Annulment

Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Annulment differs from divorce where the court ends an otherwise legal marriage on a specific date.

Grounds for annulment

Grounds for annulment vary in different legal jurisdictions, but are typically limited to fraud, bigamy, and mental incompetence. Grounds for annulment often include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Either spouse was already married to someone else at the time of the marriage;
• Either spouse was too young to be married, or too young without required court or parental consent;
• Either spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the marriage;
• Either spouse was mentally incompetent at the time of the marriage;
• If the consent to the marriage was based on fraud or force;
• Either spouse was physically incapable to be married (typically, inability to have sexual intercourse which persists) at the time of the marriage;
• The marriage is prohibited by law due to the relationship between the parties.