How to Get an Annulment

An annulment wipes your marriage off the books, as if it never happened. But understand that there are two types of annulments: civil (by the government) and religious. Obtaining one doesn't mean you've obtained the other. You need to apply for both if you want both.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Books About Annulment

1. Know that to obtain a civil annulment, you must prove that there was some kind of mistake when you were married, so that there never was a true marriage.

2. Find out what the permissible reasons for annulment are in your state. The common reasons are that one person was underage, one person didn't understand he or she was getting married, the marriage could not be consummated, one person was forced to marry or fraud was involved, one person is mentally ill or one person was already married to someone else.

3. Realize that you probably need to hire an attorney to handle the case for you.

4. Recognize that an annulment erases your marriage; divides your property and debts, just like a divorce; and determines custody of your children.

5. Relax with the knowledge that an annulment does not make your children illegitimate. They are and will always be legally legitimate.

6. Consult your priest for information about an annulment through your church or your rabbi for information about a Get.

Who Can Help Sponsored

[OpenRangeMag]

on 10/18/2009 my husband has been verbally and physically abusing me since the night we were married. Am I eligible for an annullment?

[rosark3]

on 8/11/2009 i was pushed into marriage to show the courts that my husband has a stable life so he could get custody of his kids. he did not get them and i have been mentally and physically abused during the whole process even prior. am i eligible for annulment?

[miindistress]

on 1/4/2009 I have been married 1 week. The man I married went to jail 3 days ago on felony charges that I was unaware of. He was fraudulent in his statements to me regarding his past and is now being charged with embezzlement and car theft from 1 year ago. Am I eligible for an annulment?

[kiwi6927]

on 12/17/2008 my husband is in iraq, and after reconsidering our decision to marry, i would like to know if im eligable to get an annulment. The mariage is yet to be consummated and i feel the marriage only occured so he would receive more money from the army.