Annulments

There are limited circumstances were a person can annul a marriage as oppose to obtaining a divorce. A marriage may be either void from its inception or subsequently declared void. A marriage can be considered void if either party has another wife, husband, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner living at the time of the second or other marriage. Also, if the parties are deemed incapable of marrying at the time of the marriage, it is as if the marriage never existed and the marriage is void. If you were unaware that at the time of the marriage your spouse was physically and incurably impotent and you have not subsequently ratified the marriage, you may be entitled to an annulment as the relationship is void from inception. You may have ratified the marriage if after you became aware of the impediment to the marriage you continued to live with your spouse. Another ground for annulment arises when either spouse did not have the capacity to marry because of a mental condition or because they were under the influence of intoxicants, provided that the parties have not subsequently ratified the marriage. An additional ground for annulment is if the marriage was entered into by duress or fraud as to the essentials of the marriage and has not subsequently ratified the marriage. Even if you subsequently ratified the marriage, a court may still grant an annulment under its general equity jurisdiction depending on the facts constituting the fraud. The most common ground for a voidable marriage is the failure of a spouse to disclose, prior to the marriage, that he or she does not want to have children at the time of the marriage. Finally, if either spouse was under the age of 18 at the time of marriage and did not subsequently ratify the marriage after turning 18, the marriage is void.

If you are interested an annulment your marriage as an alternative to divorce because of religious concerns, the grounds for annulling a marriage by your church, synagogue or other religious institution may be different than the grounds for annulling a marriage under New Jersey law. In some religions, even people who have received a civil divorce are able to obtain an annulment with their religious institution.