What's the difference between annulment, legal separation, and divorce?

A recent episode of "Need to Know" looked into the different ways one can legally end a marriage: annulment, legal separation, and if the bill is passed in both houses, divorce.

But what is the difference among the three?

"When you say annulment, (marriage) is valid until it is declared void," explained Atty. Richie Pilares, a family lawyer and senior partner at the Puno Law Firm.

"For lay people, we call that annulment. But under Philippine Law, there is [also the] Declaration of Nullity or those that are void from the beginning," she explains.

Note that there are two different things here:

1. Declaration of Nullity or marriages that are void from the beginning
2. Annulment, which is marriage that is valid until it is declared void.

Under the Family Code of the Philippines, grounds for Declaration of Nullity include absence of Essential and Formal Requisites.

Essential Requisites include the legal capacity of both parties and their consent, while Formal Requisites include the authority of the solemnizing officer, validity of marriage license and marriage ceremony.

Grounds for Declaration of Nullity also include bigamous or polygamous relationships as well as incestuous relationships and psychological incapacity.

"If there's absence of any of the essential and formal requisites, then the marriage is void ab initio or parang hindi nag-exist yung marriage," Pilares explains.

So that's Declaration of Nullity. What is Annulment under Philippine Law?

Pilares explains that "under Philippine law, when you say Annulment, there is a defect in the Essential Requisites. Ito yung mga kinasal between 18-21 na walang parents' consent. Or yung kinasal sila nang napilitan lang, so vitiated consent."

Other grounds of annulment also include insanity, impotence, and sexual transmitted disease," as listed in the Calleja Law website.

"Under the Family Code, if there's repeated physical violence or grossly abusive connect, those are only grounds for legal separation," Pilares says.

Legal separation and divorce

Legal separation, she continues, is when a couple stays married but are allowed to live separately. 

In the current divorce bill, which is awaiting plenary approval, abusive behaviour is already a ground for divorce.

"Divorce is, when they are recognising that there was a marriage but that they're trying to dissolve it," Pilares explains.

"Meaning, hindi natin sinasabi na hindi nangyari yang kasal. Mayroong kasal pero binibigyan natin sila ng way to end it," Pilares says.

Unlike legal separation however, the divorce bill gives former spouses the right to contract marriage again after the dissolution of their marriage. Their conjugal assets will be split and equally divided, alimony is allowed, and children will retain their legal status and legitimacy.

And unlike legal separation or annulment or declaration of nullity, filing for divorce, Pilares says, will have less allegations to prove. 

Watch the video to learn more. — LA, GMA News