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What is an annulment?  

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Some people who choose to annul their marriage rather than get a divorce. Rebecca Patience, family law solicitor at Harrison Drury looks at what annulment is and how you can apply for one.

You can seek an annulment as an alternative to a divorce in certain circumstances. A marriage can be annulled at any time after the wedding, unlike a divorce where you have to wait at least a year before issuing proceedings.

To have your marriage annulled you have to show the court that your marriage was not a valid one or that it was defective.

You can annul a marriage if it was not legally valid in the first place, for example it would not be legal if:

  • The parties were too closely related to each other
  • Either party was under the age of 16 when getting married
  • Either party was already married

If the marriage was not legally valid, the law says that it never existed. This is known as a ‘void’ marriage. In theses circumstances a decree is not needed to end the marriage. However, a decree of nullity is required if you want to apply to the court for an order in relation to resolution of financial matters.

An annulment can also be obtained if your marriage is defective in the eyes of the law, for example:

  • If the marriage has not been consummated – the couple haven’t had sex since the date of the wedding. This ground is not available to same sex couples.
  • If one of the parties did not properly consent to the marriage – for example if they were drunk or forced into the marriage.
  • If one of the parties had a sexually transmitted disease at the time of marriage.
  • If the woman was pregnant by another man at the time of marriage.

Marriages annulled for these reasons are known as ‘voidable’ marriages. The marriage exists until the court grants a decree of nullity.

As guidance, if you are intending to seek a decree of nullity, an application should be submitted to the court within three years of the date of marriage. However, this guide doesn’t apply in the instances of non-consummation.

Divorce or Annulment?

In some instances, it may be that you are entitled to apply for both a divorce and an annulment, if this is the case, it’s your decision which route you would like to pursue.

Both divorce and nullity have a £550 court fee and the procedures are largely the same. They both give you the opportunity to make financial claims and claims in respect of children, so this wouldn’t be a deciding factor.

The things that may influence your decision are the fact that an annulment can be applied for at any time after the marriage ceremony, whereas a divorce petition can only be issued after a year of marriage. There may also be religious reasons why you would prefer your marriage to be declared non-existent rather than dissolved.

Harrison Drury have an experienced team of family and divorce lawyers in Lancashire and Cumbria. If you would like to speak confidentially to the team about any family law matter, contact them on 01772 258 321.


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