Grounds For Annulment
Annulment is another form of dissolving a marriage and declaring it null and void. But unlike a divorce, an annulment indicates that a marriage in question has not been valid in the first place and is the preferred option for people who would not like to consider themselves as married.
There may be several reasons for an annulment to be applied for and include the following:
- Consanguinity.
- Insanity, which precludes the ability to give consent.
- No intention of remaining faithful to spouse at the time of marriage. (Consent simulation)
- One partner has been tricked by the other to obtain consent for marriage that would not have been given if the tricked spouse had been aware of the truth.
- A woman who was abducted and forced to marry may also seek an annulment.
- Failure to comply with requirements of religious laws for marriages.
There are several grounds which may be held as sufficient for annulment of a marriage such as the spouses being closely related, or the marriage took place when either of them was already married, if either of the party was below the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage or is unable to consent to marriage due to lack of understanding.
Grounds for annulment may also include suffering from mental instability for 5 years or more or physically incapable of entering into the state of marriage or any consent for the same obtained by force, duress, or fraud. Without the annulment to declare the marriage as void however, the marriage is looked upon as valid.
To truly understand how the concept of annulment works, there are a few points that should be kept in mind and include the following:
- Marriage as an institution has been primarily designed to establish stable and intimate primary relationships, which may necessarily involve having and rearing children. While the right to marry is considered fundamental, almost all societies have passed laws by which to regulate and control the exercising of this right.
- If the requirements that are established by the authorities in charge of the marriage act during the marriage are not complied with, then the marriage can be considered as null and void.
- A marriage must always conform to the state set norms and guidelines without which the marriage is considered as invalid with absolutely no rights or obligations to be adhered to.
The different grounds for annulment include polygamy. Here are some of the different grounds for annullment:
- If either spouse was already married when entering into the current state of matrimony
- If either spouse was underage and without the required court and parental consent
- If either of the spouse was under the influence of some substance such as alcohol or drugs at the time when the marriage took place
- Mental incompetence of either spouse during the time of marriage
- If consent to the marriage was gained by force or fraud
- Physical incapability to get married which includes impotency or general inability to engage in sexual intercourse also during the time of the marriage
- Marriage between blood relations can also be tried for annulment
- Prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and those who concealed important facts about self such as criminal records, drug addictions or sexually transmitted ailments.
However, once the annulment is finalized, the statutes of the involved parties return to single and not divorced as though the marriage had never taken place. Usually the spouses have no assets or children to worry about as an annulment usually takes place a short time after marriage. Therefore, it doesn't carry concerns for property distribution of property or support payments such as alimony unless in fact the marriage has been around for a long period before annulment.