Help a friend

Hello,

My friend who is already married and have kids had a problem with his husband even long before..(they are already married for 10 years. My friend suffered bruises from her husband when she was 7 months pregnant with their youngest child.She is also emotionally-battered because her husband, unlike other man, is a nagger and frequently shouts at her even in front of their maids. He even say foul words against her in front of other people and their children which caused trauma to their eldest child. But that time, she did not file a case thinking they could still make the marriage work.

My friend me a guy who was an exact opposite of her husband. They went steady until this time but unfortunately the guy is also married (separated but not yet annulled) and have kids too.

She is now pregnant courtesy of her boyfriend and about to give birth soon. They want to legalize everything before their baby comes out but my friend's husband seems to change his mind about separation or annulment. He wanted now to fix the marriage. My friend is asking if she could use previous instances (like their previous confrontation which caused her bruises) for a ground in filing a case against her husband? If not, what is their (my friend and boyfriend) last resort? They really wanted to get married.

there has to be annulment of the marriages on both sides. it cannot be by a simple agreement of the couples but by having a valid ground to declare the marriage void. court cases have to be filed.

the injuries you mention give rise to the filing of violence under ra 9262 but does not affect the validity of the marriage.

she should also be wary because her acts can make her liable for adultery which is the act of having sexual relations with a man not her husband.

Hi Atty,

On that matter, what possible grounds for annulment can my friends use in filing a case? After all my friend is not yet ready / undecided to enter into marriage at that time because she was still young and not yet finished in school. What triggered her in pursuing the wedding was the fact that she wanted to get out of their home because her parents were too strict.

i recommend that they acquire legal counsel so that her marital history can be reviewed. there are many possible grounds for annulment of a marriage.

normally i look first at the formal requirements such as the existence of a valid marriage contract. fixers of quickie marriages sometimes make it appear that the couple have been living in for 5 years or the marriage certificate is fake.