Annulment

What it means

A court order declaring that a marriage was void or voidable from the start. New York allows an annulment for specific reasons listed in DRL §§ 140 and 141. One spouse was already married to someone else. The parties are too closely related. One spouse was under 18 without parental consent. One spouse lacked the mental capacity to consent. The marriage was based on fraud about a material fact. The marriage was entered under force or duress. One spouse cannot have sexual relations and the other did not know. The deadlines for filing depend on the ground. Some grounds have to be raised within a certain time after the marriage. Others have a deadline running from when the underlying problem was discovered. An annulment treats the marriage as if it never happened. The court still has authority over property, support, and any children's issues. Most marriages that people want to end go through divorce, not annulment. The divorce path is faster and the grounds are easier to meet.

When you might hear this

An annulment is a court order that says a marriage was never legally valid. It is different from a divorce, which ends a valid marriage. Annulment is rare and only available in specific situations.

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