What is the advantage to an annulment over a divorce?

An annulment can dissolve marital ties. But then again, so can divorce… and divorces are more popular. This may give you good reason to wonder whether there are any advantages to having  marriage annulled. The benefits of annulment should not be measured by the popularity of divorce. Two of the primary reasons why divorce is more popular than annulment are because fewer couples qualify to have their unions annulled and proving the grounds that will allow for an annulment tend to be difficult.

Annulment vs Divorce

The most significant benefit of an annulment is that it completely erases the existence of a union. A marriage that is annulled never happened. This means that the two people involved do not have any legal obligations to one another.  As a result, concerns about spousal support are eliminated.

Property division generally only becomes complicated if the two individuals acquired property during the period after they were married. Since annulments usually involve unions that existed for only a short time, there often are no issues. In many cases there is no joint property and individuals are allowed to part ways taking what belongs to them.

An annulment may also prevent difficulties that arise when a person wants to remarry. Some religious institutions may refuse to conduct ceremonies or to recognize marriages that follow divorces. However, their positions often differ when the previous marriage was annulled.

Legal Advice

If you need to dissolve your marriage and you are not sure whether you can get an annulment or if it is best to do so, contact a divorce lawyer to discuss your options.