You have been betrayed- the person you married is not who you thought he or she was. Sadly, you didn’t figure it out until after the wedding. Now, here you are- with the wedding gifts barely packed away, and you are needing to end the relationship. Is divorce the only option? Can you get the marriage annulled? You were lied to, afterall. And, if you do annul the marriage, what exactly does that mean? How does the process work? A skilled attorney can walk you through the process.
An annulment voids the marriage, and, in the eyes of the law, the marriage never happened. A short marriage is not automatically annulled, and changing one’s mind after marriage is not a basis for an annulment. This action has very specific requirements. Here are some examples of why a marriage would be annulled:
- Bigamy: one of the parties was already married
- Fraud: the parties never intended to live together
- Fraud: one of the parties never intended to have children
- Fraud: the marriage was only for immigration purposes
An annulment is not sealed and is public record. Anyone can access information about the annulled marriage. Because an annulment always requires a court trial, it is as expensive-or even more expensive-than divorce. Many people who qualify for an annulment choose not to obtain one for these reasons.
