An annulment is an oddly well known legal process that is not very common or very easily obtained. There are often a lot of people in Northern Utah that would like an annulment or thing they are eligble for one because they feel they were lied to at the beginning of their marriage or because they haven’t been married that long. To be awarded an annulment however the couple must meet certain criteria outlined by statute or argue a couple of common law standards for annulment that are very hard to get a judge to sign off on especially if both parties aren’t in agreement with the annulment.
Standards for Getting an Annulment
There are 4 main statutory grounds for annulment in Utah, which are: bigamy, same sex marriage, underage marriage, and incest. Bigamy of course is when one of the parties is already married, then the court will grant an annulment. Underage marriage has two prongs, the first is if one of the parties is under the age of 18 and the parents do not consent, and the other is if one of the parties is under the age of 14 then it doesn’t matter if the parent’s consented; in both scenarios a court can grant an annulment. Finally, incest is when closely related parties try to marry like a brother and a sister. There are also a couple of common law grounds for annulment such as misrepresentation, fraud, and refusal to consummate but these are much more difficult to argue to a judge.
Annulment v. Divorce
Why some parties are clamoring for an annulment instead of just getting a divorce is often more emotional than practical. Philosophically an annulment is different from a divorce in that in the eyes of the law a marriage never took place if it was annulled, and a divorce just ends the marriage, it was still there it is just over now. However, if the parties have been married for a while have property and children together then an annulment is the same as a divorce as far as property division and child custody is concerned so there are situations when it is probably just easier to get the divorce.
Ogden Divorce Attorney | Getting your Marriage Annulled
If you are looking to end your marriage and would like an annulment or think you qualify for one then call the lawyers at Ogden Divorce Law to find out more. Whether you qualify or not the attorneys at Ogden Divorce Law can help you understand everything about annulment and divorce and help you make an informed decision about how to proceed. Call today to find out more.
