Coachella Divorce and Annulment Attorney
How Can I Get an Annulment?
Annulment in California is termed "Nullity of Marriage". As a sentiment it describes a desire to wipe the slate clean and be returned to the legal state before marriage, often without the legal consequences of a
valid marriage. A
Decree of Annulment is permitted in this state only upon specific statutory grounds. An annulment is one of the alternative requests of the
FL-100 California Judicial Council Petition for Dissolution.
Annulments can importantly affect spousal support and property rights.
California Family Code sections 2200 et seq. set forth the grounds for annulment. They are divided into two categories:
Void Marriages and
Voidable Marriages.
What is a Void Marriage?
A "void marriage" is between people related to a certain degree by blood (half siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces). It also includes "bigamous" marriages which commonly occur where one party thought they had a decree of divorce from a previous spouse but it was never reduced to a formal Judgment. The law views such marriages as void, which means that the marriage is deemed to have no legal effect and so is invalid. This may have the result that no community interest in property is created and it may make it impossible to obtain spousal support. It may also result in the loss of health insurance coverage, among other valuable rights.
For an
innocent spouse in the case of
bigamy (
Family Code section 2201) in particular, such a result can work an extreme hardship and be totally unfair. To be denied a right to spousal support after years of believing one was legitimately married, only because the other spouse kept their prior still existing marriage a secret, would be unjust.
Therefore the law protects such legally unmarried persons if they qualify as "
putative spouses." Where they had no reason to suspect the marriage was invalid and relied upon their belief that they were married, putative spouses can be afforded the same rights as married persons even though there is
no marriage in the eyes of the law.
When are Marriages Voidable?
Unlike void marriages which, "voidable marriages" are only void if certain conditions are met and have not been waived. These conditions are fact specific. These may include marriages involving an unemancipated minors, or where there is a prior spouse who was reasonably believed to be dead, or marriages involving a person of unsound mind, or where consent of either party was obtained through a fraud that relates to the essence of the marital relation, or where consent was obtained by force, or whether either party at the time of the marriage was physically incapable of entering into the marriage and that incapacity continued and is incurable.
Family Code section 2210 sets forth the statutory grounds for annulment in California.
For information you can rely on, contact the Law Firm of Thurman Arnold III.
We are committed legal professionals.