Married or not?

[emscott 0]

If an American marries girl in Philippines is he married in USA legally? And if u are why can u not claim as being married for things like tax purposes? All very confusing for me. I have been told u have to divorce the girl here but u will still be married in the Philippines. Anyone know about this?..Thanks

[Tahoma 2,292]

If an American marries girl in Philippines is he married in USA legally? And if u are why can u not claim as being married for things like tax purposes? All very confusing for me. I have been told u have to divorce the girl here but u will still be married in the Philippines. Anyone know about this?..Thanks

If you get married in the Philippines, you are married in the U.S. too.

I don't know about the tax implications.

If you divorce her in the U.S., you can still petition a Filipina with a fiancée visa or a spousal visa.

What's on your mind?

[emscott 0]

Well i married a girl in phils 3 years ago. Since then she has decided she wants to stay there. We do not fight and i can say nothing bad about her. I or should i say we tried to do things the right way. I built a house there we had a child so i went and married her. And before anyone thinks i am bad i send money every month for the child. The big problem we have is if i divorce her she wants huge child support and says she can get it. so when u ask what is on my mind..more like i am going out of my mind. And to add to the problem I have heard if i divorce her here she is still married in the Philippines. All i really care about is making sure our child is ok there and living as good as i can afford

[Dean_De 61]

Well i married a girl in phils 3 years ago. Since then she has decided she wants to stay there. We do not fight and i can say nothing bad about her. I or should i say we tried to do things the right way. I built a house there we had a child so i went and married her. And before anyone thinks i am bad i send money every month for the child. The big problem we have is if i divorce her she wants huge child support and says she can get it. so when u ask what is on my mind..more like i am going out of my mind. And to add to the problem I have heard if i divorce her here she is still married in the Philippines. All i really care about is making sure our child is ok there and living as good as i can afford

Very much true with what you said "And to add to the problem I have heard if i divorce her here she is still married in the Philippines." .Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines. However, there are certain instances wherein the divorce secured abroad by the foreigner-spouse, and even by former Filipinos, are recognized under Philippine laws.

on Article 26 of the Family Code second paragraph of Article 26 is applied:

1.There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and

2.A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.

The existence of a valid divorce decree, however, does not automatically entitle the Filipino to remarry in the Philippines. The foreign divorce decree must be judicially recognized in the Philippines. This means that the proper action or petition must be filed in a Philippine court. For purposes of re-marriage, the divorce validly secured abroad is not automatically recognized here in the Philippines.The divorce decree must be proven, just like any fact, in court. The presentation of the divorce decree is insufficient. Proof of its authenticity and due execution must be presented. This necessarily entails proving the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where the foreigner-spouse (who could be a former Filipino) is a national. One of the requirements under Article 26 is that the decree of divorce must be valid according to the national law of the foreigner.

[Dean_De 61]

Well i married a girl in phils 3 years ago. Since then she has decided she wants to stay there. We do not fight and i can say nothing bad about her. I or should i say we tried to do things the right way. I built a house there we had a child so i went and married her. And before anyone thinks i am bad i send money every month for the child. The big problem we have is if i divorce her she wants huge child support and says she can get it. so when u ask what is on my mind..more like i am going out of my mind. And to add to the problem I have heard if i divorce her here she is still married in the Philippines. All i really care about is making sure our child is ok there and living as good as i can afford

As far as my readings are concerned..which I can be stand corrected if I am wrong, your spouse can ask for any amount she wants. Mostly in divorce cases, the spouse would ask for the sun, moon, and stars if they can however, the court will award spousal support based upon your income and expenses, her income and expenses, and assets you each have. If there is no existing court order you do not have to pay her anything. If there is an order you cannot pay, you need to get it modified by the court to reflect your changed circumstances

Edited September 14, 2011 by Dean_De

[hobbitofohio 10]

If an American marries girl in Philippines is he married in USA legally? And if u are why can u not claim as being married for things like tax purposes? All very confusing for me. I have been told u have to divorce the girl here but u will still be married in the Philippines. Anyone know about this?..Thanks

If you are legally married, you MUST fill tax returns in the USA as join, married filing separate, or if not living together the last full 6 months of the year you might be able to file as head of household. With her and the child living in the Philippines, you will not get the same tax breaks as a couple living together in the USA. If you have filed tax returns for any year you are married as being single you will need to file an amendment to correct the return.

[kennym 275]

If you are legally married, you MUST fill tax returns in the USA as join, married filing separate, or if not living together the last full 6 months of the year you might be able to file as head of household. With her and the child living in the Philippines, you will not get the same tax breaks as a couple living together in the USA. If you have filed tax returns for any year you are married as being single you will need to file an amendment to correct the return.

I am positive you can claim her on your return as your wife.. you need to check with the IRS, but you will need an ITIN (individual tax identification number) Number which can be a little complex to get because you need to prove valid forreign status of the individuals with original documents or certified copies of a foreign passport, birth certificate, etc...

quite dificult to do since you may not have those documents here in the US...

[Dean_De 61]

If you are legally married, you MUST fill tax returns in the USA as join, married filing separate, or if not living together the last full 6 months of the year you might be able to file as head of household. With her and the child living in the Philippines, you will not get the same tax breaks as a couple living together in the USA. If you have filed tax returns for any year you are married as being single you will need to file an amendment to correct the return.

You still have to report the marriage that occurred with the US embassy here in the Philippines apply for an I TIN which is a number used for taxes only. ( I can be stand corrected if I am wrong )

[Tahoma 2,292]

If she ever wants to get remarried , she will be required to get the divorce judicially recognized in the Philippines.

If she wants to have child support awarded by the court here in the U.S., she will want to do that during the divorce process.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

If an American marries girl in Philippines is he married in USA legally? And if u are why can u not claim as being married for things like tax purposes? All very confusing for me. I have been told u have to divorce the girl here but u will still be married in the Philippines. Anyone know about this?..Thanks

Do not confuse marriage laws with tax laws.

A marriage that is legal in the jurisdiction performed will be legal in the US unless expressly prohibited by law. An American who marries a girl in the Philippines is legally married in the US.

To "claim" a person on a tax return, the claimed person must have either a social security number or a tax identification number. A non-resident alien spouse must have either a SSN or TIN to jointly file a tax return with a US taxpayer spouse. No SSN or TIN, then the person can not jointly file with the US taxpayer spouse.

[analou scott 8]

when i divorced my first wife, she was living in a different state. because i was the one to initiate the divorce she had to come back to MN for the court hearings, or be represented by an attorney. how can she even be involved in the divorce? wouldn't she have to be here, or have a lawyer?

[Jojo92122 1,924]

when i divorced my first wife, she was living in a different state. because i was the one to initiate the divorce she had to come back to MN for the court hearings, or be represented by an attorney. how can she even be involved in the divorce? wouldn't she have to be here, or have a lawyer?

The divorce laws in your state probably addresses the issue of a non-resident spouse. If you cannot be granted a divorce in your state, you will need to get an annulment in the Philippines to end the marriage.

Edited September 14, 2011 by Jojo92122

[analou scott 8]

The divorce laws in your state probably addresses the issue of a non-resident spouse. If you cannot be granted a divorce in your state, you will need to get an annulment in the Philippines to end the marriage.

i think you might be right because we were divorced without her even being in court. she was mailed a notice of the hearing and never showed up. not even an attorney to represent her. so the judge granted the divorce. BUT i also asked for custody of the child, and the court gave her several chance to be there for that part, but finally gave custody to me.