The Element of Annulment in Marriage: How Much Do You Know?
Marriage is a tricky subject. From the outset, it looks like a straightforward subject involving the union of two people in a domestic relationship. At the same time, marriage remains a complicated subject because of the religious and legal concepts that underlie its existence. It gives rise to interpersonal, legal and ethical obligations that you must fulfil as long as you are in that relationship. You need to have good knowledge about marriage before entering into any relationship that can give rise to marriage-oriented responsibilities. In this piece, you will learn about the element of annulment, how it plays out in marriage and the ripple effect you might never see coming:
Defining Annulment
Annulment refers to a legal procedure that works for both religious and secular-based marriages. The systems declare marriages null and void, implying that the marriage is treated as though it never existed from the beginning. It works retroactively. An annulment differs from divorce because divorce only voids the marriage from the date the divorce actualises in a court of law.
Void versus Voidable Marriage
You cannot talk about the annulment of marriage without encountering the terms void and voidable marriages. A void marriage has no legal basis. It is invalid because the law prohibits you from entering such a marriage in the first place. If you enter a domestic relationship with a minor, even with their consent, the marriage is void because the law has a pre-determined age for individuals to enter a marriage. The same applies to group marriages, bigamy and marriage between individuals related by blood.
A voidable marriage is one in which the cancellation of the relationship occurs at the option of one of the parties in the marriage. For example, your marriage is voidable if you entered the relationship after coercion, arrangement by third parties (such as parents) or threats. Voidable marriages differ from void marriages because you must take legal action to set them aside.
Putative Marriages
You can enter marriage in good faith, but certain technicalities can make annulment a viable option for your partner. Such a marriage is putative, meaning that it is valid to some extent but capable of cancellation through specific legal procedures. A pre-existent marriage is one of the technicalities that impedes the validity of a putative marriage. You are better off terminating your first marriage legally before you enter another one. Sometimes, putative marriages are a matter of civility rather than legality. The court can examine thing like the period of separation with from your previous partner before annulling your current marriage.
To learn more about this and other family law issues, reach out to a lawyer near you.
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