Please help!

[woohoo 0]

Hi! I'm Richard, a Filipino citizen & based here in Manila. I was granted a divorce when my Filipina-American wife filed it in the US few years back. Fyi, we got married in the Philippines & were together for only a year. Right now I am currently in a relationship with this girl who's an immigrant from Canada & she wants us to get married there. Here is my concern, is it legal for me to get married in Canada as I am still not yet anulled in the Philippines though I already have the divorce papers with me.

Your reply will be highly appreciated. Many thanks.

[lela 0]

Hi! I'm Richard, a Filipino citizen & based here in Manila. I was granted a divorce when my Filipina-American wife filed it in the US few years back. Fyi, we got married in the Philippines & were together for only a year. Right now I am currently in a relationship with this girl who's an immigrant from Canada & she wants us to get married there. Here is my concern, is it legal for me to get married in Canada as I am still not yet anulled in the Philippines though I already have the divorce papers with me.

Your reply will be highly appreciated. Many thanks.

hello there!

i assume you were married with your ex-wife in the US so u had the divorce paper right? so if you were also married here in the Philippines but no anullment was arranged yet, still, you both are legally married (in the Phils) though u have the divorce paper. ur marriage in the US is legally terminated but ur marriage here in the Phils is not yet legally void. Since u said you are a Filipino citizen, the canadian government may ask a Certificate of No marriage or Proof of termination of prior marriage from you.

file an anullment case, habang maaga. if you and your ex-wife has no comminucation or hasnt seen each other for a period of 5 years now, it will be easier to grant. di po ako lawyer hehehe...but that was my lawyer advised me to do before.

hope this helped. good luck!

[chinese_mutt 11]

Hi! I'm Richard, a Filipino citizen & based here in Manila. I was granted a divorce when my Filipina-American wife filed it in the US few years back. Fyi, we got married in the Philippines & were together for only a year. Right now I am currently in a relationship with this girl who's an immigrant from Canada & she wants us to get married there. Here is my concern, is it legal for me to get married in Canada as I am still not yet anulled in the Philippines though I already have the divorce papers with me.

Your reply will be highly appreciated. Many thanks.

hello there!

i assume you were married with your ex-wife in the US so u had the divorce paper right? so if you were also married here in the Philippines but no anullment was arranged yet, still, you both are legally married (in the Phils) though u have the divorce paper. ur marriage in the US is legally terminated but ur marriage here in the Phils is not yet legally void. Since u said you are a Filipino citizen, the canadian government may ask a Certificate of No marriage or Proof of termination of prior marriage from you.

file an anullment case, habang maaga. if you and your ex-wife has no comminucation or hasnt seen each other for a period of 5 years now, it will be easier to grant. di po ako lawyer hehehe...but that was my lawyer advised me to do before.

hope this helped. good luck!

No need to file annulment if your ex-wife was already a US Citizen at the time of the divorce was filed and granted.

You just need to have your divorce judicially recognized in the Philippines. Get a family court lawyer, it shouldn't be as expensive as annulment.

The burden of proof however lays upon your shoulder, meaning you not only need to present the divorce papers, but you must present facts/documents that your wife was a US citizen and that the divorce is recognized in US (I assume the divorce was obtained in US since there is no divorce in the Philippines). After the final decree is made, you are free to remarry whever in the world.

[Pinay Wife 47]

These Q&A from a law office website can answer your questions.

http://www.gtalawphil.com/Philippine%20Ann...101_divorce.htm

ANNULMENT 101: Philippine Annulment Law Made Easy

LESSON VIII: DIVORCE OBTAINED BY FORMER FILIPINO CITIZENS ABROAD

Q. I am a former Filipino citizen. I got married, also to a Filipino Citizen, in a church wedding in Manila on April 09, 1995. I migrated to the United States sometime in October 1996. I became a naturalized American citizen in 2004. I divorced my Filipina wife after I became a U.S. citizen. Do I still need to file a Petition for Annulment of Marriage before Philippine Courts?

GTALAW: No. There is no need to file the Petition. The Divorce that you obtained in America was valid and recognized in Philippine jurisdiction. This is so because you are no longer a Filipino citizen when the Divorce Decree was issued. This issue was already settled by the Supreme Court in LLORENTE versus Court of Appeals G.R. No. 124371. November 23, 2000. This will also entitle your ex-wife to marry again.

Q. I am a former Filipino citizen married to a Filipino citizen. I have recently obtained a Decree of Absolute Divorce of my marriage in the Philippines from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago Illinois. Do I still need to file an Annulment Petition in the Philippines?

GTALAW: No. There is no need for you to file another Petition for Annulment in the Philippines. The Decree of Absolute Divorce can be recognized in the Philippines because you are no longer a Filipino citizen when you obtained the Decree from the Circuit Court in Cook County in Chicago, Illinois. Please see case of LLORENTE versus Court of Appeals G.R. No. 124371. November 23, 2000.

Q. Recently, I went to the local Civil Registrar in Quezon City to record in my Marriage Contract, the Decree of Absolute Divorce which I obtained from Baltimore County Circuit Court in the United States. I told them that I am no longer a Filipino citizen when I obtained the Decree of Absolute Divorce. But the Local Civil Registrar refused to record my Divorce without a Court Order from the Philippine Courts. What should I do?

GTALAW: The Local Civil Registrar correctly refused to annotate your Divorce Decree in your marriage Contract. You have to file a Petition for the Recognition of a Foreign Judgment of Divorce at the Regional Trial Court. You will need an experienced lawyer to do this because there are intricate legal procedures involved in this process.

-------------------------

You may or may not have your MC annotated or registered because the divorce decree by itself is valid and recognized in the Philippines if divorce was initiated by a US citizen (not recognized if initiated by a Filipino citizen).

By the way, since you are getting married in Canada, Canada will recognize the divorce so that will make things easier for you. Just present the divorce decree and you are good to go.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Pinay Wife

[DEDixon 39]

It seems you only need to somehow get the RP to recognize your American divorce. I don't think you need to get an annulment in the RP, just get them to recognize your divorce. <-- There has to be a way for them to recognize your divorce.

[Krikit 1,163]

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