Underneath the love and the romance, marriage is a legal contract. Like any other contract, there are times when one or more of the parties moves to end the relationship. Divorce is a legal proceeding which involves completing a complex series of steps and several criteria to be met—it can be a lengthy process. On the other hand, some contracts can be dissolved because they were never valid in the first place. In the context of marriage, this is an annulment. If you want to end your marriage but don’t want to live as a “divorcee,” you might be interested in annulment. It may be possible to dissolve the marriage so that, in the eyes of the law, it never happened.
WHO QUALIFIES?
An experienced lawyer from our team can meet with you to assess the circumstances of your marriage to determine whether you qualify for annulment. In the state of California there are several reasons a marriage may be annulled.
- If your spouse enticed you to marry without telling you that he or she had large debts which you now share, you were actually defrauded.
- If you learned after the honeymoon that you just inherited a set of children for you to raise, you can probably get an annulment.
- A common example is a Vegas Wedding: if you exchanged vows after having too many drinks, the judge will likely acknowledge that you were not of sound mind to enter the marriage contract.
- Mental incompetence
- Any type of fraud in order to entice one to marry, such as indicating wealth or inability to consummate the marriage without letting the person know in advance
Qualifications for Annulment
If you are seeking annulment to end your marriage, it’s important to understand the basics of this legal action. Annulment or nullity of marriage is a court decision that a couple’s marriage is not legally valid, and after the court’s ruling, it is as though the union never happened. If you believe you have legal reason to have your marriage annulled, do not hesitate to contact Mansouri Law Offices. Our firm can assess your situation to help determine if you have grounds for annulment and we can assist you in filing with the court for the nullification of your marriage or domestic partnership.
LEGAL GROUNDS FOR ANNULMENT
California law decrees that a marriage is never legally valid if it is:
- Bigamous: If one spouse was already married or in a registered domestic partnership, the other can seek annulment
- Incestuous: A marriage or domestic partnership is invalid if the couple involved are close blood relatives
The court may rule that your marriage or domestic partnership is legally invalid because of such facts as:
- Force: if either party was forced to consent to the union
- Physical incapacity: if at the time the couple entered the marriage or domestic partnership one party was unable to consummate the relationship and this incapacity continues and seems to be incurable
- Unsound mind: if either party was unable to understand the obligations and nature of the union they were entering into
- Fraud: if either party agreed to the relationship as a result of fraud that was vital to the union and directly affected why the deceived party agreed to the union
- Age: if the party filing was under 18 years of age when they entered into the marriage or domestic partnership
- Prior existing marriage or domestic partnership: if either party was already married or registered in a domestic partnership; this differs from bigamy in that the new union took place after the former spouse or partner was absent for at least 5 years and it was unknown whether they were still living
ENLIST KNOWLEDGEABLE LEGAL COUNSEL
Attorney Mansouri has been practicing in his boutique family law firm for over 10 years, and our talented team will provide you with one-on-one service to help you to dissolve your marriage. Whether you qualify for an annulment or need to carry out full divorce proceedings, including settlements of child custody and property division, you will benefit from our knowledge and effectiveness.
