Null and void adoption

The general rule in adoption is that if the adopter is married and has children, the adoption must be filed by the couple jointly and must be with the consent of the adopter's other children, 10 years old or older, so as to ensure harmony among the prospective siblings.

- JOSE C. SISON

So if the adoption is not jointly filed or there is no consent of the spouse as well as the adopter's children, can the adoption made by adopter still be considered legal? These are the questions answered in this case of Henry.

Henry is married to Lila. Even if their marriage appeared to be in trouble because Henry allegedly had homosexual tendencies and because of their incompatibilities, they still had a child after more than one year of marriage. The child, however, had a congenital disease and lived only for nine days. So, two months after the child's death, Lila left Henry.

Seven years after their marriage, however, Lila and Henry reconciled, although they still lived separately. One year after their reconciliation during which Henry would visit Lila, Lila gave birth to Mina. Eventually, they separated permanently although they still remained friends.