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 ____________________ each and other respondent sometime in

_____________________met

_________________. 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 couples 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.

Respondents 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, 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 respondents continued blatant transgression of his marital vows because the confluence of his (respondents) 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 and petitioner 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 respondents 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 petitioners share therein.

PETITIONER further prays for any other relief or reliefs as may be deemed just and equitable by the Honorable Court. _______________. June ____, 2011.