Annulment is the process by which a party may seek judgment from the family court that a marriage is invalid, where the result of which is to treat the parties as if they had never been married.
In order to achieve an annulment (which is rare) one of the following grounds must exist at the time of entry into the marriage:
1. Failure to consummate by cohabitation;
2. Duress. A marriage contract is void where either party refuses to give his or her consent to the marriage. In other words, in the event that a person is truly forced to marry;
3. Fraud. In the event where one party relied on fraudulent representations of the other, and based on that reliance married, with examples being fraudulent representation about a. sanity; b. impotency; c. sterility; d. inclination to have children in violation of an agreement.
Examples held by the court to be insufficient for annulment is as follows: false representation regarding one’s character, social standing, or a person’s financial wealth.
4. Affinity and Consanguinity. This is in the event that the parties married are so closely related to each other by blood, that the law has outlined these people are not to be married to one another.
5. Lack of legal standing – previously married without getting divorced (Bigamy), under the legal age to be married, etc.
If you have questions about annulment or family law, call the Spartanburg annulment lawyers at Holland & Usry toll free at 888-230-1841 to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.
