Marriage is supposed to be one of the best things to ever happen to a person. Sometimes, however, getting married is not always followed by marital bliss. In these cases, the best option for both parties is to separate. To many people, this automatically means divorce. However, there is an alternative to divorce that is quicker and cheaper, if you qualify, and this is an annulment.
What Is an Annulment?
An annulment (or nullity of marriage), by definition, is a legal ruling that states that the marriage between two people is void – that it was never legally valid. It effectively erases the marriage, making it almost like the union did not happen in the first place. The marriage records would remain on file; however, on legal documents and forms, the word “single” or “unmarried” is recorded as opposed to “divorced”.
Difference between a Civil Annulment and a Religious Annulment
There are two types of annulments: civil annulment and religious annulment.
Civil annulments are granted by a court judge and are therefore legally valid. This means that in the eyes of the law and the legal system, the two parties involved were never married.
Religious annulments are granted by a church or other religious authority rather than by a court of law. Hence, only religious organizations accept these types of annulments, so they cannot legally terminate the marriage. Furthermore, obtaining a religious annulment does not guarantee that a court of law will grant the couple a civil annulment and vice versa.
Difference Between Divorce and an Annulment
Divorce and annulment are both legal processes that end a marriage, but they differ significantly in their outcomes and legal implications.
Divorce: Divorce dissolves a valid marriage that existed legally. It acknowledges that a valid marriage occurred, but the parties seek to terminate it legally.
After a divorce, the marriage is considered to have existed, and both parties were legally married during that time.
Divorce settlements involve the division of marital property, determining spousal support (alimony), and making decisions about child custody, visitation, and support.
Annulment: An annulment is a legal declaration that a marriage was never valid or legal from its inception. It treats the marriage as if it never existed in the eyes of the law.
It nullifies the marriage entirely, stating that it was invalid from the beginning due to specific reasons that make it legally void.
An annulment can occur for various reasons such as fraud, bigamy, lack of consent, incapacity, or other legal grounds depending on the jurisdiction.
Unlike a divorce, there might not be a division of property or assets because the marriage is legally considered not to have existed.
While considering the divorce and an annulment in essence, divorce ends a valid marriage, while an annulment declares that the marriage did not exist in the first place or it declares it to be void due to specific legal reasons as mentioned below.
Who Can File for an Annulment?
Either party can file a petition (legal request) for an annulment case. However, annulments are not issued to all couples without question. This is why divorces are much more common than nullities of marriage.
An annulment can only be granted if the marriage has the appropriate grounds (reasons). The person who filed for the annulment then must provide the court with proof of these grounds.
Reasons for an Annulment
In every separation, the most important issue is that the couple, for whatever reason, does not want to be together anymore. Annulments happen when a marriage should not have happened at all. However, there can be other reasons that a person might seek an annulment in addition to this.
Religious reasons
Some people might want to consider an annulment because of their religion, particularly those affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Some faiths do not grant remarriage after divorce. In these cases, annulling a union is the preferred method of separation. It allows both parties to remarry and have that remarriage accepted both religiously and civilly.
Legal Reasons
Legally, annulments can also be easier to process and finalize. When going through the process of getting an annulment and living with the aftermath, there are fewer issues to take into consideration. The first issue is time: an annulment is usually quicker to obtain than a divorce.
There are fewer problems and decisions to be made when separating when both parties agree that a marriage was never legal in the first place. The proceedings and the case as a whole would then be easier to finish.
Furthermore, annulments are easier than divorces because of the way they deal with matters regarding personal property. In an annulment, the main focus is on restoring a person’s previous social and financial status. This means that dividing up property can be less troublesome.
The court can revoke the partner’s ownership in the case of an annulment, stripping them of their rights to the items. In addition to this, some places even waive spousal support (alimony) when annulling a marriage. This prevents either party from obtaining this kind of monetary support.
Grounds for an Annulment
As previously mentioned, annulments are not issued to every couple or under every circumstance. For an annulment to be granted, the couple must meet the governing body’s criteria, proving that the marriage was illegal in some way. Usually, the following grounds (reasons) are accepted:
- Bigamy – one or both of the parties in the marriage is already in a legal marriage at the time of the union
- Forced Consent – one of the spouses was forced, threatened, blackmailed, or otherwise tricked into marriage
- Lack of Consent – one or both of the parties does not legally have the ability to properly consent to marriage. This includes:
- Underage Marriage: when one of the spouses is too young to legally consent to the union
- Mental Illness: when someone is mentally ill at the time of the marriage (including temporary insanity)
- Mental Incapacity: when one or both of the parties is under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Fraud – one of the parties hid important information from the other
- Marriage Prohibited by Law – when the marriage is incestuous – the parties are blood relatives who are not legally able to get married
Effects of Annulment Marriage
Annulment of marriage is a legal process for making marriage between parties void and the effect of such annulment is that it declares a marriage to have never existed. This means that all records of the marriage are deleted from the concerned legal department, making it non-existent in the legal system.
The consequence of an annulment is that it brings the legal and relationship status of the parties back to what it was before they were married. When a marriage is annulled, the court takes into account various factors when dividing the properties and assets of the parties involved. For instance, the length or duration of the marriage is a significant factor, as short marriages can also be annulled. In such cases, the court considers the short duration of the marriage as not being a valid ground for the distribution of properties and assets of the parties involved.
How Much Time Do I Have to Get an Annulment?
There are also laws regarding the length of time that couples have to file for an annulment. In some places, the law does not allow an annulment after a certain period of time. This limit varies from place to place. Typically, however, most time limits do not depend on the amount of time that a couple has been married.
They depend on the grounds for annulment and the amount of time that the partner has known about the situation.
Common Annulment Outcomes
To obtain an annulment, certain grounds must be satisfied to render the marriage void, but they differ significantly in their outcomes and legal implications, it is up to the judge’s discretion to determine if these grounds have been met. To obtain an annulment, you must present all relevant materials and documents before the court, as well as demonstrate your eligibility for an annulment.
It is important to exercise caution and be well-prepared when seeking an annulment, as the standards required for an annulment are higher than those for a divorce and not as easily met. However, once the court is satisfied and grants an annulment, other things take very less time such as the distribution of properties and finances. The outcome of annulment differs significantly based on the laws an circumstances of each jurisdiction.
Maintenance after Annulment
Maintenance after an annulment, also referred to as spousal support or alimony, unlike in divorce cases where spousal support might be more commonly awarded, after an annulment, there might not be an automatic right to spousal support. This is because an annulment legally declares the marriage to be void from the beginning as if it never existed.
However, in certain cases, courts may still award some form of financial support to a spouse after an annulment. For instance, if one spouse is financially disadvantaged or is economically dependent on the other during the marriage, the court might consider factors such as the duration of the marriage, earning capacities, contributions made during the marriage, and the financial needs of the disadvantaged spouse.
How to Get an Annulment?
Get Informed
If you have the proper documentation and grounds, as well as proper advocacy, an annulment is usually a quick process. The first thing you need to do is check to see if you have the appropriate grounds, or reasons, to nullify a marriage, as seen in the previous section.
The next step would be to look at the annulment laws and restrictions in your state or country. Pay particular attention to the statute of limitations for annulments, because this will inform you of the amount of time you have to file a petition.
File a Petition
After you have completed these two steps, you can move on to filing the petition. This is the step that the need for legal representation presents itself. A family lawyer can help you gather the proper documentation and evidence to include in your legal request. This usually includes:
- Background information about the marriage
- Reasons for the annulment
- Proof of those reasons
- Any documentation given to you by a court of law, like a marriage certificate
Once you have gathered these items, you are then ready to file a petition for annulment in court. Some jurisdictions may also require a fee to file this petition. After this, the other spouse must be officially notified of the annulment, and they have the opportunity to either accept or decline it.
If they accept, then the process continues to the hearing. If they decline, then both parties may have to go to court.
Hearing
Finally, there will be an annulment hearing with both spouses present. This is where both people will have to testify and present their evidence to a judge. Both parties’ lawyers will also have the chance to speak for their clients at this point, as well. Then, the judge will either grant the annulment or decline, in which case the two will then have to get a divorce.
Making seperation easier
Separation can be stressful. Emotions are running high and sometimes it is not very easy to handle court proceedings alone. Even in cases of annulment, a family lawyer who is an expert in their field can be a great help. Therefore, if you would like to know more about the annulment process, or if you would like to find out how to hire a lawyer to help your case, we can help.
Are Children Born Out of an Annulment Still Considered Legitimate?
In short, yes they are. In the eyes of the law, all children born out of an annulment are still considered legitimate children. Things like child support and child custody are not affected by an annulment of a marriage.
Both parents are still responsible for their children. Furthermore, the same laws that apply to all other parents still apply to parents who have had their marriage annulled.
Can I Get an Annulment If the Person I Married Is Overseas?
Yes, you can get an annulment if the grounds for annulling the marriage are appropriate. The only issue, however, would be serving (notifying) the person in the other country. The other spouse must be served, and notifying someone overseas can be difficult and costly, but possible.
What If I Do Not Qualify for an Annulment?
If you do not qualify for an annulment, then you would have to file for divorce if you want to separate from your spouse. Alternatively, if you do not qualify for a civil annulment, but would like to have a religious annulment in the case that your faith does not allow you to remarry after a divorce, this is also possible.
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