Ending a marriage- Annulment Flashcards
3 ways a marriage can be terminated
1) Death
2) Divorce
3) Annulment
Which courts have jurisdiction over domestic relations matters ?
Circuit court
Annulment
Voids a marriage and declares it to never as been valid.
The grounds for annulment must
exist at the time of entry into the marriage
An annulment action involves two types of marriages
1) Void
2) Voidable
Void Marriage (void ab initio)
It treated as it never happened.
Does not need to be judicially dissolved.
What gives rise to a void marriage?
(BIN)
1) Bigamy- married to more than 1 person, there is a good faith defense- burden is person attacking second marriage
2)incest
3) nonage - if one party was capable of consent at time of marriage, that party cannot sue for annulment
Defense to Bigamy
Good faith belief in death of spouse
1) spouse of the first marriage was absent for 7 years; or
2) The party remarrying believed that the first spouse was dead; or
3) The first marriage was void
Voidable marriage
Requires judicial decree unlike void marriage
What gives rise to a voidable marriage ?
1) Fraud or duress that goes to essence of marriage
2) mental capacity or infirmity
3) intoxication
4) Felony conviction when the conviction predates the marriage and the party seeking annulment was unaware of the conviction
5) impotency
6) Concealed parenthood - if spouse was pregnant by another man or had kid within 10 months of marriage
7) prostitution- a marriage is voidable if either spouse was a prostitute prior to marriage and spouse was unaware
For a void marriage theres is
No spousal support or equitable distribution
For a voidable marriage
The court may award spousal support and may equitably divide the property
Defenses to void marriage
Show the defect does not exist
Defenses to voidable marriage
1) Cohabitation after knowledge of facts
2) Laches- suits for annulment must be filed within 2 years of the marriage
