Conditions for Marriage Annulment in North Carolina
An annulment is a legal declaration that a marriage never existed. North Carolina permits annulments in a limited number of circumstances. In those circumstances, a marriage becomes void and the North Carolina district courts issue an annulment. A person can file for an annulment in the district court located in his county of residence.
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What is Not a Factor for Annulments
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A common misconception is that annulments are granted based on the length of a marriage. In North Carolina, the length of the marriage has no effect on the parties’ ability to obtain an annulment. Even where parties were married for as little as two days and suddenly realize that they’ve made a mistake, North Carolina requires that they file for divorce, not an annulment.
Void vs. Voidable Marriage
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In North Carolina, a marriage involving bigamy, where one spouse is already married to another person at the time of the marriage to the other spouse, is automatically void and annulled. The marriage legally never existed and a court order is not necessary to declare the marriage void.
Voidable marriages are also eligible for annulment in North Carolina. Unlike a void marriage, which is immediately invalid, voidable marriages require a court order to be annulled and declared legally void. North Carolina permits an annulment in limited circumstances.
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Marriages Between Family Members
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The first voidable marriage eligible for an annulment is a marriage where the spouses are family members. If spouses share a relationship as first cousins or closer, such as siblings or parents, the marriage can be annulled by a North Carolina district court.
Marriages Where One Spouse Is Impotent
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In North Carolina the marriage can be annulled if one spouse in a marriage, either the male or the female, is physically impotent, causing the couple to be unable to have children. An annulment based on this circumstance will only be granted if the impotency has been diagnosed and proven to the court by a medical doctor.
Marriages Involving an Underage Spouse
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If a marriage is between spouses where one spouse, either the male or female, is under the age of 16, in North Carolina that marriage can be annulled. The only exception is where the wife, so long as she is at least 14 years old, is pregnant or has already given birth to the husband’s child. However, if the child born of the marriage is deceased, the marriage can be annulled if one spouse is still underage at the time of the child’s death.
Marriages Where One Spouse is Mentally Incapable
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North Carolina permits annulment where one spouse was mentally incapable, at the time of the marriage, from entering into the “contract to marry.” A determination of mental incapacity is made on a case-by-case basis. A court examines whether the spouse claiming the mental incapacity was capable, at the time of the marriage, of understanding that marriage is a special contract and all “the duties and responsibilities [marriage] entails.”
False Pretenses
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Lastly, if a marriage took place under false pretenses, the marriage can be annulled in North Carolina. For example, if the husband agreed to marry the wife “under the representation and belief” that the wife was pregnant before the marriage and the information is false, the husband can seek an annulment.
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References
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