Is An Annulment Right For You?

Law Blog

If you want to dissolve your marriage, one of the options you have at your disposal is an annulment. Annulments are similar to a divorce, except it legally makes it as if  your marriage never existed. After the annulment, you can go back to calling yourself single rather than divorced. If you want to know more about an annulment and wonder if it's right in your case, then here are some questions and answers about annulments.

Why get an annulment instead of a divorce?

One of the more common reasons to get an annulment is for religious reasons. Some religions either don't allow divorces or don't let people marry after a divorce. Other people don't like the stigma that being divorced has on them socially. You may also want an annulment if you just want to diminish the embarrassment of a rash decision or want to disassociate yourself from the other person.

Who can get an annulment?

Just like religious annulments and legal divorces, there are strict rules before you can get one. Generally, you have to be married for a certain length of time depending on the state. Also, there are specific circumstances for one to be given such as:

• Marriage between close relatives

• One or both parties were underage and married without parental permission

• There was fraud involved. This can be simple as a participant not disclosing that they children, or telling someone they want to have children when they knew they were physically incapable

• One or both parties was already married to someone else

• The marriage happened when either party was not clear minded such as being drunk or drugged.

• One of the parties didn't have the mental capacity to understand what they were doing when they got married

• The marriage was forced either by one of the parties or a third party

If any of these are the case in your situation, then getting an annulment will likely be easy. However, even if your reasons don't fall into any of those listed above, it doesn't mean that a judge won't grant your request.

Financial implications:

When an annulment is provided, the two parties go back to where they were financially before the marriage. There is no community property or marriage assets which must be divided. However, if you have been married for a long time, or you have a lot of joint assets, it could be more complicated. Likely, these joint assets or debt would be treated the same as if you went into them as a friend or other family member. You can agree to divide them up, or file lawsuits to sue for your portions.

If you're looking for a way to erase your marriage as if it has never existed, then an annulment may be possible. Even if you have children during the marriage, you can still get an annulment, but may need to work out custody issues before a judge. A good family law attorney to advocate for you and help you with all the needed paperwork and court dates. For more information, visit websites like http://www.ivylawgroup.com.

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9 August 2017