Unlike divorce, which terminates a valid marriage, an annulment of marriage is a declaration that no such event took place.
There are two basic processes to annul marriage-through a civil court hearing or through the violation After coming to the decision that annulment of marriage is best for your circumstance, you must research the annulment laws in your state.
Following the filing of the petition, the appropriate forms must be distributed to your spouse. (If the annulment is consensual and voluntary among both parties this step can be overlooked.)
Once the petition has been filed and your spouse served, a court date will be issued and an appearance in front of a judge will be necessary.
In court, one’s spouse has the opportunity to retort to the petition filed or agree with the violations imposed. A judge will then review the case and decide whether or not a declaration of nullity is warranted.
A significant shortcoming attached to the annulment process is the red tape associated with the procedure.
Like a traffic court, an annulment judge must sift through copious amounts of applications daily.
Unfortunately, these forms do not lack substance or extensive detail. A judge must not only evaluate the relationship and violation present but also must divide tangible assets and occasionally child rights.
Due to the ambiguity of varying state laws and procedural barriers the annulment process generally takes a year to complete.
