If you are thinking about dissolving your marriage, you are probably
considering getting a divorce. While that is the more common route, you
may be eligible for another—annulment. This actionmandates that the
marriage is invalid due to a specific reason. The following are the top
five reasons for marital annulments.
The first is being under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. If you were intoxicated or high, you may
not have been aware of your actions. Alcohol and drugs cause you to
lose your rationality and sense of judgment and to make mistakes you
otherwise would not make.
The secondis similar to the first in
that you lacked proper judgment and understanding. For example, perhaps
you thought that your drive-through wedding in Vegas was just a fun,
fake experience when it really was an actual marriage ceremony done by a
person holding authority to perform weddings. On a more serious note,
it could be that you or your spouse is of an unsound mind and not able
to mentally comprehend the obligations of marriage.
The third
reason is bigamy, which means that one of you is already married to
someone else. It may be that your spouse lied to you and knowingly
committed a crime. Another possibility is that he or she didn’t know
either. Sometimes if divorce papers are not filed properly they do not
get officially finalized and make the person unknowingly still legally
married.
The fourth is being deceived on an important matter that
had you been aware of it, would have caused you not to marry your
spouse. Some of these issues include his or her sexual preferences,
religion, criminal history, debt, and capability of having children. In
these instances, you must prove deception, or incurability in the case
of infertility.
The fifth is being used by an illegal immigrant
to obtain a green card. You may have thought you two were truly in love,
when in reality your spouse had an ulterior motive. This type of fraud
can be most hurtful.
The sixth reason is being forced or
threatened into getting married. Your marriage will be deemed invalid if
it was done against your will. You won’t have to stay with an abusive,
controlling spouse.
Fortunately, an annulment only requires one of
these reasons to be true for your circumstances, and you don’t need to
be married for a certain length of time before taking legal action.
However,
gathering evidence can be very difficult, so you should
immediately seek legal assistance. Visit this website to find a reputed family law firm in Mission Viejo.