Legal Definitions - annulment

An annulment is a legal process that declares a marriage to be invalid from its very beginning, as if it never legally existed. Unlike a divorce, which ends a valid marriage, an annulment establishes that a fundamental legal impediment prevented the marriage from ever being legitimate in the first place. This means that certain conditions must have been present at the time the marriage occurred that made it legally impossible or voidable. Common grounds for annulment include fraud, one party being underage, an undisclosed prior marriage (bigamy), incest, or a lack of mental capacity to consent to marriage.

• Example 1: Undisclosed Prior Marriage
  Imagine a situation where Alex marries Beth, but unbeknownst to Beth, Alex was still legally married to his first wife, Carol, and had never obtained a divorce. In this scenario, Alex was legally unable to marry Beth because he was already in a valid marriage.
  This illustrates an annulment because a fundamental legal impediment (Alex's existing marriage) was present at the moment he married Beth. A court could grant an annulment, declaring Alex and Beth's marriage void from its inception, as it was never legally valid.
• Example 2: Lack of Legal Age to Consent
  Consider a state where the legal age to marry without parental consent is 18. If 17-year-old Chris marries Dana without obtaining the required parental permission or a court order, the marriage might be eligible for annulment.
  This demonstrates an annulment because Chris did not meet the legal age requirement to enter into a valid marriage at the time the ceremony took place. This legal incapacity existed from the very beginning, allowing a court to declare the marriage null and void.