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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
THIRD JUDICIAL REGION
BRANCH __
________ CITY

___________________,
Petitioner
CIVIL CASE NO. ______
-versus-

___________________
Respondent.
x------------------------------------x

PETITION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION

1. Petitioner ____________________ and respondent _____________________met each other

sometime in _________________. The acquaintance led to courtship and romantic relations,
culminating in the exchange of marital vows in a church wedding on _________________. A
copy of their marriage certificate is hereto attached as ANNEX “A” and made an integral part of
this petition;

2. After their marriage, the couple decided to settle at

___________________________________where they built their family home;

3. The union produced three (3) children, namely: _______________, born on

_________________, JAMES _________________, born on _________________, and
______________________, born on_______________. Copies of their Certificates of Live Birth
are hereto attached as ANNEXES “B”, “C” and “D”, respectively, and made integral parts of this
petition;

4. Indeed, the couple’s marriage was off to a good start manifested through their display of
intimacy and giving of trust and respect to each other, hence, they could then easily address
minor issues in their relationship. The respondent husband for one was truly a “family man” as
he placed the welfare of the respondent and their two children his priority over and above
anything and anybody else;

5. Petitioner had hoped that such flame of happiness in their marriage would not fade. However,
in the middle stages of their marriage, respondent started showing thoughtlessness in the
performance of his marital obligations as he became immersed in a gambling habit (frequenting
casino) and seldom went home. In sum, respondent was transforming into an irresponsible
husband and father. Notwithstanding, petitioner tried very had to relight the flame to possibly
reverse the deteriorating condition of their marriage;

6. Unfortunately, however, sometime in _______________, the situation got worse when

respondent became addicted to gambling and suffered from habitual alcoholism. Respondent’s
refusal to quit his vices fuelled quarrels between him and petitioner and in the middle of those
fights, the former (respondent) would more often than not physically hurt the latter (petitioner)
and/or destroy whatever thing (usually appliances) he would get hold of – an ugly scene that
caused trauma to their children;

7. In the latter part of ______________, respondent left his family and the conjugal dwelling and
has not returned ever since. Moreover, he has become totally unmindful of his obligations to
them as all his time and money were spent for his vices. From then on, there is a complete
cessation of marital relations between petitioner and respondent, both personal and property,
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as well as parental relations with their children as respondent no longer gave them any support,
may it be emotional or financial;

8. In the early part of ________________, the situation turned from worse to worst when
petitioner discovered that respondent has been cohabiting and even sired a child with another
woman. Because of the shocking turn of events, petitioner and her two children suffered from
embarrassment and public ridicule in their community, thus forcing them to transfer abode to
________________;

9. Petitioner can and will no longer tolerate respondent’s continued blatant transgression of his
marital vows because the confluence of his (respondent’s) irresponsible and unwarranted acts
and sexual infidelity amounting to failure on his part to perform his duty to live with the
petitioner, duty to observe mutual love, respect and fidelity and duty to render mutual help and
support is just too much for her to handle. Hence, the foregoing considered, this Petition for
Legal Separation on the following grounds: (a) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive
conduct directed against the petitioner; (b) Habitual alcoholism of the respondent; (c) Sexual
infidelity or perversion of the respondent; and (d) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent
without justifiable cause for more than one year;

10. The couple did not enter into any property relations and petitioner has no known creditors;

11. In filing this petition, petitioner was constrained to engage the services of a counsel for an
acceptance fee of ___________________ and per appearance fee of _________, and will incur
litigation expenses in the sum of _________________.

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court to decide in
favor of the petitioner and specifically decreeing the following:

1. The Legal Separation between petitioner ______________________ and respondent

__________________;

2. The dissolution of their conjugal property relations and the division of the net conjugal
assets;

3. The designation of the petitioner as the administrator of the absolute community during the
pendency of the action and eventual dissolution of such property;

4. The custody of their common children to be awarded to the petitioner;

5. The forfeiture of respondent’s one-half share in the net conjugal assets in favour of the
common children;

6. The disqualification of respondent from inheriting from the petitioner by intestate

succession as well as the revocation of the provisions in the will of the petitioner (if any) in
favour of the respondent;

7. The guilty spouse (respondent) to provide support to the innocent spouse (petitioner) and
their children; and

8. The payment to petitioner's counsel of the sum of P___________ as attorney's fees to be

taken from the respondent's share in the net assets or if none from the petitioner’s share
therein.

PETITIONER further prays for any other relief or reliefs as may be deemed just and equitable by
the Honorable Court.

_______________.
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June ____, 2011.