Annulment is a legal procedure through which a court declares a marriage invalid, according to ExpertLaw. In an annulment, the court decides that the marriage was never valid. This is unlike divorce, which terminates an existing marriage. If you contemplate annulment, you should understand how this proceeding affects your ability to obtain additional court orders for child support or alimony.
Function
The function of alimony--also known as spousal support--is to help a person in a marriage dissolution to maintain a standard of living comparable to what he enjoyed during the course of the marriage, according to DivorceInfo. Alimony provides financial assistance to help a person stabilize his life following the end of a marriage.
Considerations
The laws in many states do not permit the payment of alimony to a spouse upon issuance of an annulment decree, according to ExpertLaw. As a practical matter, most annulments occur during the early part of a marriage. Because most alimony statutes take into account the length of a marriage, spousal support in a similarly situated divorce probably would be nonexistent or minimal.
Theory
The theory underlying a common denial of alimony or spousal support in an annulment case is that if no marriage existed, there legally is no spouse to support. Additionally, most state laws include the length of the marriage in the calculation of alimony. Legally speaking, the length of the marriage in an annulment is no time at all.
Child Support
Unlike with alimony, a custodial parent is awarded child support, as otherwise permitted by law, in an annulment case. The same state laws and guidelines used in divorce cases determine a child support obligation in an annulment proceeding.
Mutual Agreement
Although most states lack laws supporting an order of alimony or spousal maintenance in an annulment proceeding, spouses in annulment proceedings can reach an agreement on their own regarding spousal maintenance. Through an annulment settlement agreement, the parties can agree to spousal maintenance in a set amount for a specified period of time. Unless the court deems the arrangement unreasonable, the judge will approve the agreement.
