Getting Divorce Acknowledged in the Philippines

[POA 178]

So, after almost a decade of marriage, my husband (petitioner) wants a divorced. We were married in the Philippines. I am a dual PH and US Citizen. No domestic violence or any type of abuse. We tried marriage counselling, but didn't see to work. My question is, if/when we get a divorce in the US, do I need to go to the Philippines to file the petition to get my divorce acknowledged? How long does it usually take to get that processed, and anyone has an rough estimate how much it would cost?

I am just looking for general idea in case he push through with it.

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

Sorry for your situation, dai. This is what I found. There will be other members to follow with more expertise on the subject.

 

https://filipinolawgroup.com/recognition-foreign-divorce-decree-philippines/

[POA 178]

3 minutes ago, Carpe Vinum said:

Sorry for your situation, dai. This is what I found. There will be other members to follow with more expertise on the subject.

 

https://filipinolawgroup.com/recognition-foreign-divorce-decree-philippines/

Thank you. I am still in disbelief.

[Skyman 310]

Sorry to read this POA. I pray things work out for you. 

To answer your question though, after the divorce, you and he would be free to remarry legally, anywhere in the world except the Philippines. So I wouldn't worry about it until the situation comes up. If one of you does decide to marry again in the Philippines they can file for recognition and both of you will be covered. Just remember that if you go to the Philippines with a new husband you are still considered married to your first. There are a couple advantages to waiting.  First is that he might do it first saving you the trouble. Second, it would delay your process for a remarrying giving you more time for changing your mind. Kind of a buyers remorse window.

 

Amping.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Skyman

[POA 178]

2 minutes ago, Skyman said:

Sorry to read this POA. I pray things work out for you. 

To answer your question though, after the divorce, you and he would be free to remarry legally, anywhere in the world except the Philippines. So I wouldn't worry about it until the situation comes up. If one of you does decide to marry again in the Philippines they can file for recognition and both of you will be covered. Just remember that if you go to the Philippines with a new husband you are still considered married to your first. There are a couple advantages to waiting.  First is that he might do it first saving you the trouble. Second, it would delay your process for a remarrying giving you more time for changing your mind. Kind of a buyers remorse window.

 

Amping.

Those are good points. Right now, I don't have plans to marry, nor have any prospects, but i think he does, so I might just wait out. So he is a USC, would this apply to him too? Would he need to file the recognition if he tries to marry another person in the Philippines?

[Skyman 310]

1 minute ago, POA said:

Those are good points. Right now, I don't have plans to marry, nor have any prospects, but i think he does, so I might just wait out. So he is a USC, would this apply to him too? Would he need to file the recognition if he tries to marry another person in the Philippines?

Yes, he is also considered married in the RP so if he wants to remarry there, one of you will have to get it acknowledged. I don't think you need to be physically present there to do it. A lawyer can file for you/him.

 

I might mention that things might go smoother if you are the filer. If he wants it you might offer to be the filer if he pays. 

[POA 178]

2 minutes ago, Skyman said:

Yes, he is also considered married in the RP so if he wants to remarry there, one of you will have to get it acknowledged. I don't think you need to be physically present there to do it. A lawyer can file for you/him.

 

I might mention that things might go smoother if you are the filer. If he wants it you might offer to be the filer if he pays. 

That helps a lot! Do you have an estimate how much it usually cost? 

[Skyman 310]

6 minutes ago, POA said:

That helps a lot! Do you have an estimate how much it usually cost? 

From what I've heard I would say in the p100-200K range depending on the lawyer.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Skyman

[POA 178]

Just now, Skyman said:

From what I've heard I would say in the 100-200K range depending on the lawyer.

Oh okay. That's in pesos right?

[Hank_ 9,174]

8 hours ago, POA said:

So, after almost a decade of marriage, my husband (petitioner) wants a divorced. We were married in the Philippines. I am a dual PH and US Citizen. No domestic violence or any type of abuse. We tried marriage counselling, but didn't see to work. My question is, if/when we get a divorce in the US, do I need to go to the Philippines to file the petition to get my divorce acknowledged? How long does it usually take to get that processed, and anyone has an rough estimate how much it would cost?

I am just looking for general idea in case he push through with it.

 

If you want the divorce recognized in the Phils then yes you must complete the recognition process.  But you don't have to get the divorce recognized unless it is important to to you, it is required to do so.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Meant to say - it ISN'T required.   

[POA 178]

6 hours ago, Hank_ said:

Meant to say - it ISN'T required.   

Thanks, Hank!

[LKMK 85]

On 11/18/2021 at 6:45 AM, POA said:

So, after almost a decade of marriage, my husband (petitioner) wants a divorced. We were married in the Philippines. I am a dual PH and US Citizen. No domestic violence or any type of abuse. We tried marriage counselling, but didn't see to work. My question is, if/when we get a divorce in the US, do I need to go to the Philippines to file the petition to get my divorce acknowledged? How long does it usually take to get that processed, and anyone has an rough estimate how much it would cost?

I am just looking for general idea in case he push through with it.

It's not an easy process to get a Recognition of Foreign Divorce in the Philippines. My wife was divorced prior to us getting married. Long story short, we are still working on it and its been well over 5 years. Granted, the Recognition was formally recognized by the court system in the Philippines, however, before all of the paper work was transferred to PSA, her attorney was assassinated. So we had to hire another attorney to request the correct paperwork from Cebu and hopefully we will finally get all the documentation finished. Long story short, its a pain in the butt, takes long time, and has cost a few thousand dollars so far.  I've posted my experience through a different thread, so maybe you can gain some insight through those posts. Ill let you know when we are all finished, but wishing you the best and a speedy process.  Best advice I can give you is get a "Red Ribbon" on your US documents before sending them to the Philippines Regional Trial Court. To do this it has to be authenticated my the State's Department of State, then sent to the Philippine Embassy of jurisdiction and once received then it can be sent to the Philippines. In our case we had to obtain a copy of the Law of the State of New York, and have a Red Ribbon applied to that. That was a fun process as the New York Department of State couldn't authenticate the documents because they didn't have the signatures of the Senate and House on record. So I had to have an attorney write a letter of attestation stating the law was accurate, etc. and have the Red Ribbon applied. The moral to the story is, be ready for all of the hoops you have to jump through because the Philippines does not recognize divorce and will milk you for all you have.  Again, good luck and I wish you the best!

[Skyman 310]

It's definitely not a simple administrative procedure as some might think. A lot can depend on the lawyer/court/judge and others involved.  A USC I knew who had divorced his Filipina X in the US went through the process and after spending p150K the judge ruled that Philippine Family law was for Filipinos and since he was American it didn't apply.  Luckily for him his X (who was already remarried in the US) was amenable to be the petitioner for the second try.  That's why I suggested to @POAthat it might go smoother if she is the petitioner. 

[POA 178]

On 11/20/2021 at 11:50 AM, LKMK said:

It's not an easy process to get a Recognition of Foreign Divorce in the Philippines. My wife was divorced prior to us getting married. Long story short, we are still working on it and its been well over 5 years. Granted, the Recognition was formally recognized by the court system in the Philippines, however, before all of the paper work was transferred to PSA, her attorney was assassinated. So we had to hire another attorney to request the correct paperwork from Cebu and hopefully we will finally get all the documentation finished. Long story short, its a pain in the butt, takes long time, and has cost a few thousand dollars so far.  I've posted my experience through a different thread, so maybe you can gain some insight through those posts. Ill let you know when we are all finished, but wishing you the best and a speedy process.  Best advice I can give you is get a "Red Ribbon" on your US documents before sending them to the Philippines Regional Trial Court. To do this it has to be authenticated my the State's Department of State, then sent to the Philippine Embassy of jurisdiction and once received then it can be sent to the Philippines. In our case we had to obtain a copy of the Law of the State of New York, and have a Red Ribbon applied to that. That was a fun process as the New York Department of State couldn't authenticate the documents because they didn't have the signatures of the Senate and House on record. So I had to have an attorney write a letter of attestation stating the law was accurate, etc. and have the Red Ribbon applied. The moral to the story is, be ready for all of the hoops you have to jump through because the Philippines does not recognize divorce and will milk you for all you have.  Again, good luck and I wish you the best!

Oh wow! That does sound like a real pain! I definitely need all the luck. He now has a prospect so I would assume he would want that recognize in the PH. But thank you for the details. I will look into you thread. I really appreciate it. I'm happy to hear that you found the one with your wife.

On 11/20/2021 at 12:24 PM, Skyman said:

It's definitely not a simple administrative procedure as some might think. A lot can depend on the lawyer/court/judge and others involved.  A USC I knew who had divorced his Filipina X in the US went through the process and after spending p150K the judge ruled that Philippine Family law was for Filipinos and since he was American it didn't apply.  Luckily for him his X (who was already remarried in the US) was amenable to be the petitioner for the second try.  That's why I suggested to @POAthat it might go smoother if she is the petitioner. 

Oh wow! Yeah! We'll see. He might marry first before me. I need a lot of therapy before I even start thinking about dating lol. Thank you!