1.) In June 1985, James married Mary. In September 1988, he also married Ophelia with whom he begot two (2) children, A and B. In July 1989, Mary died. In July 1990, he married Shirley and abandoned Ophelia. During their union, James and Ophelia acquired a residential lot worth P300,000.00. Ophelia sues James for bigamy and prays that his marriage with Shirley be declared null and void. James, on the other hand, claims that since his marriage to Ophelia was contracted during the existence of his marriage with Mary, the former is not binding upon him, the same being void ab initio; he further claims that his marriage to Shirley is valid and binding as he was already legally capacitated at the time he married her.Is the contention of James correct?
Yes. His marriage to Ophelia is void ab initio because of his subsisting prior marriage to Mary. His marriage to Shirley, after Mary’s death, is valid and binding.
2.) A and B, both 18 years old, were sweethearts studying in Manila. On August 3, 1988, while in first year college, they eloped. They stayed in the house of a mutual friend in town X, where they were able to obtain a marriage license. On August 30, 1988, their marriage was solemnized by the town mayor of X in his office. Thereafter, they returned to Manila and continued to live separately in their respective boarding houses, concealing from their parents, who were living in the province what they had done. In 1992, after graduation from college, A and B decided to break their relation and parted ways. Both went home to their respective towns to live and work. Can either or both of them contract marriage with another person without committing bigamy? Explain your answer.
Either or both of the parties cannot contract marriage in the Philippines with another person without committing bigamy, unless there is compliance with the requirements of Art. 52 Family Code, namely: there must be a judgment of annulment or absolute nullity of the marriage, partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses and the delivery of their children’s presumptive legitimes, which shall be recorded in the appropriate Civil Registry of Property, otherwise the same shall not affect third persons and the subsequent marriage shall be null and void. (Arts. 52 and 53, FamilyCode)
3.) Maria and Luis, both Filipinos, were married by a Catholic priest in Lourdes Church, Quezon City in 1976, Luis was drunk on the day of his wedding. In fact, he slumped at the altar soon after the ceremony. After marriage, Luis never had a steady job because he was drunk most of the time. Finally, he could not get employed at all because of drunkenness. Hence, it was Maria who had to earn a living to support herself and her child begotten with Luis. In 1986, Maria filed a petition in the church matrimonial court in Quezon City to annul her marriage with Luis on the ground of psychological incapacity to comply with his marital obligation. Her petition was granted by the church matrimonial court. 1) Can Maria now get married legally to another man under Philippine laws after her marriage to Luis was annulled by the church matrimonial court? Explain 2) What must Maria do to enable her to get married lawfully to another man under Philippine laws?
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No, Maria cannot validly contract a subsequent marriage without a court declaration of nullity of the first The law does not recognize the church declaration of nullity of marriage.
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To enable Maria to get married lawfully to another man, she must obtain a judicial declaration of nullity of the prior marriage under Article 36 Family