Second Wife

Hi, good day!

I got married last September 2009, civil marriage. After 2 years I found out that my husband had a previous marriage, last 2000. I was made aware of the truth when I went to NSO to request for an authenticated copy of my daughter's birth certificate and decided to include our marriage contract. In his CENOMAR, two marriages were recorded.

When he processed the requirements for our wedding, he signed an affidavit that applies for partners who were co-habitating for atleast five years (which is not applicable for us), thus, only few requirements were requested. CENOMAR was not required.

My love for him was stronger than my senses that time, I still accepted his excuses. Our family got even bigger we were blessed with two more kids. However I finally decided three years ago to end our "marriage." We've been separated for 3 years and I devoted my time and attention raising up three kids. They are all living with me.

My question is, will I still go through the annulment process even though our marriage is null and void from the start? I want to change my civil status to single. Please help me on what to do. And please enlighten me on what will happen to my kids.

Thank you and God bless.

Hi. Yes, you still need to go through the process of judicially securing the declaration of the nullity of your marriage. Even though it is clear that your marriage is null and void from the beginning due to the previous marriage, Jurisprudence requires that a court order is necessary to declare the marriage as null and void. Thanks.