Dear PAO,
I am an OFW currently working overseas. My wife and I have decided to
end our relationship. We are not yet legally separated because I was
advised that whoever files an annulment case will be the one to shoulder
the expenses. Is this true?
I would like to ask also if I can only give half of my salary. I am
receiving P40,000 per month. My wife and I don’t have an agreement as to
how much I will be sending my children as support.
Romy
Dear Romy,
It is unfortunate that your relationship with your wife ended in a
separation. Be that as it may, even if you are physically separated from
each other, your marriage is still subsisting. If anyone of you would
like to file a case to have you marriage annulled or declared null and
void, as the case may be, that spouse will be the one to defray for the
expenses needed in litigating the case. Should the other spouse
participate in the case, he/she too may incur expenses for engaging the
services of a lawyer, among others.
Insofar as the amount of support you are obliged to give to your
children is concerned, the law does not fix the amount thereof. What the
law provides is that support shall be given based on the capacity of
the giver and the needs of the recipient. This is clearly provided by
Article 201 of the Family Code of the Philippines, to wit:
“Art. 201. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in
Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means
of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.”
Thus, in the absence of an agreement or for failure of you and your
wife to agree on the amount of the support you ought to give your
children, it is the court that has the authority to adjudicate the
appropriate amount of support that you are going to give to your
children, based on the above provision of the law.
Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely
based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same.
The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.
We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.
source: Manila Times Column of Atty Persida Acosta
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