WHAT IS AN ANNULMENT?
What is annulment? Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Annulment differs from divorce where the court ends an otherwise legal marriage on a specific date.
In strict legal terminology, annulment refers only to making a voidable marriage null; if the marriage is void ab initio, then it is automatically null, although a legal declaration of nullity is required to establish this. The process of obtaining such a declaration is similar to the annulment process.
Grounds for Annulment
Grounds for a marriage being voidable or void ab initio vary in different legal jurisdictions, but are typically limited to fraud, bigamy, and mental incompetence including that:
* Either spouse was already married to someone else at the time of the marriage;
* Either spouse was too young to be married, or too young without required court or parental consent;
* Either spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the marriage;
* Either spouse was mentally incompetent at the time of the marriage;
* If the consent to the marriage was based on fraud or force;
* Either spouse was physically incapable to be married (typically, inability to have sexual intercourse which persists) at the time of the marriage;
* The marriage is prohibited by law due to the relationship between the parties.
* Infidelity exists in marriage, or partners are unfaithful
You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Annulments will come in handy.
