What is an Annulment?

What is a marriage annulment? It is a way to void a marriage  under certain circumstances and the law allows you to go back to being a single person as if you were never married. In my 18 years of divorce practice I have only handled 2 annulments: one where the husband was deployed for 2 years the day after the marriage and the couple got an annulment upon his return. In a second case a woman was married in Las Vegas while intoxicated and only realized it about a month later. The man she “married” was already married so she was able to get an annulment. The 3rd annulment situation failed to be allowed by the court. Husband filed for an annulment against our client, Wife, claiming that after a 2 year marriage it should be annulled. He had no reason and was trying to avoid a prenup agreement and the annulment failed. Husband then converted it into a divorce.

There may be good reason to get an annulment and Arizona recognizes some situations such as bigamy, fraud, duress, incest, underage and intoxication. There is also no strict timeline to ask for an annulment but generally the sooner, the better. A person goes through a similar process as a divorce and starts the process by filing for an annulment in family court instead of filing for a divorce. There is no community property and the best arguments in favor of annulment instead of divorce is when the couple has never really lived like a married couple and shared assets or debts. Oftentimes both parties agree to the annulment and the judge can then grant it on the basis of the petition and it goes no further. If it is disputed, like the case I once had, it went to trial and the judge denied the annulment.