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BY GORDON Q. GUILLERGAN
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Wednesday, January 11, 2017
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MARRIAGE annulment scares people. They hesitate even if there are valid grounds. One factor is the cost annulment entails, the time needed and hassle the process brings.
An article at imoney.ph dated April 15, 2015 claimed that the number of marriage annulment cases have been on the rise.
According to the Office of the Solicitor General, in 2002 5,250 couples sought marriage annulment or nullification. In 2011, that number shot up to 9,133 and in 2012, a total of 10,528 cases were filed – or an average of 28 couples a day. It was pointed out by Sen. Loren Legarda in 2014 that the absence of divorce is the major reason for such.
Parties seeking marriage annulment are required to have legal counsel in the filing of petitions and to substantiate their claims. This makes annulment a lengthy, tedious and financially exhaustive procedure.
Website imoney.ph bared the expenses in an annulment procedure based on the information provided by the Solicitor General. These are based on the rates of Manila-based lawyers (a little expensive compared to our lawyers here in Iloilo).
The filing fee is P10,000 more or less. The first step in obtaining an annulment is filing a Petition for Annulment of Marriage before Office of the Executive Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of the province or city you’ve been living in for at least six months.
The filing fee can be under P10,000 if you have no properties you need to arrange for with your spouse.
The acceptance fee is P100,000 and up. This is the fee a law firm will charge you for taking on your case. It is a contract between you and your lawyer or an agreement that you both could agree on. Generally, acceptance fees do not go lower than P50,000.
The appearance fee is from P5,000 to P10,000. An “appearance” is when the lawyer actually goes to court for a scheduled hearing. But this rate example is based in Manila. Here in Iloilo it varies – from P1,500 to P2,500 per appearance.
There’s also a fee for the doctor or psychiatrist. This varies. To file for an annulment on the ground of psychological incapacity, you need a psychological report from a doctor or psychiatrist and this must be presented in court as proof of psychological incapacity.
There are other costs not listed here such as publication, transcript of records, and other miscellaneous fees. But imoney.ph noted that overall, the expenses range from P165,000 to P200,000.
Yes, marriage annulment is expensive. And yes, it is tedious. But no amount of money can buy peace of mind and the freedom or liberty from any form of emotional or psychological abuse.
This does not mean, however, that I agree on divorce or fully agree on annulment. But I believe there’s a need to make annulment feasible for those who have less in life and enchained in situations they need to be free from./PN
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