Division of Assets on Annulment of a Marriage

An annulment is often misunderstood in society because of the inaccurate views of what an annulment actually means in terms of family law. The focus here are the “civil annulments” not “religious annulments”. Annulments and divorces are similar in some ways since they make a determination about marital status. But the pivotal difference between them is that divorce terminates an existing, valid marriage, whereas an annulment establishes that what everyone believed was a marriage did not exist at all. In terms of the law, an annulled marriage never existed.

When a marriage does not work out, spouses may consider options beyond divorce, such as a legal separation or an annulment. People who belong to certain religions, may also find annulment an attractive alternative. One of the main differences between divorce and annulment is that with an annulment, the spouses are labeled as though they never were married in the first place.

For instance, your legal status on forms will be “single” after an annulment, rather than “divorced.” If you have any children from a marriage that you have annulled, those children will be considered legally legitimate. However, couples seeking annulments generally have not been married long enough to have children together.

A second difference is that most states now allow a, no-fault divorce, which permits a couple to end their marriage without proving that one spouse or the other engaged in misconduct. In contrast, when you are seeking a civil annulment, you must have a reason beyond irreconcilable differences to justify ending your marriage.

Keep in mind that you will be able to divide your property after a civil annulment in the same way as if you had pursued a conventional divorce. In the situation where you do have children with your spouse, the same rules as in divorce will apply to determining issues of child support and child custody. Only a civil annulment can legally terminate your relationship and all of your responsibilities related to it.

What Are the Grounds for an Annulment?

One of the main ways to obtain a civil annulment that legally dissolves your marriage is by proving one of the following grounds:

• Fraud or misrepresentation;
• Lack of consummation;
• Incest;
• Bigamy;
• Lack of consent;
• Unsound mind and;
• Force.

Below are some examples of how you might demonstrate the necessary grounds for a civil annulment:

• One spouse might be physically incapable of having children, and that spouse might have hid the truth about it to the other spouse. This would be both fraud and lack of consummation;
• Incest is defined as a relationship between two blood relatives who would be prohibited from doing a legal marriage in their state;
• Bigamy occurs when one person is already married at the time of marrying someone else;
• Lack of consent can happen when one spouse is too young to consent on his or her own behalf, and the other spouse did not obtain the proper consent needed from the parents of the underage spouse;
• You may be able to demonstrate unsound mind if you or your spouse was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of your marriage. Furthermore. If you were prevented by intoxication or by a mental disorder from understanding your actions, you may be able to obtain an annulment and;
• Lastly, a marriage can be annulled if one spouse threatened, blackmailed, or coerced the other spouse into marriage.

If none of these circumstances apply to you, however, it may be difficult to convince a judge to grant a civil annulment. But, you may still be able to obtain a religious annulment, but this will have no effect on your legal responsibilities as spouses.

How is Property Handled After an Annulment of Marriage?

Since annulments are typically done soon after marriage, it avoids a lot of property-division hassles. Each spouse remains with his or her own assets and debts. If they did happen to acquire an asset or carry debt in that short time, they can split it evenly. An annulment generally returns both spouses to their status prior to the marriage. In some cases, this can affect property rights.

While couples seeking a divorce will usually split their joint assets and debts evenly, an annulment can impact this split. Because the marriage did not legally exist, it may be more challenging for either spouse to claim property that legally belongs to the other. But, since most annulments occur after very short marriages, property issues are often minimal or not applicable.

Choosing to obtain an annulment is usually a time-sensitive matter. If the marriage was void at the beginning but survives for years afterwards, a court may no longer be willing to annul the marriage. For example, suppose a woman lies about her age and gets married illegally at age 16. While she would have the option to get an annulment shortly after her marriage, she could not remain married for 30 years and then apply to void her marriage. In that situation, a judge would most likely require the couple to get a divorce rather than an annulment.

In different states, for example, when you claim that a marriage or domestic partnership is not legally valid, you are also stating that the legal rights and duties of community property laws in the state do not apply. This implies that you and the other party cannot rely on community property laws to divide any property or debt that you incurred while you were married or in a domestic partnership. Additionally, it means that you would not have the right to spousal or partner support, or other benefits including the right to a portion of the other person’s pension or retirement benefits.

However, there is an exception for someone in an invalid marriage or domestic partnership who can have “putative” spouse or domestic partner status. Meaning that they might have the right to community property, support, and other property-related benefits. To prove you have “putative” spouse or partner status can be difficult. For instance, you will have to prove that you had a good faith belief that the marriage or domestic partnership was legal under California law.

In marital law traditionally, annulments are rare and are not granted if the marriage existed for a long period of time. It is important to note that the property rights in annulment proceedings are not similar to marital property rights in divorce proceedings. In annulment proceedings, the parties benefit from the property rights of a person in an individual capacity. In some states, when a marriage is void from the start due to presence of a previous marriage, there cannot be marital property subject to equitable distribution.

Courts usually may grant property awards in annulment proceedings, and the putative spouse doctrine applies for purposes of property division. A putative spouse is a spouse in a putative marriage that is entered in good faith by at least one of the parties, but is voided due to some hindrance by one spouse or both spouses.

At a party’s request, the court usually divides, distributes, and assigns the marital property between the parties without regard to marital misconduct and in such proportions as the court determines after considering all the main factors. The division of property in annulment proceedings is more like dissolution of a business related to individuals’ property rights and not like the divorce proceedings. In the majority of states, courts may not change the division of property made or approved in an annulment decree.

When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?

If you are married and want to seek an annulment, it is recommended to contact your local family lawyer to assist you with the process. If you believe one of the situations mentioned above applies to your case you may have several options that can assist you in this process.