When it comes to ending a marriage, annulment is a niche yet viable alternative. It gives married couples a different route to take if they wish to divorce and has its own benefits.
In this article, I’ll be covering what exactly an annulment of marriage entails. Whilst it will likely not apply to your marriage, it’s important to understand what it requires, meaning you can move on swiftly with divorce.
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What is an annulment?
Annulment is a way of legally ending a marriage. It accomplishes this by proving that the marriage was never legally valid, thus voiding it.
Importantly, in the eyes of the law, annulling a marriage means that it never truly existed.
What are the requirements?
For your marriage to be eligible for annulment, it needs to be legally invalid or voidable.
Marriages that are legally invalid must meet one of the following criteria:
- you are closely related to your spouse;
- either you or your spouse are under 16 years of age;
- either you or your spouse were under 16 years of age on the day of your marriage; or
- you or your spouse were already in a marriage.
Marriages that are voidable must meet one of the following criteria:
- the marriage was never consummated;
- you or your spouse had a sexually transmitted disease when you got married;
- one party did not consent to the marriage;
- you or your spouse are transitioning into a different gender; or
- you or your spouse got pregnant by someone else whilst married.
The court will ask for your reasoning and, as long as it’s valid, your marriage will be eligible for annulment.
What is the difference between annulment and divorce?
The processes for annulment and divorce are near enough the same. You send an application and apply for the conditional and final orders respectively.
However, going through divorce means that despite your marriage have ended, you were still technically married and thus are divorce.
Going through annulment means that your past marriage becomes voidable and, therefore, you were never married.
Also, both processes have different requirements for starting.
Why would I choose annulment over divorce?
There are a couple of reasons why annulment is preferable when choosing to end your marriage. These include:
- Marriage length. You can annul a marriage any time after your wedding day. Conversely, a divorce requires you to wait at least one year.
- Religion. In some religions, it is shameful to get a divorce. Annulment means that your marriage never existed, thus you were never a spouse.
However, it’s important to remember that annulling a marriage is quite niche and has a specific set of requirements (as listed prior).
Does annulment require proof that the marriage is invalid or void?
In order to annul your marriage, you will need to provide proof alongside your reasoning. This typically consists of witness statements.
This will depend on the reason that you choose to annul your marriage.
Proving that one party was underage will be straightforward as you will only need to provide birth certificates and the certificate of marriage.
On the other hand, consummation may prove more difficult. This will likely require evidence such as witness statements, which can prove more troublesome especially if one party is not telling the truth.
How do I apply for annulment?
The process of annulling a marriage is roughly the same as divorce.
To apply for annulment, you’ll first need to apply for a nullity agreement. Your spouse must respond to this within 14 days.
Once they respond, the next stage is to apply for the conditional order. After this comes the final order.
At the end of the process, the court will send you a decree of nullity or nullity of marriage order. This essentially confirms that your marriage is no longer in place.
Can I get an annulment without the other person?
Yes – you can. Similarly to the divorce process, you can apply for annulment and your spouse will have to respond.
Do both parties need to agree?
Similarly to divorce, only one party needs to initiate annulment proceedings. However, you will need to prove that your marriage is either invalid or void. Your partner may try to dispute this, especially if the argument is of consent or consummation.
How long does an annulment take?
As it’s a similar process to divorce, you can expect annulment to take around six to eight months.
If your spouse instead believes that the marriage is valid, the process may take longer. This will delay the nullity application thus delaying the annulment.
Does annulling a marriage have any drawbacks?
Whilst annulment can be straightforward, it comes with its own set of challenges too:
- For the court to grant an annulment, both parties must appear in court.
- The reason for your annulment may affect financial proceedings. Notably, annulment through bigamy may result in financial remedy issues.
- Property issues can arise through annulment, especially in the case of a marital home. As the marriage no longer exists, it’s hard to identify who it now belongs to. Typically though, as annulments tend to occur for short marriages, it’s usually easy to determine who it should fall to.
Similarly to divorce, annulment can sometimes face complications. Ensure you consult an expert family law solicitor before going ahead with annulling a marriage.
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