What Happens When the Absent Spouse Reappears?

The reappearance of the absent spouse has the effect of automatically terminating the second marriage, unless an annulment or declaration of nullity of the previous marriage was secured by the present spouse.

Before the above effect can occur, the following requirements must first be met:

1. The returning spouse or any interested person must execute an affidavit of reappearance.
2. Such affidavit must be recorded in the civil registry of the place of residence of the parties to the second marriage.
3. Notice about the recording made must be sent to the spouses of the second marriage.

If there is a dispute regarding the fact of reappearance, the parties are allowed to file the proper action in court.

What then is the rationale behind the automatic termination of the second marriage? According to the drafters of the Family Code of the Philippines, the reason is to promote fairness especially on the part of the returning spouse. If the decision is left solely with the present spouse, situations may arise that will be quite unfair or even absurd such as the possibility of keeping both marriages. Or in case the present spouse chooses to be with the second spouse, then under the eyes of the law, the returning spouse will still be considered married to him or her.

Further, the drafters also reasoned that the parties already took the risk of reappearance of the absent spouse when they decided to get married; thus, they ought to bear the consequences of their actions.

Applying the above rules in the case of a Filipina who secures a declaration of presumptive death in order to be allowed to marry her American partner, both parties’ face the risk of reappearance of the Filipina’s absent spouse. If reappearance occurs, the marriage between them will be automatically terminated as soon as the returning spouse or any interested party records the affidavit of reappearance.

Therefore, they must weigh their options carefully before embarking on an action to secure said declaration. Its speedy issuance may work to their disadvantage in the end.
Finally, the Filipina spouse may want to look into the possibility of securing an annulment or declaration of nullity of the previous marriageinstead provided the grounds are present.In this way, reappearance of the absent spouse will have no effect since the marital bonds are already severed.