Leading Philippine Law Firm Streamlines Annulment for Overseas Filipinos

Overseas Filipinos have long faced challenges in ending marriages in the Philippines, particularly when one or both spouses reside abroad.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES, February 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Overseas Filipinos have long faced challenges in ending marriages in the Philippines, particularly when one or both spouses reside abroad. Strict residency and testimony requirements historically made annulment difficult or impractical for Filipinos overseas.

Recent changes, however, have made annulment more accessible. Supreme Court memorandums have modified venue requirements, allowing OFWs to file even while living abroad. In addition, videoconferencing rules introduced during the pandemic now offer limited flexibility for testimony, although strict conditions still apply.

These procedural developments make annulment more feasible for Filipinos abroad. Annulment remains the only legal process that ends a marriage, dissolves the conjugal property regime, and removes a spouse as a compulsory heir. Without it, property, investment, and inheritance issues may arise.

Annulment is the Easiest Way to end a Marriage and Property Rights
As a law firm with a strong practice in family law, we have seen the many ways that people have tried to end a marriage and the associated property implications without going through annulment. These methods may be non-enforceable. They may also be very expensive. In the end, the actual goal is usually not addressed or is addressed more expensively than if annulment was done.

A popular way to end a marriage and address property rights is through a Kasulatan at the Barangay, which is a document saying that the spouses will no longer have any dealings or entanglements with each other. This is firmly against law and jurisprudence. The Family Code consistently states that the court and only the court ends a marriage and its property regime. In jurisprudence, this is echoed as well.

“Marriage is an inviolable social institution. Save for causes expressly provided by law, a marriage cannot be dissolved by the will of the spouses or by anybody else, but only by a final judgment of a competent court.” Republic vs. Molina, G.R. 108763 (1997)
Thus, if the agreement is not issued by court, then the contract is not enforceable and the marriage persists and binds both the property and the spouses.

Another way clients try to avoid annulment has been to file a judicial separation of property, but this does not end the marriage nor does it remove a spouse as an heir. Yet another way is to create a will, but this also does not end the marriage nor does it divide the current conjugal assets.
And in both processes are very expensive, due to the filing fee being roughly 2% of the property cost.
As Atty. Francesco Britanico, founding lawyer at FCB Law Office says, “Annulment is the only Philippine legal process that resolves all three consequences at once. It ends the marriage, it liquidates the marital property system, and it addresses the inheritance implications. No other instrument or proceeding does all of that simultaneously.”

Annulment Residency Changes Now Make it possible for OFWs to file from Abroad
Annulment residency requirements prior to Supreme Court amendments mandated residence at a Philippine address 6 months prior to filing, making it impossible for petitioners working as OFWS to file.
That changed with the Supreme Court’s Resolution dated 24 January 2023, which amended A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC (Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages) by allowing petitions to be file for annulment while living abroad - even when both spouses reside outside the Philippines. The amendment states:
“In cases where both parties reside abroad, the petition may be filed in the Family Court of the province or city where either of the parties resides abroad, upon submission of a sworn certification issued by the appropriate Philippine Consulate that petitioner resides therein.”

— Supreme Court Resolution Amending A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC, 24 January 2023
Furthermore, the Supreme Court issued OCA Circular No. 284-2023 dated 15 August 2023 further relaxing requirements to cover situations where the consulates did not issue certificates by only requiring an Affidavit of Residency issued by the petitioner and authenticated by the Philippine Consulate.
These two changes loosened the residency requirements for OFWs, by addressing one of the main reasons why annulments are dismissed by the court, as a very frequent cause of dismissal was the non-compliance with the residency rule.

Videoconferencing Changes Provide an Alternate Pathway to Testimony – But Not All the Time
Videoconferencing testimony was a necessity during the pandemic to allow testimony even with the very strict rules on distancing. It is now still being used in current case management practice and while it is helpful in cases where the client absolutely cannot travel, rigid guidelines specify its use as stated in A.M. No. 20-12-01-SC Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing.
For example, videoconferencing can only be conducted from a Philippine embassy or consulate. This would be helpful if there were many Philippine embassies or consulates, however they are limited in number and not all offer the service. Furthermore, if a Philippine embassy is not open at the same time as the court due to time zone issues, then testimony cannot proceed.

Furthermore, videoconferencing is allowed only upon the discretion of the judge so if the judge strongly prefers the personal testimony of the witness then videoconferencing may not proceed.
“Videoconferencing is not a guarantee,” Atty Britanico cautions. “We treat it as a fallback option for clients who are genuinely unable to travel, such as those with visa issues or immovable work contracts. Where possible, we still encourage direct appearance due to scheduling challenges across three different institutions—the court, the prosecutor, and the consulate.”

Annulment remains the best option to end a marriage between 2 Filipinos despite differences from foreign style divorce
Unlike foreign divorces, Philippine annulment requires full trial and evidentiary proceedings, which explains its cost and duration.

“Philippine annulment resembles a fully litigated civil case,” says Atty. Britanico. “The difference lies in procedure, not intent.”

Despite these differences, annulment remains the only comprehensive legal solution to fully sever marital, property, and inheritance ties. With recent procedural reforms, OFWs now have clearer access to this remedy.

Joanne Go
Lawyer Philippines
+63 9604500139
admin@lawyerphilippines.org
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