Divorce

[Dennis]

I wonder if someone assist.

I have just come out of hospital and was well looked after by the nurses, one of whom was originally from the Philippines. She explained to my wife and I that her Filipino husband had left her last year after their first child was born and approx 10 years of marriage. She has no idea where he is now and would like to divorce him.

She was married in the Philippines and has been living in the UK for over 5 years and has "indefinite leave" to remain here.

As she was kind and helped me recover, my wife and I would like to help her.

Can anyone please tell me the first steps she must take from here to start the divorce proceedings or point me in the right direction?

Dennis

[baboyako]

press search.. type annulment

[KeithD]

Has to be cancelled in the Philippines.....helps if you sleep with the judge

[ginapeterb]

Dennis,

Its nice that you forged a friendship with your Nurse in the hospital, sometimes we want to help people from the Philippines, but the reality is, you can do little to alleviate your Nurse's situation.

This type of relationship break up is quite common in the Philippines, but as she is a Philippine citizen and subject to the family code, she may not constitute a divorce in the UK, as it would not be recognized under Philippine law.

Whilst she may have permanent residency status, she is still a Filipino, and would have to consult a Filipino family law practice to take her case further, and I doubt whether she would ever get an anulment based on her husband deserting her, the most she may get is a legal separation.

She could wait until such times as she can apply to be naturalized as a British citizen, then she may apply here in the UK to divorce the husband for desertion, but that would take about 5 years before a court would grant the decree, its a long road she has to travel...

And my advice to you is for you not to get on that road with her, by sympathetic, listen to her woes and concerns, but do not offer to help, because quite frankly, you cannot.

Best of luck.

[IainBusby]

Hi Dennis,

She can consult a lawyer in the Philippines about "Presumtive Death" . This doesn't take too long and it usually costs a lot less than an annulment. If she has not seen or heard from her husband for more than 4 years, or 2 years in "dangerous circumstances", ie if he went of to sea and never returned then she can apply to have him presumed dead. It is sometimes called "pesumptive death for the purposes of re-marriage" The only fly in the ointment is that if he later re-surfaces, they are still legally married..... well in the Philippines at least. But she will be able to re-marry in this country if she wishes and even if he later re-surfaces, she will still be legally married in this country.

Iain.

[IainBusby]

I wonder if someone assist.

I have just come out of hospital and was well looked after by the nurses, one of whom was originally from the Philippines. She explained to my wife and I that her Filipino husband had left her last year after their first child was born and approx 10 years of marriage. She has no idea where he is now and would like to divorce him.

She was married in the Philippines and has been living in the UK for over 5 years and has "indefinite leave" to remain here.

As she was kind and helped me recover, my wife and I would like to help her.

Can anyone please tell me the first steps she must take from here to start the divorce proceedings or point me in the right direction?

Dennis

Sorry about my earlier post, Please ignore it, it's too early in the morning and I have just realised I mis-read the bit about how long ago her husband left her.

Iain.