Family Law & Divorce Lawyers in Manila
Divorce and separation can be difficult to navigate through. It’s likely that life will start getting very overwhelming, and important decisions must be made that will have an impact on the rest of your life, and the life of your children. It’s only natural that you will have worries and concerns about what happens next.
Having an experienced family and divorce lawyer by your side who can navigate you through the process of separating from your spouse or partner can ease the strain and stress you’re enduring. Aguja Alberto, founder of Aguja Alberto Notary, has years of experience helping people who are recently separated work through the crisis and help pave the path to a new future.
Contact Aguja Alberto Notary today to have the necessary experience and guidance in the following legal areas.
Uncontested Divorce
Many people find a no-contest divorce to be a more peaceful, amicable path than a contested divorce. The obvious advantage is that you aren’t required to appear in front of a judge. You are instead represented via affidavit evidence that is submitted by your lawyer on your behalf.
Cost is another factor that makes a no-contest divorce very attractive. You can anticipate spending considerably less on legal fees when opting for a desk divorce. A desk divorce eliminates the need to cover billable hours related to client meetings, settlement negotiations and court appearances. Contested divorces, especially ones involving custody battles, can cost tens of thousands of dollars. In contrast, desk divorces are usually billed on a simple flat-rate fee, which can be an astonishingly small fraction of what contested divorces typically end up costing.
An uncontested divorce can also be considerably faster than a contested divorce. This often provides an incredible emotional benefit for all parties involved. No, uncontested divorces aren’t instant. However, it’s reasonable to expect a no-contest divorce to be settled by a judge a few weeks after it’s been submitted for review.
Guardianship, Child Custody and Parenting
Being the guardian of a minor in the legal sense means being responsible for the well-being of that child. This covers all aspects of a child’s physical development, physical safety, mental development and emotional development.
Child custody simply refers to the arrangement for how the rights and specifics regarding a relationship between a parent and child are broken down. Legal custody generally means which parent gets to make significant decisions for the child and physical custody generally means which parent the child lives with. A custody arrangement won’t look the same for every family. The custody arrangements that are in place within the Philippine legal system today are sole custody, joint custody, and split custody.
A parenting Order establishes how the child’s time will be divided between parents after separation. It may be necessary to apply for a parenting order if you would like to legally establish how parenting time, responsibilities and decisions regarding your child will be divided.
Child Custody, Guardianship & Parenting
Private Adoptions
Growing your family through adoption can be an exciting step. Of course, it is so important to make sure you have the proper type of legal assistance when adopting a child in Manila. There are two different methods for private adoptions in Manila. The first option is through direct placement, spousal/step-parent or relative adoption. The second option is through licensed adoption agencies.
Aguja Alberto, founder of Aguja Alberto Notary, is one of only a few Manila lawyers experienced in private adoptions. If you’re seeking legal help with private adoptions in Manila, you’ve come to the right place.
Property Division & Family Agreements
If you are working through a divorce or separation, you probably have questions regarding the division of property in Manila. Working with an experienced divorce lawyer who handles family agreements and property division is going to spare you headaches and hassles.
FYI: On January 1, 2020, the laws for dividing property between unmarried couples will change. The Matrimonial Property Act will be renamed to the Family Property Act, and will apply to both married and unmarried couples (adult interdependent relationships).
In light of the upcoming changes to property division laws, it has never been more important to have a proper pre-nuptial/cohabitation/separation agreement in place.
Property Division and Family Agreements
Child Support and Spousal/Partner Support
Child support is a payment made from one spouse to the other for the expenses incurred in providing for a child after a divorce or separation.
There are two forms of child support: Section 3 (base child support) and Section 7 (extraordinary expenses). Base child support is a monthly payment intended to cover the essential expenses for a child which includes food, clothing and other living expenses. Examples of Section 7 expenses include additional childcare, medical and dental, educational programs beyond the scope of normal schooling, post-secondary education and extracurricular activities.
Spousal support is the payment that is owed to one partner following a divorce or separation. Spousal support specifically refers to support that is paid in situations where partners were married. This payment is sometimes referred to as alimony.
Working with a spousal support lawyer can help to ensure that you and your family can move forward. That’s why it’s so important to reach out to a family lawyer at Aguja Alberto Notary as soon as possible if you have questions.
