New Jersey Annulment vs. Divorce: Making Your Marriage Disappear Legally

Annulments are an interesting topic. While a divorce ends a marriage, an annulment makes it so a marriage never existed. Therefore, with annulments, there generally is no equitable distribution or alimony (although there may be certain claims grounded in contract law).

• There are only a few specific circumstances where a court would grant an annulment, they are:
• Bigamy – if your spouse was already married when you married
• Consanguinity – if there is incest
• Impotence – if it was concealed to you that your spouse cannot have children
• Lack of capacity – if you could not understand that you were getting married due to your mental state
• Under age of majority – if the marriage is between a person under the age of 18
• Fraud – A misrepresentation or concealment of a fact essential to a marriage such as drug addition, mental disease, and religious beliefs.

Given the narrow grounds for annulments, they are not very common and usually granted in very short term marriages. If you do want to terminate your marriage with an annulment, it is best to speak with an experienced family law attorney who can help prepare your testimony and evidence at the final hearing where you must prove your cause of the annulment.