I am thoroughly confused by the answers I have seen here in the forum relating to annulment. I have seen success stories here , where annulment was granted where the petitioner's spouse was guilty of infidelity , yet the infidelity was not the basis for the annulment , psychological incapacity was. Yet , I have read a Philippines Supreme Court decision (Dedel v. CA , 2005) where infidelity may be grounds for legal spearation , but is not a basis for establishing psychological incapacity. So , what is the real story? On what basis are the RTAs granting successful annulment petitions?

This is of personal interest to me , as I have fallen in love with a wonderful pinay who will need to obtain an annulment from her separated husband (who engaged in infidelity) before we can marry. The P200,000-270,000 cost of the proceeding is shocking enough , but I don't want to waste such a sum on a legal argument in a petition which will have little or no merit before the court.

Can some of you out there who have successfully obtained annulments where your spouses were guilty of infildelity or abandonment please tell me the legal claims that worked for you in getting a judgment in your favors. I would be grateful for any encouraging experiences (as I am worried no end that my mahal won't be successful in getting an annulment) as well as experiences where it didn't work out , as well.

Ed

Send me a pm about your fiancee. Maybe I can help. I filed my annulment last march 2005. I got the decision march 2007.

Hi Ed,

It is true that the only grounds for annulment psychological incapacity. It can take many different forms though. My suggestion would be to talk to an attorney. Ours was Mr. Nestor Torio. He has office in Ortigas which is actually part of Manila. Much like Bronx is part of New York.
We paid 160,000 peso two years ago. We just got the annulment so as shocking as the price tag is so is the length of time to wait. It is awful long wait when your in love but we do what we have to do.

The 160,000 was for 30,000 for pschologist, 30,000 for courts cost, 100,000 for attorney fee. Relyn asked for discount from pschologist so she reduced to 25,000. So our cost in the end was 155,000.

Now the reason you should talk to the attorney is you might need help with "tailoring" the annulment to a successful conclusion. I will leave it at that.

Another avenue might be "presumptive death". While i understand it is with risk it is also one way to obtain fiance visa. I would suggest you thoroughly research that if you feel its an option. Of course there must be no contact between her "former" husband and herself.

Good luck to you, Patrick n Relyn

Thank you very much ,Patrick n Relyn

It sounds like P250,000 may not be unreasonable then , given yours was P160,000 two years ago. The atty my fiancee has been talking to (Atty Go) says that she would charge us P250,000 to expedite the case to completion in 6months. My girlfriend lives in Quezon City and the atty has also suggested that case be filed in another venue where there is not quite the backlog of cases as are to be found in the national capitol region's RTAs.


Two years is a long time to wait! But , I wholeheartedly agree with you about it being worth it for love. I am very happy for the both of you. Congratulations to you both!

As to the presumptive death issue , I think the courts and immigration are cracking down on that from what I have read. My girlfriend has been separated from her husband since 1990 and he has give no support to either her or their two children in that time. So , there may be an issue of abandonment that might be useful as well ; I'm not sure. She does know that he had gone to Canada at one point and then had returned to the Phils , but says he has had no contact with her.

Thank you for your time and the information. I hope I will be able to put it to good use.

Ed

Hi.
from all the figures that I have read,it's just crazy..
it shouldn't be that expensive.
I filed my annulment way back 2006 and got the court order in less than a year.
I filed it in cebu..I paid around like 70T to 80T.
Now I am here in GA,happily married...and i have the custody of my kids.

i know a friend who filed for an annulment. it cost him less than P100,000.00 (it was paid installment) and he got the final decision for only over 6 months. though he's from manila, the annulment case was filed outside manila.

i suggest you find another lawyer. goodluck!