Annulment or Divorce: What’s the Difference?

If your marriage isn’t working out, there are two ways to dissolve it — annulment or divorce.

While they are both legal ways to end a marriage, annulment and divorce have different outcomes in the eye of the law. Annulment or divorce: How are they different?

Annulment vs. Divorce

While annulment and divorce are similar in concept and process, an annulment treats the marriage as if it never happened. Legally, an annulment declares that the marriage was never valid and therefore never existed.

Divorce is the legal dissolution of a valid marriage. The outcome in divorce is not that the marriage never existed, but that it is legally concluded and that each party now has single status and the ability to remarry if so desired.

Common Grounds for Annulment or Divorce

Both parties in the marriage have the right and ability to initiate either annulment or divorce proceedings. The party initiating the process must prove to the court that he or she has the grounds to begin the annulment or divorce process.

While grounds for annulment and divorce vary from state to state and country to country, there are some requirements that are common in nearly every state and in many countries around the world.

Grounds for Annulment

• Bigamy: One party was already married to someone else at the time of the marriage.
• Fraud: One party agreed to the marriage based on gross misrepresentation of the other party.
• Inability to Consummate Marriage: One party was unable to have sexual relations during the marriage.
• Mental Illness: One party has a mental illness or was determined to be under extreme emotional duress at the time of the marriage.
• Mental Incapacity: One party is or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the marriage.
• Prohibited Marriage: The marriage was between parties who are related.

Grounds for Divorce

Is Getting an Annulment or Divorce Difficult?

Annulments are usually sought within a few days or weeks of the marriage. Pop culture aficionados may remember that Britney Spears married a childhood friend in Las Vegas, then got the marriage annulled two days later.

With the duration of the marriage being extremely short in most annulment cases, the legal process is generally very quick, as there are few financial or custodial matters to be concerned with.

Divorce, on the other hand, can be a much longer, messier process. In most divorce cases, finances must be dealt with and assets must be divided. If there are children involved, child custody must be determined, as well as child support and visitation rights.

The law in your state or country and the particulars of your individual situation will contribute to whether your annulment or divorce will be a simple process or not. It’s best to find legal representation and familiarize yourself with the law in case of an annulment or divorce.