While divorces end a marriage, annulments erase it in the eyes of the law. An annulment is a retroactive termination of a marriage such that the law considers the couple never to have been married at all. Each state maintains its own laws on when annulments can be granted. Annulments are generally much harder to get than divorces, because the reasons for which they can be granted are very limited.
Grounds
The reasons for which courts can grant an annulment differ, though generally the law allows for annulment of any marriage where a required element is missing. For example, all states require that people can only get married if both spouses knowingly enter into the marriage of their own free will. If a couple gets married while both parties are intoxicated or under the influence of a substance that does not allow them to grant knowing consent, they can get an annulment in many states.
Types
Annulments can be granted in two situations: when a marriage is void and when it is voidable. Void marriages are those that violate certain public policies, such as bigamous marriages or marriages that violate laws of incest or consanguinity. These marriages are void and annulled from the moment they are entered into. Voidable marriages are those where a couple can later seek an annulment by asking the court to void the marriage. What makes a marriage void or voidable is dependent upon the laws of each state.
Effects
Anyone granted an annulment is considered a single person and is free to remarry. Like divorces, annulments can also be subject to property disputes, marital support and child custody issues. If the couple cannot agree to terms about these issues, the court can adjudicate the dispute between the parties. Once granted, the marriage is legally dissolved.
Considerations
While all void marriages are annulled from the moment they are entered into, a couple that entered into a voidable marriage can lose the right to get an annulment. For example, if a couple gets married while intoxicated, that marriage can later be annulled by the court. However, if the parties agree to remain in the marriage after they are no longer drunk, they effectively validate the marriage and can no longer have it annulled.
Miscinceptions
A religious annulment has nothing to do with a legal annulment. Legal annulments are based solely on the laws of the state in which the parties live and are in no way related to religious annulments. Whether a couple is eligible for or is granted or denied a religious annulment has no impact on the legal process of annulment.
