California Divorce and Family Law Mediation Blog

Annulments often cause confusion. Although you can always choose between a divorce and legal separation, you can only get your marriage annulled if one of the grounds listed below was present at the time of marriage and if you can prove it.

Effect:
An annulment (or nullity) erases the marriage as if it never happened. However, if you have minor children, the judge will make child custody and support orders. In addition, a party could be found to be a putative spouse. A putative spouse is one who reasonably and in good faith believed that s/he was married to the other and that the marriage was valid and consistent with California law. In such a case, s/he might be entitled to property, spousal support, and attorney fees.

Grounds:
To obtain an annulment, the marriage must have been void or voidable at the time you got married. A marriage might be void based on incest or bigamy at the time of marriage. On the other hand, a marriage might be voidable because of minority, bigamy, unsound mind, fraud, force, or physical incapacity at the time of marriage.

These are the only valid grounds and you have to prove them to the court. Simply claiming that one of the grounds was present at the time of marriage is not sufficient. Your attorney will consider certain exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Requirements:
There is no requirement that you must have been a resident of California for a certain amount of time before you can file for an annulment; such a residency requirement only applies to divorces. Consent from the other party is also not required to start a case.

Conclusion:
If you are considering an annulment, you should always consult an attorney. In some cases, a statute of limitations might apply, so you should seek legal advice. Annulment proceedings are rare and usually involve unusual circumstances. They can quickly develop into complicated proceedings.

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Note: This article is not legal advice. It only addresses general matters and should not be relied on by readers or considered legal advice. Only California law is addressed. Contact a lawyer in your state to discuss the specifics of your case and the applicable law.

Also read: Part 2: Grounds for an Annulment of Marriage in California

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