ANNULMENT WITHOUT ONE PARTY'S PRESENCE

Attorney, my friend scenario is this, she is living abroad and left 20 years ago and her husband is now in jail for section 5/11 case drug pushing/using, my friend won't be able to attend but the husband's sibling will send the papers and she will sign it and her husband agreed that they will both go ahead for an annulment . Her husband is Psychological incapacity due to an effect of methamphetamine addiction she escaped from him because he always threatens her life and her children. Now that both party has agreed would there be a problem to file an annulment without her presence? How long the annulment process will take? Thanks a lot!
Also what is the meaning when her lawyer says "A decree of annulment may be issued without the other party appearing in court. In fact, the signature or appearance of the other spouse doesn’t mean that the petition will be granted. The other spouse may choose NOT to appear, which is the reason why the public prosecutor is under obligation to check if there’s no collusion between the parties."

hi mdventura.

Annulment may be filed even without the presence of the respondent, the respondent may not even file an answer. The solicitor general may appear on behalf of the respondent. However, it is imperative for the petitioner to appear during the trial; otherwise, the petition may be dismissed.

The duration of annulment proceedings ay depend on a lot of factors, such as the ground used for the petition, the venue where the case is filed, the court's docket, the availability of the witnesses, if necessary.

For more free legal information about Annulment, please visit www.domingo-law.com

Hi! Attyjoyce, so it is better for her husband to file the case as he is likely to attend. As he already agreed on this as they want to be completely separated. But if the grounds comes from him I wonder what could it be as he is the one who is psychological incapacity. What grounds can he used for my friend? She left him 20 years ago and since then she never see him again. Thanks a lot!

mdventura wrote:Hi! Attyjoyce, so it is better for her husband to file the case as he is likely to attend. As he already agreed on this as they want to be completely separated. But if the grounds comes from him I wonder what could it be as he is the one who is psychological incapacity. What grounds can he used for my friend? She left him 20 years ago and since then she never see him again. Thanks a lot!

Any or both of the parties may be psychologically incapacitated. even the petitioner may use as a ground his or her psychological incapacity.

Please be aware that the state takes time to investigate on the possibility of collusion between the parties, as this is prohibited by law.

If your friend is abroad, he/she may file the petition by filing an authenticated petition (authenticated by the Phil. embassy in the country where he/she is residing). But, as stated before, he/she has to be back for hearings where his/her presence is required by the court.

Hi! Attyjoyce, it is the husband who will file the annulment as a petitioner as my friend is not going to go back but will sign the papers as respondent. Is it possible for her not to come? thanks a lot!

Hi Atty,

Ano po ang case ng taong nag pakasal ng dalawang beses sa parahong pangalan pero magkaiba ng birth year? sa unang kasal sa filipino ay 1968 orignal na birth certificate na may sinature ng father at may record sa NSO, at sa unang asawa ay may anak na dalawa. pagkatapos ay nag punta sa ibang bansa gamit ang ibang birth year na 1964 sa parehong pangalan , makalipas ng isang taong bumalik ng bansa at sinundan ng foreinger na boyfriend at sabay silang nagpumunta sa Hong Kong at doon nagpakasal gamit ang birth year na 1964. at tuluyang nagsama at angkaank. at ang dalawang marriage's contact nya ay parehong pumasok sa NSO. pero ang birth year na 1964 ay walang record sa NSO.

Too bad! it looks like, there's no such case I'm afraid! as you have to prove first if he/she has been using the same passport when he/she left the country. and where is his/her whereabouts. If he/she uses the same fake passport until now, (as this can be easily corrected with an affidavit) then he/she can be responsible for falsification if and when he/she returns the country, but if he/she isn't using the same passport! then all his/her documentation is legal but the second marriage cannot be valid in the Philippines as his/her marriage certificate shows he/she is born different year from his/her real birth certificate which does not exist with NSO. Therefore, under Philippine jurisdiction nothing can be filed with this person as he/she will be considered only married once in Philippines as the other birth certificate is not considered to exist if there's no record found with NSO. You have to investigate further if this person is still using the same fake birth year in his/her passport if not then you have no case!
Is the person a Hong Kong nationality or not? If he/she isn't then you definitely have no case.
May I ask are you the offended person? if not you have no case neither!

she use the same passport with the birth year of 1964 then after few years she file an affidavit of correction of birth year, from 1964 to 1968. we can prove all the document that she use, we have all the copy of it authenticated from the NSO. we know her whereabouts. what will happen if we file all her document at the DFA and at the Philippine embassy where she is right now? The person is not a Hong Kong Nationality they just went there to get married.

Exactly! if she uses all legal documents by now, then her documents are valid! I have similar case with my friend and she consulted the Mayor and the Mayor himself told her
"As I have informed you in my previous letter, they have no authority nor any legal basis to have you detained or deported"

She has declared all her case and details to the Mayor and the Mayor has sent someone to assist her with her case.

Another thing with Philippine Embassy abroad all OFW are considered as one of the main provider of incomes in Philippines with the money they are sending to the Philippines. Are you an OFW? Do you pay tax? beforehand, they will check your status if you are troubling an OFW. Most OFW abroad are considered to be important as they are bringing income to the country and the Embassy abroad themselves does not even ask where is their exact address if they are asking for some documents to be stamped or authenticated. That is why too many Filipinoes are married abroad although they are married back home. THEY DON'T REQUIRE PROOF OF ADDRESS as such so they can track them. Most Filipinoes, many of them are called TNT as such or if they are avoiding someone to know their exact address they can easily put different address as they like. If you don't have the right address, the Philippine Embassy will not get involve.

When was this person is married in Hong Kong? If the person is not a Hong Kong national, as far as I know after the British Government handed over back Hong Kong to the Chinese Authorities (July 1, 1997). Since then the Chinese Authorities does not easily accept foreign marriages as their responsibility. So it seems to me that the marriage of this person took long time ago if they are not a residence of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Authorities can only get involve if it is done under Chinese law as it is now given back to them. But if it is from other country not easy to follow it up. Therefore, even Hong Kong Authorities will not get involve with this case, I'm afraid! As per Philippines jurisdiction will only consider bigamy if the marriage is under Philippines jurisdiction. So even if you have proof as such if the person is not in the country the case will not even prosper if she returns in the country with legal documents there's no case against her neither.

You will need a lot of money to fulfil this case, you will need to hire a Private Investigator in every country they have been, as you said you know their whereabouts. Very expensive case but if you can afford it I can suggest you a perfect lawyer. $50,000 he can solve this case for you. But you have to give 50% upfront for all the expenses. before you can even get any advice what to process. You are based in US right? as if it is in Philippines then I cannot recommend you anyone.

nicole2 wrote:she use the same passport with the birth year of 1964 then after few years she file an affidavit of correction of birth year, from 1964 to 1968. we can prove all the document that she use, we have all the copy of it authenticated from the NSO. we know her whereabouts. what will happen if we file all her document at the DFA and at the Philippine embassy where she is right now? The person is not a Hong Kong Nationality they just went there to get married.

HOLY COW!!! GANUN KAMAHAL??? ANU BA YAN!!! sabagay kung kaya mo namang gumastos ng ganyan kalaki eh di bakit hindi? taga US ka naman pala chicken feed sa yu yan!

you are very funny!

You did not answer attentionseeker's question! are you the offended party? If not then you don't have a case, only the offended person should file a case and as you mentioned she has children with her present husband, have you heard about humanitarian law? If not, you are not humane enough to trouble this person. Every case has different scenario, evidence is not enough, if she killed the first husband maybe, this is all depends on the circumstances, if you cannot afford to file the case, what satisfaction you are aiming here for? if the person is not in the country how could you pursue the case? Who would listen to you? Are you an influential rich person? This is all just bollocks!

Here's an example of humanitarian news for you it's quite recent in case you are not aware of it. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1046027/Briton-jailed-adultery-fly-home-new-family.html

nicole2 wrote:she use the same passport with the birth year of 1964 then after few years she file an affidavit of correction of birth year, from 1964 to 1968. we can prove all the document that she use, we have all the copy of it authenticated from the NSO. we know her whereabouts. what will happen if we file all her document at the DFA and at the Philippine embassy where she is right now? The person is not a Hong Kong Nationality they just went there to get married.

Another thing, Philippines penal law only applies within national territory.

nicole, under current jurisprudence, bigamy won't prosper because the second wedding was held outside of philippine territory.

however, you or anyone else can file a case of bigamy considering there are indeed two marriage certificates registered at the NSO. whether the case will prosper will depend on the appreciation of the prosecutor and the judge.

if hk law punishes bigamy, they can be prosecuted there.

technically, in crimes, the offended party is the people of the philippines.

Okay lang kay Nicole2 yan Attorney Chicken feed yan dahil maraming $ US $ naman sya eh! di ba Nicole2? Yakang yaka nyang i coordinate and 3 countries sa gastos! Asa ka pa?

On the other hand Attorney, I doubt it will prosper, what if she is talking about the person who is already Citizen of another country and no longer Filipino Citizen? how can she go ahead with this? Unless she is that rich as AWV said because she is from US. But AWV do you ever think all US residence or Citizen are rich? There are some who are servant, if not TNT or just pretending to be from US. You pick!

attyLLL wrote:nicole, under current jurisprudence, bigamy won't prosper because the second wedding was held outside of philippine territory.

however, you or anyone else can file a case of bigamy considering there are indeed two marriage certificates registered at the NSO. whether the case will prosper will depend on the appreciation of the prosecutor and the judge.

if hk law punishes bigamy, they can be prosecuted there.

technically, in crimes, the offended party is the people of the philippines.

Huh! I think I will pick the one that pretending to be in the US! thanks for the idea! I think it's a matter of common sense don't you agree! If she is that rich she wouldn't be here on a public forum for free advice! That's right! She would have her most expensive lawyer to take care of her case!

Hi attorney ,,,,I'm just married to Japanese guy and I'm filipina,,,,then after we married I go in Japan because I have a 1yr visa because of our married,,,but we together only 6months because Im run away to him because after we married he change his mind like,, too much jealous and I'm so afraid to him if he is angry,,1 time we fight and he slap my face using a clothes,,,then I go back to Philippines and never go back to him,,,and my 1 yr visa is expired also,,,how to annulled my married to him because until now we no communication to each other????? And we no child also,,,I want to remarry again in Singapore ,,,pls help me I want ur advice godbless

And how To know attorney if my husband file a divorced in Japan?????because until now no paper that prove that he file a divorced,,,??? Where I go to file annullement???if ever he never file a divorce to me,,,because attorney 2yrs and 5months we not contact or no communication,,,the last time we talk he told to me he file a band visa to me and I cannot enter a Japan forever,,,

He is just fooling you so you won't enter Japan anymore! Probably, he is already married to someone else and he fears that you may go back and discover about it and sue him!

MaxineOgawa wrote:And how To know attorney if my husband file a divorced in Japan?????because until now no paper that prove that he file a divorced,,,??? Where I go to file annullement???if ever he never file a divorce to me,,,because attorney 2yrs and 5months we not contact or no communication,,,the last time we talk he told to me he file a band visa to me and I cannot enter a Japan forever,,,

maxine, if you have a friend in japan, you can ask them to look up your record at the city hall where the guy lives and inquire whether there is a divorce.

I have no friends already in Japan attorney,,,,all of them is change a number or ignore my message!!! How to file a annulment to him here in Philippines ????thank u attorney

Maxine Ogawa check your private messages. Click mo sa bandang taas sa may tabi ng logout kung may messages ka.

Atty itatanong pa ba sa hearing ilang beses ginawa ang pagtatalik?

I doubt it!

Joan-deguzman wrote:Atty itatanong pa ba sa hearing ilang beses ginawa ang pagtatalik?