Just What Is An Annulment?

Did you know you have options before divorce, such as separation or annulment? You are probably familiar with the term separation but what do you know about an Annulment? Perhaps even more important you should try to familiarize yourself with the option of using mediation.

A legal separation, annulment and divorce all end the marriage but in both subtle and profoundly different ways. In a separation the marriage is effect in that the parties can not participate in a new marriage.

Annulments are a bit different than divorces, and in some important ways yes, annulments do differ from divorces. Like a divorce, an annulment is a court order after a proceeding that essentially dissolves a marriage. However, unlike a divorce, an annulment has the legal effect of making it so the marriage never existed in the first place.

You cannot get an annulment just because your marriage was very short. To get an annulment, you need to show that your marriage is either “void” or “voidable”.  If you were not legally allowed to marry in the first place and the state will never approve such a marriage, it is called a “void” marriage.  If you were not legally permitted to marry because of a particular problem, but the state will allow you to choose to remain married, you have a “voidable” marriage.

Here are some elements that would make a marriage voidable:

One of the spouses did not have the mental capacity to consent to the marriage at the time. For example, a spouse may have been drunk or mentally ill.

One of the spouses is not physically capable of sexual intercourse. If this fact is concealed the marriage is voidable do to fraud.

One of the spouses was not old enough to get married. In general, you need to be 18 years old to get married, unless you have the permission of your parents and the court. A few states allow marriage at somewhat younger ages.

There was fraud involved in getting married. The courts are very strict, and will only annul a marriage for a fraud that goes to the heart of the marriage itself.  Historically, annulments for fraud were focused on sexual relations and the ability to have children.  Courts have also been willing to find fraud where one person had purely ulterior motives for entering into the marriage. For example, one person may have thought they were marrying for love, but the other person was only marrying them for immigration reasons. Many deceptive or fraudulent acts, however, will not be grounds for an annulment. Additionally, if you knew or should have known of the fraudulent conduct, an annulment may not be granted.

At WHYmediate?, Find out if mediation can allow you to resolve all marital conflicts in a positive learning environment that covers how to deal with all the special challenges in your life.

WHYmediate? Mediation Services
4500 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 300 
Tempe, AZ 85282 
(480) 777-5500
http://whymediate.solutions