Cost of Annulment in the Philippines: A Quick Overview
Annulment in the Philippines is an expensive , complicated, and emotionally-charged process. The first thing that confronts a person looking to annul a marriage are the costs involved. The costs can vary widely depending on certain factors like the attorney hired to handle the case, the venue or geographical location of the court, the presence of issues like property, custody, and support. But before discussing these factors, a quick overview of the process is necessary for a better understanding of these issues.
Understanding the Legal Concept of Annulment in the Philippines
An annulment in the Philippines is one of two ways to end a marriage. The other being a declaration of nullity of marriage. Currently, there is no divorce law in the Philippines except among Muslims or when the husband alone is a Muslim and the marriage was under Muslim rites.
In an annulment, the marriage is valid in the beginning but there is a defect in how the consent to the marriage was obtained This includes the following grounds:
- Fraud
- Lack of parental consent if the parties are between 18 and 21 years of age
- One party is of unsound mind
Another set of grounds of an annulment in the Philippines involve those where the other party would not have consented to the marriage had he or she known about something which was discovered only after the marriage about the other spouse. This includes the following grounds:
- Impotence or failure to consummate the marriage
- Incurable sexually transmitted disease
In a declaration of nullity, on the other hand, the marriage is defective from the very start. This includes the following grounds for an annulment in the Philippines:
- One or both parties are under 18 years of age
- Lack of a marriage license
- Psychological incapacity
Frequently Asked Questions About the Cost of Annulment in the Philippines
Is there free annulment in the Philippines?
It depends. If one is talking about a church annulment, then it is possible based on pronouncements by Pope Francis. A civil or court annulment would almost always entail court fees and other miscellaneous costs even if attorney's fees were completely waived.
How much does it cost to get an annulment in the Philippines?
The total cost of annulment in the Philippines is between 150 thousand pesos to 380 thousand pesos , depending on the lawyer, the place of filing, and issues like custody, property, and support.
Why is annulment in the Philippines so expensive?
Annulment cases, just like any other specialized fields of law, are complicated ones with very serious and emotionally-charged issues like child custody, property disputes, and support. The prosecution of annulment cases require many hours of going through the details of the marriage of the parties involved and their psychological make-up. Not every lawyer in the Philippines handle annulment cases and this further puts a demand on those few who do practice in this field of law, thus affecting the attorney's fees charged.
What items make up the total cost of an annulment in the Philippines?
The items or factors that affect the cost of an annulment in the Philippines are the attorney's fees, the cost of the psychological evaluation, court filing fees, sheriff's fees, cost of publication of notices when necessary such as when the respondent is out of the country or cannot be located, the costs of annotation of the decision, and other miscellaneous costs such as mailing, posting , or transportation costs.
How much do lawyers in the Philippines charge to handle an annulment in the Philippines?
Attorney's fees for an annulment in the Philippine vary widely depending on the experience of the lawyer, whether the one representing you is a solo practitioner or a law firm, the and issues involved like child custody or property. Lawyer's fees or costs make up the biggest component of the total cost of an annulment in the Philippines. The range is between PHP200,00.00 to PHP600,000.00 (Philippine Pesos).
How much is the cost for a psychological evaluation as part of an annulment in the Philippines?
A psychological evaluation is not mandatory for processing an annulment in the Philippines. However, it would be very helpful since judges and lawyers are not experts on the psychological make-up of the individuals involved in an annulment in the Philippines. The cost of the psychological evaluation would be between 30 thousand Philippine Pesos to about 50 thousand Philippine Pesos.
How much is the court filing fee for an annulment in the Philippines?
PHP4,400 to PHP4,800 Philippine Pesos. This includes the docket fee, the sheriff's allowance, contributions to the Legal Aid Fund, and other administrative charges. This is covered by an Official Receipt of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
What is the Sheriff's fee as part of the cost of an annulment in the Philippines?
This is a very controversial topic. Legally, there is a component of the total filing fee paid to the court to cover the sheriff's allowance for service of summons and notices. However, this is usually not sufficient to cover the actual cost to serve these papers. For example, if an annulment case is filed in Quezon City because of the residence of the Petitioner in Quezon City but the Respondent is residing somewhere in the province of Pampanga, it would be impractical to expect the Sheriff of the court to shoulder the cost of the transportation to Pampanga.
What is the cost of publication for an annulment in the Philippines?
Publication costs for an annulment in the Philippines typically would be necessary only when the Respondent resides outside of the Philippines or could not be located. This is between PHP20,000.00 to PHP40,000.00 Philippine Pesos.
What is the cost of annotation as part of an annulment in the Philippines?
If the petition for annulment or declaration of nullity in the Philippines is granted, the decision of the court has to be annotated of marked on the marriage certificate on file with the Civil Registrar's office where the marriage was registered and with the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Can both parties agree to share the cost of an annulment in the Philippines?
No. Sharing the cost of an annulment could very well be interpreted by the court as collusion between the parties, which is a ground to dismiss the Petition itself. In fact, the lawyer who agrees to such an arrangement could be disbarred for working with a conflict of interest.
Can the court require the losing party to reimburse the petitioner for the cost of an annulment case in the Philippines?
Theoretically, this is possible since every court in the Philippines is authorized to award attorney's fees if proven during the trial. For example, if the parties simply fell out of love with each other, that may not merit the award of attorney's fees. But an award of attorney's fees may be warranted in a case for instance involving physical and psychological abuse.