ANNULMENTS

Decatur & Atlanta Annulment Attorney Aisha Blanchard Collins

An annulment treats the marriage as if it never happened; however, unlike a divorce, there are certain criteria that must be met in order to seek an annulment. Some of the factors in determining whether you can seek an annulment are fraud, misrepresentation prior to the marriage, refusal or inability to consummate the marriage, and/or concealment of an addiction to name a few.

Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place (though some jurisdictions provide that the marriage is only void from the date of the annulment.

Annulments are a form of relief for people who were placed in situations in which they never should have been married. Because civil annulments treat the marriage as though it never existed, a person must have a pretty good reason to obtain one. Typically, one of the following requirements (or legal grounds) must be met:

• Fraud or Misrepresentation - One of the spouses has lied about something, such as age or already being married.
• Concealment - One of the spouses hid a major fact, such as a felony conviction.
• Misunderstanding - For instance, one of the spouses does not want to have children.
• Impotency or Incest - One of the spouses is incurably impotent (and the other spouse didn’t know), or the spouses are too close in familial relation to marry.
• Lack of Consent - One party lacked mental capacity to consent or was forced into marriage.

If you need help with an annulment, contact our Decatur law office so can help you with this process.