What You Need to Know About Annulment and Psychological Incapacity

annulment lawyers philippinesFact is, there is no divorce in the Philippines, which makes annulment as the only legal option is estranged spouses wanted to separate ways. But before you file for an annulment, spouses should cite a ground for annulment before the court hear and try their case. One of the most common grounds is psychological incapacity.

Before you decide on the ground to use, first understanding annulment and psychological incapacity, which was defined in the Article 36 of the Family Code of the Philippines. Accordingly, the Family Code states that “A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with his obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.”

But how can a person know and identify that the other partner or spouse was incapable or don’t have the ability to his or her marital obligations?

Law experts say that annulment and psychological incapacity it is the inability of the spouse to commit and act on the essential obligations of marriage like the display of affection and mutual help in their love, life and family. This includes the inability to procreate and provide education for their offspring. However, it is to note that the inability is attributed to the psychological abnormality of the other spouse.

Although it is easy to identify various points of the other spouse that may fall under the psychological incapacity, the burden of proof that the other is psychologically incapacitated falls under the plaintiff or the person accusing the other person as such. With this, the help of the expert like a psychologist to prove and testify that the other person is indeed psychologically incapacitated.  

It is also to note that differences in personality of the husband and wife and the occasional quarrels or arguments cannot fall under psychological incapacity since the expert’s opinion on the matter should be considered first.

If you have further questions about annulment and psychological incapacity, feel free to comment or email us.