Grounds include bigamy, incest, lack of capacity, fraud going to the essence of the marriage, duress, and underage marriage without consent. Void marriages are invalid regardless while voidable ones require timely challenge.
Children remain legitimate.
Alternative Names:
Marriage Annulment|Declaration of Invalidity
Why it Matters?
Fraud grounds require that the misrepresentation go to the essence of the marital relationship rather than to financial or character matters, which defeats most annulment petitions filed for misrepresented wealth or history. Property and support rights differ from dissolution and may be substantially reduced, which is why a party with financial claims frequently prefers dissolution even where annulment grounds exist.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What fraud supports annulment?
Why might a party prefer dissolution?
