Annulment - Grounds for Annulment - Annulment Procedure

First, an answer for the majority of people asking the question: Can I get an Annulment? Short answer; Fa Get About It!    Long answer for a few people:  Maybe, But ....

Annulment Law

Annulment law in Florida is mostly undefined and is based on many years of prior case law where someone appealed a trial court decision on their annulment case.  There is no established procedure for annulment. By contrast, divorce law is defined by statute and has a fairly consistent set of requirements.

The problem with annulment is that Florida does not give a spouse an absolute right to get one.  It is possible to file for annulment, pay a lot of money, go through the entire court process, properly follow existing annulment law, get to the end, and then have a judge deny the annulment.  If that happens you are back to square one. 

Annulment Grounds

Lets define the average group of people that want an marriage - annulment but have little chance of getting the annulment:  Married more than 6 months, consummated the marriage or tried to consummate the marriage (that means sex!) , lived as a married couple for more than a month, purchased assets together, or got along well until they started fighting.  If you fall into one of these categories, annulment law is not on your side.  It will be an uphill battle.

Here are some situations that may qualify you for an annulment:  You are young, want children, and your new spouse sterilized themselves the year before - all while telling you they wanted children AND you found out thirty days after your wedding ceremony.  Or, you are Jewish and your new spouse is secretly a Nazi Skinhead that vows to wipe Jews off the face of the earth AND it was kept secret from you AND you found out a month after your wedding ceremony.  Or, you find out your new wife is actually a man that had a sex change operation.

The grounds for annulment tend to be extreme and difficult to satisfy. But if your situation falls into one of the rare categories there is no reason why you shouldn't seek to annul your marriage.

Division of property issues in an annulment are similar to a divorce.  Even though there are no annulment statutes, the courts tend to use similar rules as in a divorce action.

Annulment Procedure

Procedure:  an annulment is filed as a lawsuit and the basic annulment procedure is similar to divorce.  There is a petition for annulment, a summons, and a requirement for a process server.  In many situations your spouse will answer the annulment petition and counterclaim for divorce.  The overall procedure is very similar to divorce.  A good guide to annulment procedure would be the standard divorce steps . Be aware that annulment law consists of a lot of uncharted territory. A marriage annulment may not be the best procedure to do yourself.

Annulment can be the single most important event in your life.  Many people can benefit from the advice of a good, honest, loyal divorce attorney, especially in a complex area of law such as annulment.. The Divorce Center can provide a divorce attorney that can help you protect yourself. A lawyer is not an expense in a divorce case - they are an investment. We help clients in Hernando County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, and Hillsborough County. Our service area includes Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, New Port Richey, Brooksville, Dade City, and the New Tampa area. CONTACT US NOW or call 888-469-3486