Annulment vs. Divorce in Florida

Family Law is the professional legal practice of handling civil law issues regarding persons needing representation for such issues as pre and post-marital agreements, divorce, child support, parental timesharing, alimony, and equitable distribution of marital assets and liabilities, to name a few. Probably the most familiar cases in Family Law center around divorce or is now termed in most states, dissolution of marriage. Interestingly, there is another area of Family Law associated with the dissolution of marriage that is handled by a Family Law attorney, but it generally gets little attention, and that is an annulment of a marriage. While not needed nearly as frequently as a divorce, annulments do happen. There are several reasons for seeking an annulment but first, let’s look at the definition of divorce and an annulment. As defined on the onlinedctionary.com

Divorce: “a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in whole or in part, especially one that releases the marriage partners from all matrimonial obligations.”

Annulment: “a judgment by a court that retroactively invalidates a marriage to the date of its formation.”

While in most instances, a divorce will take care of ending a marriage, there are times when a marriage should not have taken place at all, and the stigma of divorce or the legal process is not as desirable as an annulment. It is interesting to note, however, that in Florida, since Florida is a no-fault state, it can sometimes be easier and less expensive to gain a divorce rather than an annulment. A party must show the reason for an annulment while, Florida is a no-fault state, there needs to be no reason for obtaining a divorce—you can just want one; proceed through the required legal paperwork; and pay the required fee. Only one party needs to want the divorce, and the divorce can be accomplished.

Should you want an annulment, here are the reasons one can be granted in the state of Florida by a Family Law court:

·        Lack of consummation of the marriage: this reason can be used if a relatively short time has elapsed, and usually, medical or psychological reasoning will be required to prove consummation cannot happen.

·        Coercion: if it can be proven that a party was forced into the marriage, an annulment may be given. Sometimes this is difficult to prove, and it will take several witnesses to do so and such evidence as texts of threats.

·        Incest: the marrying of relatives such as siblings or first cousins.

·        Under-age spouse: in Florida, a spouse must be 16 years of age. However, if there is a pregnancy and both the parents and the court agree, there can be a marriage at any age.

·        One spouse is still married to someone else: polygamy is against the law (at least for now), and one marriage is all that is legal. There is no time limit for this reason, as sometimes it can be years before the other spouse is discovered.

·        Fraudulent intent to marry: sometimes, a party will enter a marriage with an ulterior motive such as immigration status, gaining wealth or social prestige, health insurance benefits, or pension security. The party plans to divorce when the time is right to continue to gain their motive. If this reason can be proven, an annulment rather than a divorce is granted to take away any ulterior motive benefits from the deceptive spouse.

·        Marrying under the influence of drugs or alcohol: once the effects of drugs or alcohol have worn off and there is no further consummation, only regret, an annulment may be granted.

·        Marrying someone with severe mental health issues: this is usually done to take advantage of the party with the mental health issues, and when this is discovered by another, such as a family member, the marriage may be annulled.

Depending on the length of time the couple was married, and the varied complexity of the proof needed to gain an annulment, it will be necessary to find competent professional legal help with a Family Law attorney palm beach gardens. As mentioned earlier, sometimes a divorce is a better solution than an annulment, but it takes a family law professional to sort all that out.