Category Archives: Family Law

The Family Code clearly provides that a court declaration of presumptive death of a spouse is indispensable before the other spouse may marry again. Failure to comply with this requirement results not only in a void second marriage, but also opens the guilty spouse to a criminal charge of bigamy. Article 41 of the Family Code reads: Read more »

I previously wrote about “something that appears to be increasingly common nowadays — the live-in relationship, also called common-law marriage.” This is governed by Article 147 of the Family Code, which recognizes, and expressly governs the property relations in, the relationship where a man and a woman live exclusively with each other just like a husband and wife, but without the benefit of marriage (or when the marriage is void). Read more »

There’s an interesting article published in the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, entitled: The Legal Impediments to the Application of Islamic Family Law in the Philippines. The abstract of the article reads: Read more »

There were a lot of questions on the first FAQ, some of which were not answered due to certain prohibitions (see Part 1 or Part 3). For information purposes, we added Part II, wherein we discussed other common issues relating to the topic on annulment and divorce. These issues include the role of the Solicitor General, the duration and costs of annulment proceedings, and where to seek free legal aid. Read more »

There are many questions relating to annulment and divorce in the Philippines, and many of the concerns of our readers had already been addressed in previous articles. Nevertheless, to consolidate everything for everyone’s easy reference, here are the FAQs on annulment and divorce in the Philippines:

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It’s hardly surprising that divorce is a popular topic and among the top internet searches. There’s a lot of people just waiting for the right opportunity to end their respective marriages. The reasons are diverse – physical abuse (against the spouse and/or the children), sexual infidelity, irreconcilable differences and conflicting personalities, gross irresponsibility, loss (and transfer) of affection, among others. Read more »