Marriage Annulment – Understand When it is Required
An annulment is, technically, another way to end a marriage—as opposed to a divorce. However, there is a marked difference between the two. First, understand that marriage is a contract, which can be dissolved with the instrument of divorce. Now, we describe annulment through this definition:
Annulment
An annulment is a process where the divorce is eliminated in a manner as to describe that it never legally existed. This happens due to various reasons, where the marriage could not have taken place between the two involved partners. Here are some reasons that may cause for a civil annulment of marriage as a legal contract.
Concealment
The annulment can occur if it is found that a partner hid a major fact from the other partner at the time of marriage, such as being a convicted criminal. It may also include the failure to reveal exposure to various diseases, especially sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A common issue, which is often the cause for an annulment is the concealment of a drug abuse issue.
There are various issues that may come under the heading of concealment. The primary ground, for this reason, remains hiding anything which may be substantial enough for a person to reconsider the decision of marriage.
Fraud
Fraud is defined as when a spouse misrepresents some information or present altered facts in order to go through with the marriage. This includes important information, such as only marrying for the US citizenship, but keeping it hidden from the spouse. Another fact may be to misrepresent the age and marry as a minor.
Other fraudulent activities include lying about their marriage or hiding the fact that they cannot produce children due to a known health problem. Once any fact is identified, the aggrieved spouse can take the help of a skilled attorney and file for a marriage annulment.
Impotency or Indecency
An impotent individual can enjoy marriage if this fact is mutually shared and well understood. Another important factor for annulment is indecent behavior with someone within the close family. This refers to a spouse committing or showing consent towards incest practices through marriage.
The family group for incest may include siblings, first cousins, uncles and aunts, parents and grandparents, just to name the obvious relations. There may be other relations involve as well, but any incest relationship can be annulled through the legal system.
Lack of Consent
A key issue is the lack of consent. A marriage can only occur if both partners willingly choose to form a relationship. If such a party is forced or threatened into existence, then the affected partner has the right to ask for an immediate annulment.
This situation may be created when a partner was forced into a marriage when not having the mental control to make an important decision. This includes intoxication and drugging. An individual not being sane at the time of marriage can also ask for the annulment.
These are some of the situations which demand that you obtain legal help. Contact the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov, P.C. today at (847) 241-1299 to schedule a free initial consultation.