An annulment is a legal procedure that cancels a marriage. An annulled marriage is erased from a legal perspective, and it declares that the marriage never technically existed and was never valid.
To have a marriage annulled, you’ll have to prove one of the grounds for annulment. If none of these grounds exist, then you can’t have the marriage annulled. The annulment requirements in most states mean you must show one of the following:
⦁ Bigamy: Either party was already married to another person at the time of the marriage
⦁ Forced Consent: One of the spouses was forced or threatened into marriage and only entered into it under duress
⦁ Fraud: One of the spouses agreed to the marriage based on the lies or misrepresentation of the other
⦁ Marriage Prohibited by Law: Marriage between parties that based on their familial relationship is considered incestuous
⦁ Mental Illness: Either spouse was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed at the time of the marriage
⦁ Mental Incapacity: Either spouse was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the marriage and was unable to make informed consent
⦁ Inability to Consummate Marriage: Either spouse was physically incapable of having sexual relations or impotent during the marriage
⦁ Underage Marriage: Either spouse was too young to enter into marriage without parental consent or court approval.
Annulment Vs Divorce
Divorce: A legal dissolving, termination, and ending of a legally valid marriage. A divorce ends a legal marriage and declares the spouses to be single again.
Annulment: A legal ruling that erases a marriage by declaring the marriage null and void and that the union was never legally valid. However, the marriage records remain on file even if the marriage is erased. An annulment does not mean that the marriage never happened; it means that the marriage was never legally valid.