Hello. Has anyone had any dealings with a lawyer by the name of dulay dimples in davao or digos please. Looking to use her services for an annulment. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks John
I'm guessing this might be her :- https://ph.linkedin.com/in/dimples-dulay-49a3b3a7 I am not on LinkedIn so I can only see the public search but it looks like she's specialising in real estate if this is indeed her? Not sure I would trust a real estate specialist to do an annulment but you never know. All I would say is interview any prospective lawyer very carefully, my partner's first lawyer in Manila lost the original copy of her divorce decree (obtained outside the Philippines) and it took her 14 years to get a replacement this July from the registrar in her ex husband's original home province in Korea, that's 11 years since I met her, several court cases and a lot of grief later, and the replacement paper is still not been submitted at Manila city hall yet. There are good lawyers our current lawyer in Manila is a really good bloke and effective, but there are a lot of lazy chancers as well.
Personally I would employ Susan Cariaga - or her father - of the Cariaga Law Firm on Mount Apo Street, just up from Davao Doctors'. But that's me ...
Hello Markham. Thank you for your advice. could I ask have you used this lawyer for annulment reasons? If so do you mind me asking how long it took and a rough idea of how much? Many thanks John
No I haven't but Susan is a family friend and she has done legal work for me so I can tell you that neither she nor her Firm operate a dual-pricing scheme (where foreigners pay inflated prices). You could also employ Sara Duterte!
my partner secured a fixed price deal with her lawyer--all up front--of course. this was based on a 6 to nine month time scale. it actually took 15 months in the end--due entirely to court cancellations--3 times. a higher price option was available--less than 6 months. i dont think it all went in the lawyers pocket---lots of pigs in the trough. still--thats all behind us now--she has her cenomar.
That's a good point about the court cancellations, I am guessing that even if you pay a premium to get the annulment dealt with quickly you could still end up waiting because of court cancellations, not everything will be under the control of the lawyer you employ.
3 months running she turned up at court--each time the judge was not there. ive heard that lawyers who are consistently un successful tend to have a shorter life span.
Has the missus accrued all the required documents now relating to the annulment for your visa application?
yes--finally got the cenomar. just waiting the results of tests taken at end of sept-----that was after the 6 months of treatment. so--it will have taken 8 months all told. everything else is in place now.
I just looked at the information given by the British Embassy in Manila relating what paperwork should be submitted if you have had an annulment and you are planning to remarry in the Philippines. I am assuming (that great word) that the documents they ask for as proof of non marriage will suffice for the settlement visa wouldn't you? If your previous marriage was annulled in the Philippines: original marriage certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (formerly known as the National Statistics Office) with an annotation stating that the annulment has been made final. The above paragraph is from the document below; https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...the_Philippines_leaflet_as_of_2_July_2015.pdf
my main concern now is that "evidence of ongoing or subsisting relationship" cobblers. there doesnt seem to be any hard and fast rules or even guidelines about it. i suppose ive just got to cough up the $$ visa fee and suck it and see. so then the app could cost double. to start with.......
It would actually cost you more, if your application was declined the only way to convince the UKVI that you had a subsisting relationship would be to go and visit her in the Philippines or vice versa. Remember you do have a very good reason why you have been apart for so long. I have a gut feeling you'll be alright anyway, you have lived together for a while and you stay in contact on a daily basis using Skype. If I was in your position I wouldn't be worrying too much, and I'm a worrier by nature
Take a look at the UKVI Immigration Directorate Instructions on a 'genuine and subsisting relationship' here:- https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263237/section-FM2.1.pdf Specifically 3.1 Factors which may be associated with a genuine and subsisting relationship Based on the information you've shared here in the forum I'd be very surprised if there were any issues at all.
