Written by: Emily Joswiak • September 10, 2021• Family

Should You Get a Divorce or an Annulment?

Divorces and annulments both end the same way: with two previously wed people unmarried in the eyes of the law. However, a divorce is considered a legal termination of a marriage, while an annulment is as if no marriage ever existed. While annulments are rarer, one could be the better option for you. Regardless it is helpful to solve family issues in a practical and non-confrontational way. So should you get a divorce or an annulment? Let’s find out.

Legal Reasons for Annulment

Because an annulment asserts that there was never a valid marriage to begin with, the requirements for acquiring one are much different than a divorce. While legal grounds for annulment vary by state, the most common reasons are bigamy, incest, duress, and minority.

Bigamy occurs when a spouse was already wed at the time of the current marriage. Incest refers to the spouses discovering that they are closely related after the wedding. Duress could include marriages that one or both spouses were pressured into, and minority refers to a marriage in which one spouse was too young to be married.

You can also obtain an annulment if one spouse defrauded the other for personal gain, or even if the husband was impotent and the other spouse didn’t know this before the marriage.

Legal Reasons for Divorce

There are two main types of divorces: fault divorces and no-fault divorces. Fault divorces are granted when one spouse can prove that the other did something wrong or illegal, which justifies the termination of the marriage. This can be due to infidelity, cruelty, abandonment, mental illness, or criminal conviction.

On the other hand, no-fault divorces are granted when both spouses agree that the marriage isn’t worth continuing. Partners who are living apart can obtain a no-fault divorce on the grounds of separation, and spouses unwilling to live with each other can get one due to an irretrievable breakdown.

It’s a common misconception that all divorces require arguing in court. If you and your partner both agree, a no-fault divorce could be right for you.

How To Get Divorce vs. Annulment

For either a divorce or an annulment, one spouse must file a petition with a court, have a hearing, and be issued an order by a judge. For annulments and divorces, you must prove the justifications before the order is handed down. Also, getting help from a great lawyer such as jennifer croker and others will help you to get everything organized and make you less stressed whilst you are going through this process.

Now that you know the differences, you have a better sense of whether you should get a divorce or an annulment.

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Last modified: September 10, 2021