Can I Get an Annulment If I Regret Getting Married?

 Posted on March 26, 2020 in Annulments

Life is full of unexpected turns of events. Sometimes, an individual gets married but quickly realizes that the marriage was a mistake. If you have found yourself in a situation like this, you may be wondering what your options are for ending the marriage. You may have heard about annulments, but you might not know exactly how a person gets his or her marriage annulled. In Illinois, annulments are only granted under certain circumstances. If you do not qualify to have your marriage annulled, divorce may be your only option for ending your marriage.

Difference Between Annulment and Divorce

While a divorce legally terminates a marriage, an annulment rescinds a marriage. An annulment, called a “Declaration of Invalidity of Marriage” in Illinois, makes it as if the couple was never married. If you receive a judgment of invalidity it is if your marriage never took place in the eyes of the law. Typically, judgments of invalidity are retroactive, meaning the judgment is effective on the marriage date. When a marriage is considered retroactively invalid, the court making the determination of invalidity will not have the authority to divide the spouses’ property or make determinations about child custody or child support. Instead, separate proceedings will need to be initiated to manage such concerns.

Grounds for a Declaration of Invalidity of Marriage in Illinois

The term “grounds” is used to describe the reasons that a judge may grant an annulment. The legal grounds for a declaration of marriage in Illinois include:

• The marriage is prohibited by law. This includes marriages involving close relatives as well as situations in which a spouse was already legally married at the time of the marriage in question.
• One or both spouses could not legally consent to the marriage because of drug or alcohol intoxication.
• A spouse is unable to engage in sexual intercourse and therefore consummate the marriage. In order for this ground to apply, the other spouse must not have known about this lack of ability at the time he or she got married.
• The marriage was entered into through fraud, force, or duress.
• One or both spouses were under age 18 and did not have parental approval to marry.

Annulments are not typically granted if a judge decides that a marriage does not meet any of the criteria for annulment. If you regret getting married but you do not qualify for an annulment, divorce may be your only option.

Contact a Naperville Divorce Lawyer

Annulments are only granted under certain circumstances. To learn more about whether or not your marriage may qualify for a declaration of invalidity and to discuss all of your options for ending the marriage, contact Pesce Law Group, P.C. Call our office today at 630-352-2240 to schedule a confidential, free consultation with a DuPage County family law attorney.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59