Arizona Annulment Attorney
Deciding to end a marriage is never easy, especially if your marriage was tainted by issues like the inability to consummate the marriage, fraud, coercion, or even mental illness. Fortunately, divorce is not the only option in these and other critical situations; annulment may be the better choice.
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What Is an Annulment?
A marriage annulment in Arizona is a family court procedure that renders a marriage invalid – as if it had never existed. Annulments are not to be mistaken for divorce. Divorce also legally ends a marriage, but annulments erase a marriage from ever existing.
An annulment is not meant to rectify hasty actions or save a couple from marriage when they regret it. Instead, it is meant to legally invalidate a marriage that was based on falsehoods or lack of viable consent. After an annulment, it is as if the marriage never happened, which enables both individuals to return to an unmarried status.
Divorce legally ends a marriage; an annulment erases it, as if the marriage never existed.
Grounds for Annulment in Arizona
Legal grounds for an annulment exist only in a few specific sets of circumstances. These are the primary grounds for legal annulment in Arizona:
Duress or Lack of Consent
If you were under compulsion to marry due to the threat of violence or force, or if you did not or were not able to give consent to marry, you may have grounds for an annulment. Legal marriages are based on two consenting adults who freely agree to marry. Without free consent, the marriage should be rendered invalid.
Insanity, Mental Illness, or A Lack of Mental Ability
If you or your spouse were considered mentally insane, mentally ill, or otherwise mentally incapacitated, you may have grounds for annulment, as both parties must be legally able to consent to the marriage. In the event that one of you is declared mentally incapacitated at the time of the marriage, the marriage must considered invalid because a valid marriage requires both individuals to be mentally capable of consent. Both individuals must also recognize what it means to enter into this type of relationship.
Temporary Insanity
If you or your spouse is declared to have been temporarily insane at the time of the marriage, the marriage may be rendered invalid. In this situation, one party was not mentally capable of consenting. However, it may be possible that the person was lucid at one point in the marriage, which may indicate that they were mentally capable of consenting later in the marriage, making the marriage valid.
Fraud
If one person was untruthful, purposefully left out certain facts, or gives a false impression of themselves to trick someone into marriage, you may have grounds for annulment. Tricking someone into marriage is not only deceitful, but it can also result in an invalid marriage.
Intoxication
If one or both of the individuals involved in the marriage were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the marriage ceremony took place, the marriage may be considered invalid. This is only the case if the couple were so intoxicated that they were unable to comprehend what was happening and, as a result, unable to consent to the marriage fully.
Inability to Consummate the Marriage
If the marriage cannot be consummated due to one partner’s impotence, you may have grounds for annulment. You must prove that the impotence existed at the time of the marriage. The impotence must also be defined as a permanent condition to be considered a legal reason for annulment.
No Parental Consent Given for Underage Marriage
The state of Arizona requires that anyone who wishes to marry under the age of 18 must have their parents’ permission. If a person under the age of 16 wishes to marry, they must have the approval of their parents as well as a Superior Court judge’s approval. When an underage person marries without this consent, that marriage is considered invalid.
Incestuous Marriage
A marriage between a parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, siblings who are either born from the same parents or share one parent, uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, or first cousins is incestuous. These kinds of marriages are considered invalid and provide grounds for annulments.
Bigamy
Bigamy occurs when an individual is already married but enters into another marriage without legally dissolving the first marriage. The second marriage will be rendered invalid, as Arizona only allows a person to be married to one person at a time. An individual who knowingly marries another person while still legally married to someone else is also committing a class 5 felony.
Mock Marriage
A mock marriage means that the couple did not intend to enter into a legally binding marriage relationship. The lack of legal intent provides grounds for an annulment. However, if the couple agreed to a marriage in order to carry out a scheme or agenda, the court may determine that the marriage is valid and, therefore, does not qualify for an annulment.
Reasons to Consider Annulment
Financial
If you believe that your marriage is not legally valid and you do not want to go through the divorce process, seeking an annulment is a wise option. An annulment can eliminate some of the factors necessary for consideration during a divorce. For example, the process also eliminates the need to submit to property and debt division proceedings.
Religious
Religious reasons may also cause a couple to seek an annulment. A religious annulment can involve a church tribunal stating that a marriage is not valid so that either member of the former couple may remarry within the church. It is important to note that a religious annulment is not legally recognized in Arizona. However, a legal annulment often precedes a religious annulment, since after a court decides that the marriage is not valid and, therefore, never existed, the church may determine the same.
Clean Slate
A significant benefit of getting an annulment is that you are given a second chance and a clean slate to marry again. Once the annulment process has been completed, you will be legally declared unmarried, allowing you the choice to remarry in the future. It will be as if the annulled marriage never existed.
Misconceptions About Annulments
There are many misconceptions surrounding annulments. Many people think of an annulment as it is often portrayed in movies, where a couple gets married in haste and then is granted an annulment the next day. However, this view has led to misconceptions about annulments.
Annulments Are Not a Quicker Divorce
Annulments differ from divorces in that the court can only approve an annulment if there are grounds the marriage should be rendered invalid and as if it had never existed. Valid marriages always qualify for divorce if the couple wishes to terminate the marriage legally. However, both proceedings can include granting child support, alimony, or child custody.
The Length of Marriage Does Not Matter
Another common misconception regarding annulments is that they are for those couples who have only been married for a short amount of time. In truth, the length of the marriage does not factor into whether or not it may be annulled. Any invalid marriage that has legal grounds for annulment may be annulled.
Common-Law Marriages and Annulments
Some may believe that because they have been partners for a long period of time, they are considered married in the eyes of the state, or in other words, they have a common-law marriage. Arizona does not legally recognize common-law marriages. Couples that cohabitate in Arizona are not considered legally married and would not qualify for either an annulment or divorce.
How Our Arizona Annulment Lawyers Can Help You
The process of determining eligibility for annulment and pursuing this unique legal process can be complex. In both instances, Desert Legal Group’s experienced annulment attorneys can help.
Read our guide: Divorce Isn’t Your Only Option: Annulment Could Be the Answer.
Our skilled annulment lawyers can review your case and determine whether you have legal grounds to request an annulment. When you schedule a consultation with our family law attorneys, we will review the details of your marriage, including the circumstances surrounding the legal marriage and any evidence you have to support its invalidity. If an annulment is appropriate in your case, our attorneys can draft the necessary documents, file them with the court, and argue on your behalf or demonstrate evidence an annulment is necessary to the Arizona Family Court. If you discover that you lack legal grounds for an annulment, our attorneys can assist you in beginning the divorce process.
Our compassionate, diligent annulment attorneys review the details of your marriage and guide you every step of the way.
Contact Our Family Law Experts
If you believe you have grounds for an annulment in Arizona, it is crucial to begin by consulting with an Arizona annulment lawyer. At Desert Legal Group, our team of compassionate, diligent annulment attorneys can help you navigate your annulment and pursue a positive resolution of your invalid marriage in court.
Desert Legal Group provides dedicated, client-focused legal representation in family law, criminal defense, and personal injury. Low caseloads mean your attorney has time to invest in your case.
3800 N. Central Ave., Suite 720 · Phoenix, AZ 85012
