LILIA OLIVA WIEGEL, petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE ALICIA V. SEMPIO-DIY and KARL HEINZ WIEGEL, respondents.
G.R. No. L-53703 August 19, 1986
Facts:
Karl Heinz Wiegel before the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court of Caloocan City filed for the declaration of nullity of his marriage with Lilia Oliva Wiegel on the ground of Lilia’s previously existing marriage to one Eduardo A. Maxion. Lilia, while admitting the existence of the said prior subsisting marriage claimed that the said marriage was null and void as she and first husband Eduardo Maxion was forced to enter the said marital union. In the pre-trial that ensued, the issue agreed upon by both parties was the status of the first marriage (whether the said prior marriage is void or merely voidable). Lilia contested the validity of the pre trial order asking for respondent court for an opportunity to present evidence.
Issue:
Whether or not there is a need for Lilia Wiegel to prove that her first marriage was vitiated by fore.
Ruling:
There is no need for petitioner to prove that her first marriage was vitiated by force committed against both parties because assuming this to be so, the marriage will not be void but merely voidable. Since no annulment has yet been made, it is clear that when she married respondent she was still validly married to her first husband, consequently, her marriage to respondent is void.
