Annulment

San Jose Divorce Lawyer

An annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. It is different from divorce in that it is retroactive. What this means is that an annulled marriage is considered to have never existed. In other words, the couple was never really married because there was never a valid marriage.

An annulment nullifies the marriage and returns the party to their previous single status. It is commonly thought that short marriages can be annulled; however, the length of the marriage is not a qualifying factor in determining whether a marriage can be annulled.

Typically, for a marriage to be annulled, it must meet one of the following grounds:

• There is a close blood relationship between the parties
• One party was impotent and unable to consummate the marriage
• One party was still legally married at the time of the current marriage
• One or both of the parties were not legally old enough to enter into a marriage
• One spouse didn’t have the mental capacity to be married (drunkenness, mental disability)
• The marriage was created fraudulently due to the concealment of impotence, criminal history, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
• One person entered the marriage under duress, threat, or force

To get an annulment, one of the spouses must meet the residency requirements of the state in which they live. The annulment procedure is very similar to that of a standard divorce.

Contact a San Jose Divorce Lawyer

If you feel your marriage meets the grounds for annulment or are considering a divorce, contact San Jose divorce lawyer Daniel Jensen at 408-296-4100.