Marriages can be vulnerable to annulment proceeding under article 45 of Family Code of the Philippines. The following are grounds for annulment:
1. Both parties were eighteen (18) years of age but under twenty-one (21), also the marriage was celebrated lacking of the consent from parents, guardian or any person with substitute parental authority over the party. The annulment can only be filed in no more than five (5) years upon reaching the age of twenty-one. However, the parties are not permitted to file the annulment if they have voluntarily lived as husband and wife upon reaching the age of twenty-one. Parties parent/s or guardian be entitled also to file the Petition before they reach the age of twenty-one.
2. Any of the parties to the marriage are of unsound mind at the time of the celebration of marriage. They have the right to file annulment anytime before the demise of the husband or wife. However, in case, they voluntarily cohabited with each other, under this condition they are already prevented by law from filing annulment.
3. One party’s consent was acquired through fraud. They can file the annulment in no more than five years following the disclosure of the fraud, provided that they did not voluntarily cohabit with each other after the full learning of the facts constituting the fraud.
4. The party’s consent was acquired through force, intimidation or undue influence or commonly known as “shotgun marriage.” They are entitled to file annulment no more than five years from the moment the force, intimidation, or undue influence receded or discontinued. Nonetheless, they are not permitted from filing the annulment if you have voluntarily cohabited with their husband or wife after recognizing that the force or intimidation had already stopped.
5. Any of the parties were a sexual impotent or physically incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse, and such disability goes on and looks to be untreatable. They can file annulment in no more than five (5) years after marriage.
6. Any of the parties were stricken with a sexually-transmissible disease diagnose to be serious and appears to be untreatable. They can also file the annulment no more than five (5) years after marriage.
Types of fraud that can be used as a ground for annulment are as follows:
1. Concealment of a prior conviction by final judgment of any of the parties to marriage of a crime involving moral turpitude;
2. Non-disclosure by the wife of the information that at the moment of the celebration of marriage, she was with an unborn child from another man;
3. Non-disclosure of any kind of sexually transmissible illness, existent at the moment of the celebration marriage; or
Non-disclosure of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism existent at the moment of the celebration marriage of any party to the marriage
Misrepresentation or deceit with regard to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity does not constitute fraud as ground for annulment.
2 Responses
How about if the husband is always drunk and always hurting the wife and the child because of everyday drunkness? And they are both 18 but under 21 when they got married… Then the wife left home with the kid because of the torture… The wife is already 23 by now, but she left her husband when she was only 20. Would that be enough to file annulment?
Atty, i want to ask if there are grounds for annulment sa situation namin. Or are there any cases I can file against him?
We got married 2017. I was already pregnant then. Me and our child are both living with my parents and he is living with his prior to the wedding and up until now. He last visited us March 2018 and up until now he hasn’t returned. Also, since the birth of our child there has been no consistent “sustento” for our child abd there was no spousal support since from the beginning. Hospital bills was paid by me and his mother as “utang”. We theb had other debts from other relatives and he left me to pay for them myself. In short, he hasn’t been able to perform his duties as a father of the family or a husband to me.
Also, a day after we got home from hospital when i gave birth, he threatened me of taking the child after he force fed our child with formula thinking he was not getting enough breastmilk from me because the baby then kept crying. We had a little struggle with the baby, but since i had a major operation I didn’t have the strength to he easily pushed me away and i hit the cabinet door. I had bleeding but I didn’t go and get myself checked because I did not have the ability to do so because It was just a day after a major surgery.
After that, everytime he visits he finds ways of threatening me with something out of the blue and take note we were not even in any argument. All these instances has made me anxious everytime he tells me he’s coming home. I feel more relieved and safe when he’s not here. I can go into more detail with these events but talking would be easier.
I would like toknow if i can file for annulment, and sole custody of our child. And is it possible to demand to have him pay for the past “sustento” and spousal support that he has not given?
Please i need legal advice. Looking forward to hearing from you.