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The Difference Between a Divorce and an Annulment
When a married couple splits up, it is not always called divorce. As you search for divorce records, it will be helpful for you to know the difference between divorce, annulment and separation. All can be recognized by courts and leave a paper trail.
Here are some facts about divorce, annulment and separation, courtesy of nolo.com, a provider of do-it-yourself legal solutions for consumers and small businesses written by lawyer-editors:
About divorce: a court procedure that dissolves a marriage.
About annulment: like a divorce, an annulment is a court procedure that dissolves a marriage. But, unlike a divorce, an annulment treats the marriage as though it never happened. Some people seek annulments rather than divorce so it doesn't carry the stigma of divorce and may make it easier to remarry.
Most annulments take place after marriages of a very short duration -- a few weeks or months -- so there are usually no assets or debts to divide, or children for whom custody, visitation and child support are a concern. When a long-term marriage is annulled, however, most states have provisions for dividing property and debts, as well as determining custody, visitation, child support, and alimony. Children of an annulled marriage are not considered illegitimate.
Grounds for annulment vary slightly from state to state. Generally, an annulment requires that at least one of the following reasons exists:
- Misrepresentation or fraud: examples include a spouse lying about the capacity to have children, falsely stating that she had reached the age of consent, or failing to say that she was still married to someone else.
- Concealment: examples include concealing an addiction to alcohol or drugs, conviction of a felony, children from a prior relationship, a sexually transmitted disease or impotency.
- Refusal or inability to consummate the marriage: refusal or inability of a spouse to have sexual intercourse with the other spouse.
- Misunderstanding: for example, one person wanted children and the other did not.
About separation: there are four different kinds of separation and how a couple is separated can have important affects on property ownership. Here are the four types:
- Trial separation: not legally recognized. The couple decides to split up for a trial period. Even if the spouses don't get back together, the assets they accumulate and debts they incur during the trial period are usually considered marital property.
- Living apart: spouses who no longer reside in the same dwelling are said to be living apart. In some states, living apart without intending to reunite changes the spouses' property rights.
- Permanent separation: when a couple decides to permanently split up, it's often called a permanent separation. It may follow a trial separation, or may begin immediately when the couple starts living apart. A couple's decision to permanently separate may not be considered a legal one, unless one party files for legal separation instead of divorce.
- Legal separation: a legal separation results when the parties separate and a court rules on the division of property, alimony, child support, custody, and visitation -- but does not grant a divorce. This isn't very common, but there are situations where spouses don't want to divorce for religious, financial or personal reasons, but do want the certainty of a court order that says they're separated and addresses all the same issues that would be decided in a divorce.
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