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My dad wants to marry a filipino

Discussion in 'Relationship Advice' started by Sarah90, Jul 23, 2019.

  1. Sarah90
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    Sarah90 New Member

    So my dad is planning to marry his Filipino girlfriend. He is british and they plan to marry in the phillipines and continue to live there (they have no plans to live in the uk).

    I really hope it all works out for him. However if the marriage wasn't to work out would he have to give half of everything he owns to her? (Like in uk marriage)

    Also would he have to sell his house he owns back in the uk and give her half the money if they were to separate?

    Hope someone can help. Thank you
  2. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    There is no divorce in the Philippines, they would have to petition to divorce in another country, I'm fairly sure a Philippine court would not currently hear a divorce case.

    The reality is that his assets would be difficult to claim depending on how he managed his finances, if he sold everything in the UK and moved it to a Philippine bank account (silly thing to do) then I suspect Philippine family law inheritance rules would apply on death but as divorce is not currently possible I don't know how anything could be enforced in a separation.

    Unless the woman has substantial financial resources of her own in the Philippines she would likely find it hard to pay for the legal resources in the UK or other jurisdiction to either enforce a will or to sue for support.

    Up until recently it was not in the interests of a Filipina to divorce a foreign husband abroad as that divorce would never be recognised however that has changed in the last year or so and where a divorce is sought aboard and obtained by a Filipino spouse it will be recognised in the Philippines thus allowing the Filipino to remarry, however a Filipino that is married to another Filipino has no such option under Philippine family law.

    As your father is unable to own property in the Philippines then if he opts to invest in a house there that house will belong to his spouse, the exception to this is if he enters into a contract to buy a Condo unit as the main issue is that a foreigner cannot own land but they can outright own a condominium unit, however ownership in this case is actually a 50 year lease not real ownership.

    Even then because the divorce would be in a foreign jurisdiction I am not sure how financial division would be handled.

    Other chaps on here have more knowledge of divorce than I do and might be of more help regards UK law, I've never been married so not been through any of that.
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  3. florgeW
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    florgeW Lady Mod Senior Member

    there is no divorce (yet) in the phils but an annulment which is harder to prove as you will need to argue and present evidences that the marriage is void from the start. however, if your dad files a divorce here, it can happen but he would have to ask a philippine court to pass a decree that the marriage is dissolved.
  4. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    if things dont work out and your father flies back to the UK---just what do you think his wife can do about it ?

    can i ask why you are concerned ? do you live in the house ? is it part of your inheritance ?
  5. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    My daughter was never very happy about me starting a second family even although her mother never wanted to marry me and we never had any life together, everything duplicated, homes, cars, bills everything, access on weekends and more than two decades of support.

    Don't get me wrong I love my eldest daughter but it hurt her when I had more children especially as she was only 19 at the time I think she is still unhappy about it all.

    My eldest stands to inherit a lot if I dropped dead right now, I don't have a house that can be sold, but I do have my pension savings and I do have insurance from my employer which is worth double my annual salary if I drop dead.

    I need for that money to support my kids in the Phils, because they have no resources at all, in ten years time it will not be so important, I don't want to spoil them with riches when I die but I need for them to be supported in the event of my death until at least the same age I supported my eldest daughter, ten years from now that's another matter, if I am still around I will be spending it on keeping me alive and having a reasonable old age while I am still able.

    My eldest is in a good professional job well paid but like many of her generation that don't have parental resource she is not on the property ladder and will likely not expect any better existence than I ever had.

    Children get concerned about a lot of things particularly when a parent's new relationship is young and dad seems to be doing crazy things, there is a legitimate concern that he could make lots of very bad choices and leave himself seriously exposed, there are a lot of gold diggers in the Philippines, we have all heard the stories of guys who went overseas and ended up dead at the hands of girlfriend/wife and girlfriend/wife's real lover, all of us can make mistakes, fatal or otherwise.

    In my case if it is a mistake, its a fifteen year mistake so far, but in the real world a lot of love struck old fools are perfectly capable of throwing everything away for a little bit of affection, I might even be one of them that just never woke up :)

    As a closing point to think about in Scotland you can't disinherit a child but in England you can (with difficulty) but how are you even going to know what's happened to your dad when he has moved overseas if nobody talks to you and how are you going to find a valid death certificate or deal with wills that might exist in two countries, it sounds like a nightmare.
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  6. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    My 25 year-old son in England is very happy for me and my new life, and can't wait to meet his new half brother.

    Money and property, etc, just doesn't figure anywhere... and why should it ? He's making his own life and his own 'material things', just as I did.... but he also knows that I love him the same as always, and I'm always there for him.
  7. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    or--to put it another way..a philippines annulment is just a different version of a divorce. the main difference is the cost. you need to use a lawyer who has a proven track record and knows the right judges. the judge may well require an "assisstance " fee. £££££

    there must be no collusion between the couple--ha ha...even though many husbands look for a fat payout in return for their non-collusion. £££££

    a frequently used ground for annulment is mental incapacity, which of course means a psychiatrist.££££££

    all this can take months--or years. in my wifes case--it took 16 months--partly because on 3 occasions when she attended the court appointment---the judge didnt!!!!!. not enough £££££ i suppose.

    of course--you can get an annulment quicker--just need to supply a bit more £££££ to the legal system. or even quicker and cheaper if you hire a guy and a motor bike.


    note--i have used £££ in all this--rather than PP. this is because I paid for it all. £2000 in fact ( i got it cheap--no payout to the husband )

    by comparison--my UK divorce --i did it myself--no lawyers---took 6 weeks--and cost me--NOTHING; i was a pensioner with limited savings, so was exempted from the extortionate charge others would pay.
  8. Br28016
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    Br28016 Active Member Trusted Member

    Different subject but you mentioned something I wanted to know about.

    Been looking at adoption of step children here and as I understand it they effectively get new UK birth certificate but think there is requirement to get court order in Philippines to recognise it and get PSA records updated but not managed to fi d out process. Any ideas on where to get info and as two children with different registry offices does it have to be done locally or nearest court to each registry office or can one use any court and get both at same time ? And likewise how long to get done ?
  9. john jones
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    john jones Active Member

    A97CF0A6-99E9-4705-A341-C0BBB2E15A3F.jpeg
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  10. john jones
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    john jones Active Member

    There’s more but file was too big to load. Very interesting reading though. I’m in a position where an annulment was granted, then the decision appealed against by the Solicitor General that appeal was withheld!
    Fiancé has found out through the Japanese Embassy in Davao that her Japanese husband has not only divorced her but also remarried another Filipina.
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  11. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    That's tragic John, was the Solicitor General's appeal upheld or denied?

    Is her annulment valid at this time?

    This demonstrates exactly why the Philippine system is so unfair to their own citizens.

    If the Japanese husband has divorced her then the normal rules apply and she can remarry but she needs a copy of the divorce, translated of course, and she will need to apply for the divorce to be recognised and as usual there is a huge list of required documents, the original certified divorce decree for one.
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2019
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  12. john jones
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    john jones Active Member

    Yes it was upheld. Yes you’re right lots of hoops still to jump through. Hoping to obtain the services of a good Lawyer who won’t bump up the costs knowing there is a foreigner involved in the case but they are as rare as rocking horse ****e! Keep plugging away though it’s only taken 4 years and several thousand pounds to date!
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  13. florgeW
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    florgeW Lady Mod Senior Member

    all for the love of a Filipina..
  14. florgeW
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    florgeW Lady Mod Senior Member

    this would be a long process so can't tell how long.. adoption process takes time so do that first.. they won't get UK birth cert as they are not born in the UK, but I think they would get adoption papers which they will use to acquire UK docs like passport, etc. I may be wrong so hope someone who is in the same situation would clarify this.
  15. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    The OP has not been back, I hope she returns to read the replies.
  16. Bootsonground
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    Bootsonground Guest


    I hope she does too!
    You have all put so much work into attempting to help the poor lass.
    Perhaps she accidentally deleted her bookmark?

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