Florida Annulment Attorneys
In the state of Florida, a marriage can be terminated one of two ways, either through a court order or death of either party. A court order refers to a dissolution of marriage (divorce) or an annulment. Divorces and annulments, while two completely different legal routes, are often misunderstood. Both make a determination regarding marital status. However, the critical difference between them is that a divorce dissolves a valid, existing marriage, while an annulment asserts that the marriage never legally existed. Unlike a divorce, no division of property or alimony takes place in an annulment. However, both address child custody, child support, and visitation, if applicable.
Divorce - court declaration that a marriage existed, and has subsequently been terminated, with provisions addressing alimony, child support, child custody and division of property.
Annulment - court declaration that the marriage was a sham, was fraudulent in some way, or was never valid.
If you are unsure whether your marriage constitutes filing for a divorce or annulment, contact us at Mockler Leiner Law today.
Annulments in Florida
Under Florida family law, an annulment declares that the marriage never legally existed, subsequently remanding parties back to pre-union status.
While Florida statutes specifically address grounds for divorce, and subsequent legal requirements, there is no specific statute that governs the legal process for annulment. Instead, Florida judges rely on precedent to determine reasons for invalidating a marriage, using case law to fill in the gaps of missing information addressing annulment proceedings.
For a marriage to be considered invalid, it must be void or voidable. Note: All void marriages can be annulled, but not every voidable marriage can be annulled.
Common Grounds for Annulment
Void (marriage was invalid from beginning) -
Bigamy - one spouse is legally married to more than one person or is in an undissolved prior marriage.
Incest - married parties are closely related by blood or marriage.
Mental incapacitation - one spouse is permanently mentally incapacitated and subsequently unable to consent to union.
Voidable (marriage wasn’t necessarily invalid at its inception) -
Lack of consent - one of the spouses lacked the capacity to consent due to temporary mental incapacitation, i.e., from drugs or alcohol.
Fraud - one of the spouses used fraudulent or misleading acts to trick the other into entering in the marriage.
Duress - one or both spouses only entered the marriage because they were being coerced.
Underage - one spouse is underage and entered marriage without consent from parent or legal guardian.
How to Get an Annulment
To initiate a petition for dissolution of marriage, one party must file and serve a petition for annulment. The petition must reflect your grounds for annulment, and an explanation why the marriage is void or voidable. If the opposing party does not agree with what you have filed in your initial petition, they have the right to file and serve a counterclaim for dissolution of marriage.
Under Florida law, it is presumed that a marriage is legal and valid. Therefore, the party seeking to obtain an annulment bears the burden of proof and must supply strong evidence in favor of an annulment. Ultimately, because an annulment is not a formally established law or legal right, it tends to be an extremely complex and costly issue, especially compared to a divorce.
Note: It is rare that a Florida court will grant an annulment, simply because most marriages do not meet the requirements to qualify for annulment.