; or (iv)
concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the
time of the marriage. However, no other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank,
fortune or chastity shall constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of
marriage.
4. Force, intimidation or undue influence. If the consent of either party was obtained by any of these
means, except in cases wherein the force, intimidation or undue influence having disappeared or
ceased, the complaining party thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
5. Impotence. At the time of marriage, either party was physically incapable of consummating the
marriage with the other, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable. Impotence is
different from being infertile.
6. STD. If, at the time of marriage, either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease
found to be serious and appears to be incurable. If the STD is not serious or is curable, it may still
constitute fraud (see No. 3 above).

What are the grounds for legal separation?

1. Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common
child, or a child of the petitioner.
2. Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political
affiliation.

3. Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the
petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement.
4. Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if
pardoned.
5. Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent.
6. Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent.
7. Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or
abroad.
8. Sexual infidelity or perversion.
9. Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner.
10. Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year.
The term child shall include a child by nature or by adoption.

What are the grounds for declaration of nullity of marriage?

1. Minority (those contracted by any party below 18 years of age even with the consent of parents or
guardians).
2. Lack of authority of solemnizing officer (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. Absence of marriage license (except in certain cases).
4. Bigamous or polygamous marriages (except in cases where the other spouse is declared
as presumptively dead).
5. Mistake in identity (those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of
the other).
6. After securing a judgement of annulment or of asolute nullity of mariage, the parties, before
entering into the subsequent marriage, failed to record with the appropriate registry the: (i) partition

and distribute the properties of the first marriage; and (ii) delivery of the childrens presumptive
legitime.
7. Incestous marriages (between ascendants and descendants of any degree, between brothers and
sisters, whether of the full or half blood).
8. Void by reason of public policy. Marriages between (i) collateral blood relatives whether legitimate
or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree; (ii) step-parents and step-children; (iii) parents-in-law and
children-in-law; (iv) adopting parent and the adopted child; (v) surviving spouse of the adopting
parent and the adopted child; (vi) surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter; (vii) an
adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter; (viii) adopted children of the same adopter; and
(ix) parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other persons spouse, or his
or her own spouse.
9. Psychological Incapacity. Psychological incapacity, which a ground for annulment of marriage,
contemplates downright incapacity or inability to take cognizance of and to assume the basic marital
obligations; not a mere refusal, neglect or difficulty, much less, ill will, on the part of the errant
spouse. Irreconcilable differences, conflicting personalities, emotional immaturity and irresponsibility,
physical abuse, habitual alcoholism, sexual infidelity or perversion, and abandonment, by
themselves, also do not warrant a finding of psychological incapacity. We already discussed
the guidelines and illustrations of psychological incapacity, including a case involving habitual lying,
as well as the steps and procedure in filing a petition.
Please note, however, that there are still other grounds to declare a marriage as null and void.

ou thought youve found your perfect match. You thought your marriage is bound to last forever, or, at
the very least, until the last breath. Youve thought wrong, you say, and you now think of seeking
legal remedy to end your marriage. Here are steps or suggestions in deciding whether to step out
of the ring or not:
1. Make sure it is the last resort. As stated in a previous post, love and marriage are supposed to be
forever. Try all options, like counseling, to make it work. If theres no progress, weigh your options.
On the other side of the scale is the reality that getting into another relationship or marriage, while
the first marital bond is still existing, is a sure way of courting criminal liability (adultery, concubinage,
bigamy). A subsequent petition for declaration of nullity/annulment of marriage is not a defense in the
criminal action.
2. Realize that it will cost you. Getting out of marriage is sometimes more expensive than getting into
one. Expenses include the fees for your lawyer or counsel, filing fees, professional fees for the
psychiatrist or psychologist (if the ground is psychological incapacity), etc.

3. Discuss

the

custody

of

children,

visitation

rights,

property

arrangements

and support. Custody over children and separation of properties in annulment are among the most
bitter issues in annulment. As much as possible, discuss and agree on these matters beforehand.
4. Make sure to invoke a valid ground. Marriage is an inviolable social institution and any doubt is
resolved in its favor. Hence, make sure theres sufficient basis to go through the procedure discussed
below.

The procedure provided under the Rules on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and
Annulment of Voidable Marriages is discussed below. Please note that a petition for annulment
refers to voidable marriages, which are valid until annulled by the court, while a petition for
declaration of nullity refers to marriages that are considered void or inexistent from the very
beginning. There are other differences (e.g., legitimate status of children, property relations between
the spouses, prescription and ratification), but lets leave those for another day. For convenience, we
shall refer to both petitions as annulment.
1. Preparation and filing of the petition. The petition may be filed, at the option of the spouse who
filed it (called the petitioner), in the Family Court of the province or city where the petitioner or the
other spouse (called the respondent) resides for the last 6 months prior to the date of filing, or in
the case of a non-resident respondent, 7where he/she may be found in the Philippines. An Overseas
Filipino Worker (OFW) may file the petition even while abroad. Incidentally, upon filing of the petition
or anytime thereafter, the court may issue provisional and protective orders.
2. Service of Summons. In simplest terms, this is giving notice to the respondent. Where the
respondent cannot be located at the given address or the whereabouts are unknown and cannot be
ascertained by diligent inquiry, service of summons may be done by publication. This is crucial
because the court cannot validly proceed without service of summons.
3. Answer. The respondent must answer within 15 days from service of summons (or within 30 days
from the last issue of publication in case of service of summons by publication). Unlike in civil cases,
the respondent in annulment proceedings is not declared in default if no answer is filed, but the
public prosecutor shall be ordered to investigate whether collusion exists between the parties.
4. Investigation report of public prosecutor. The public prosecutor prepares a report on whether there
is collusion between the parties. If the court is convinced that collusion exists, it shall dismiss the
petition; otherwise, the court shall set the case for pre-trial conference. The Rules dispensed with the
requirement, as provided in Molina, that the Solicitor General issue a certification stating his reasons
for his agreement or opposition to the petition.

5. Pre-trial conference. During the mandatory pre-trial conference, the court and the parties deal with
certain matters, such as stipulation of facts, for the purpose of expediting the proceedings. The
petition may be dismissed if the petitioner fails to appear during pre-trial. At this stage, the court may
also refer the issues to a mediator who shall assist the parties in reaching an agreement on matters
not prohibited by law (no compromise allowed in civil status of persons, validity of marriage or of
legal separation, grounds for legal separation, jurisdiction of courts, and future support and legitime).
The court may also require a social worker to conduct a case study and submit a report at least 3
days before the pre-trial conference, or at any stage of the case whenever necessary.
6. Trial. This is the stage where the ground for annulment is proved and opposed. The court may
order the exclusion from the courtroom of all persons, including members of the press, who do not
have a direct interest in the case.
7. Decision. After the trial proper, the court renders its decision, which is different from the Decree of
annulment. A decision, whether granting or dismissing the petition, becomes final upon the
expiration of 15 days from notice to the parties.
8. Appeal. The aggrieved party or the Solicitor General may appeal from the decision within 15 days
from notice of denial of the motion for reconsideration or new trial.
9. Liquidation, partition and distribution, custody, support of common children and delivery of their
presumptive legitimes. These are done upon entry of the judgment granting the petition.
10. Issuance of Decree of annulment. The court issues the Decree after: (i) registration of the entry
of judgment granting the annulment in the Civil Registry where the marriage was celebrated and in
the Civil Registry of the place where the court is located; (ii) registration of the approved partition and
distribution of the properties of the spouses in the proper Register of Deeds where the real
properties are located; and (iii) delivery of the childrens presumptive legitimes in cash, property, or
sound securities.
11. Registration of the Decree. The Decree must be registered in the Civil Registry where the
marriage was registered, the Civil Registry of the place where the court is situated, and in the
National Census and Statistics Office.