When people think about getting a divorce, they often imagine the court proceedings and paperwork involved. But did you know that legal annulment is also an option for couples who want to end their marriage? Annulments are less common than divorces, but they can be just as complex if you’re not sure how to get started or what the process entails. This article will help answer some of those questions by walking through how annulments work and whether they might be right for your situation.
An annulment is technically different than divorce.
An annulment is technically different than divorce. Divorce is a legal process to end a marriage and legally dissolve the marital relationship. Annulments, on the other hand, are more complicated because they declare that a marriage never occurred.
An annulment can be sought in cases where it has been determined that one party misrepresented themselves or otherwise committed fraud during premarital investigations. For example, if one spouse was already married when they got married to their partner, then an annulment may be possible under certain circumstances. Or if one spouse lied about their age or health status, those facts must be disclosed before getting married and thus an annulment would be warranted if found out after the fact.
It’s possible to request an annulment in a civil court or a religious court.
It’s possible to request an annulment in either a civil court or a religious court. The difference is that in a civil court, you have to prove that your marriage was invalid that it wasn’t validly made. You need to demonstrate this with the same evidence as if you were filing for divorce.
In contrast, if you’re seeking an annulment from a religious institution whether it’s because both parties are Catholic and want their marriage declared invalid by the church or because one partner wants out of his/her Muslim wedding you’ll also need to provide some documentation showing that your spouse isn’t aware of what he/she was doing when they got married.
While rare, annulments are still used in certain situations and are worth looking into if you’re considering it for yourself or someone you know.
Annulment is a legal process that dissolves the marriage but treats it as though it never happened. If you get an annulment, your marriage never existed it’s like it was never there at all! The difference between divorce and annulment is that when you get a divorce, your relationship was real but ended due to some sort of fault, while an annulment says your relationship should have never happened in the first place because something about it wasn’t right.
Like any other legal process, getting an annulment is expensive and takes up lots of time. In addition to filing papers with court and paying fees, if there are children involved then they’ll need counseling before the judge can approve anything so expect some delays on top of everything else.