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Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void.[1] Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place (though some jurisdictions provide that the marriage is only void from the date of the annulment). For example, this is the case in section 12 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in England and Wales.
In strict legal terminology, annulment refers only to making a voidable marriage null; if the marriage is void ab initio, then it is automatically null, although a legal declaration of nullity is required to establish this. The process of obtaining such a declaration is similar to the annulment process. Despite its retroactive nature, children born before the annulment are considered legitimate in the United States and many other countries.
The marriage annulments are closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches marriage is a life long commitment and cannot be dissolved through divorce, but can be annulled if invalidly entered into.
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The followers of the Catholic Church consider a marriage a valid contract entered into between a man and a woman and God. The priest oversees the wedding but the marriage is performed by the man and woman to God. In simplest terms, it is necessary that it be marriage that is contracted, that it actually be contracted (i.e., a valid ceremony/contract be performed), and that both parties enter willingly into the contract. If any of these conditions lack, then the marriage is not contracted, Divine sanction is not obtained, and there is in actual (and religious) fact no marriage. An annulment is a finding later that there was no actual marriage contracted in God's eyes, and therefore no marriage in reality, regardless of civil ordinance or appearance to humans.
Therefore, an annulment of a marriage is much more analogous to a finding that a contract of sale was invalid, and hence, that the property for sale must be considered to have never legally transferred possession, than analogous to a divorce, which is more like returning the property after a consummated sale. These four preconditions give rise to the common fourfold classifications for bases of annulment, defect of form, defect of contract, or unwilling or unable parties.
A "Declaration of Nullity" is not a dissolution of a marriage, but rather a determination of whether a marriage was a sacrament (valid) or contrary in some way to Divine Law as understood by the Catholic Church or contrary to the prescriptions of canon law regulating marriage. While some may try to use an annulment to get around the "no divorce" rule (see Christian views on divorce), that is not the reason the Church gives for the availability of annulment. According to the Church, an annulment affirms the Scriptural basis of divorce and at the same time affirms that in a true marriage, a man and a woman become one flesh before the eyes of God. The Church's teaching on marriage is that it is a Sacrament and that it is only validly contracted by the two individuals, so questions may arise as to whether that person is able to contract a valid marriage. In the Western tradition, the ministers of the marriage are the two individuals themselves, and the priest is a witness for the Church.
For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed. In this case the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged. -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1629
Canon law presumes all marriages are valid until proven otherwise (Canon 1060).
Marriages are declared null ab initio, meaning that the marriage has been essentially invalid from the beginning. This stipulation can cause concern that offspring from the marriage will be considered as illegitimate in the event of an annulment. Canon 1137 of the Code of Canon Law specifically affirms the legitimacy of children born in both recognized and putative marriages (those later declared null). Critics point to this as additional evidence that a Catholic annulment is similar to divorce — although civil laws that recognized both annulments and divorce regard the offspring of a putative marriage as legitimate.
An annulment verified by the Catholic Church is independent from obtaining a civil divorce, although before beginning a process in front of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, it has to be clear that the marriage community cannot be rebuilt. Another exception occurs in some states, which recognise to the Catholic Church the right to perform marriages that are automatically transcribed to the civil records: in those countries, the annulment may be granted the exequatur and hence induce a civil divorce. This is for instance the case in Italy.
If someone has all the signs of being married previously, he or she must get an annulment before entering into a marriage in the Catholic Church, even if the individual was not married in the Catholic Church previously. Catholics acknowledge the indissolubility of marriage for any persons who give themselves freely in the bond of marriage and recognize the marriages of other Christians in most cases.
Privilege of the Faith cases (Petrine and Pauline) are exceptions. Pauline privilege: In a case where two non-baptized are married, and one of them becomes a Christian afterwards, and the other will not get baptized and refuses to live in peace with the newly Christian partner, the marriage may be dissolved and the Christian partner is free to remarry in Church. This is not an annulment as the former marriage is not presumed to have been invalid.
A common misconception is that if a marriage is annulled, the Catholic Church is saying the marriage never took place. The parties to the marriage know that the marriage took place. The Church is saying that the marriage was not valid; the valid marriage is what did not take place.
A reason for annulment is called a diriment impediment to the marriage. Prohibitory impediments (which no longer exist in the Latin Code, CIC83) make entering a marriage wrong but do not invalidate the marriage, such as being betrothed to another person at the time of the wedding; diriment impediments, such as being brother and sister, or being married to another person at the time of the wedding, prevent such a marriage from being contracted at all. Such unions are called putative marriages.
Diriment impediments include:
Some impediments can be dispensed, in which the Church exempts a couple, prior to the marriage, to the obligation to conform to the canon law. While some relationships cannot have the impediment of consanguity dispensed, a marriage can be sanctioned between cousins. This renders the marriage valid, and so non-annulable. Again, if an invalid marriage has been contracted, and the diriment impediment can be removed, a convalidation or sanatio in radice can be performed to make the marriage valid.
The cause of action for annulment in New York State is generally fraud (DRL §140 (e)). There are other arguments; see the Statute.
Fraud generally means the intentional deception of the Plaintiff by the Defendant in order to induce the Plaintiff to marry. The misrepresentation must be substantial in nature, and the Plaintiff's consent to the marriage predicated on the Defendant’s statement. The perpetration of the fraud (prior to the marriage), and the discovery of the fraud (subsequent to the marriage) must be proven by corroboration of a witness or other external proof, even if the Defendant admits guilt (DRL §144). The time limit is three years (not one year). This does not run from the date of the marriage, but the date the fraud was discovered, or could reasonably have been discovered.
A bigamous marriage (one party was still married at the time of the second marriage) cannot be annulled —it is void ab initio (not legal from its inception). However, either party (as well as certain other parties) can petition the Court with an "Action to Declare the Nullity of a Void Marriage" (DRL §140 (a)). The Court, upon proper pleadings, renders a judgment that the marriage is void. There may be effects of marriage such as a property settlement and even maintenance if the court finds it equitable to order such relief.
In Nevada, the qualifications for annulment[2] include: a marriage that was void at the time performed (such as blood relatives, bigamy), lacked consent (such as, underage, intoxication, insanity), or is based on some kind of dishonesty. See also Nevada Annulment Statutes. To file actions based on fraud, you must have separated from your spouse as soon as you learned of the fraud.
Annulments in Nevada require a residency of at least 6 weeks, including a signed witness statement of having been living in Nevada for that amount of time.