If you want to get out of your marriage, have you considered getting an annulment? An annulment is an option for ending a marriage; however, it is rarely used. This is because there are conditions you must meet in order to end a marriage in this manner, and most people who want to end their marriages cannot meet these requirements. Here are three questions you may have about annulments.
Is There a Time Frame?
When you get an annulment for your marriage, it legally ends the marriage just like a divorce, but there is one main difference. An annulment actually makes the entire marriage void. In other words, it will be as if the marriage never took place. If you get an annulment and are asked if you have ever been married, you can honestly answer the question by saying no.
In some countries (including the U.S), getting an annulment is something that is only possible if you do it quickly. In Canada though, there is no set time frame for an annulment to be approved. If you qualify for an annulment, you could get one if you are married for one day or 10 years.
The trick is that getting an annulment is much easier the faster you do it. It tends to get harder if you stay married for a long period of time.
How Can You Get an Annulment?
There are two main ways to get your marriage annulled, but only one of these methods is civilly accepted. The first way is through a church. Some churches (primarily Catholic churches) offer annulments. When this is done, the marriage ends in the sight of God. The problem is the government does not recognize this as a legal end to the marriage, and therefore you will still be considered legally-married.
To get your marriage annulled legally, you must go through the court system, and this is the second way to get an annulment. If you decide to do this, you may want to hire a divorce lawyer for help. Your lawyer will make sure you qualify for an annulment first, and he or she will then begin the proceedings.
What Are The Conditions?
There are laws in Canada relating to annulments, and these laws dictate the conditions that must be present in order to qualify for an annulment. If you do not qualify for this, you could always end the marriage with divorce. You may qualify for an annulment if:
- Your spouse is legally married to someone else
- You were not mentally-able to make the decision when you got married
- Your spouse is related to you
- Your spouse cannot perform sexually because of a medical problem that you were not aware of beforehand
- You were tricked into the marriage
- You are under the age of 18
- You were drunk or on drugs when the ceremony took place
If you can easily prove one of these things, the court might agree to annul the marriage, but courts are generally more lenient when the marriages were very short-lived.
The final thing to consider with this is the costs involved. According to Canadian Divorce Laws, you should expect to pay more to get an annulment than you would to get an uncontested divorce. Getting a divorce is not hard to do in Canada, but getting an annulment can be. Because of this, it might be cheaper to get a divorce instead.
If you would like to learn more about annulments or divorces, contact a divorce lawyer. This type of lawyer will help you understand your options and rights for ending your marriage.
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