What are the disadvantages of having an annulment instead of a divorce?

If you and your spouse have decided to end your marriage, chances are you will be mulling on which is a better choice: annulment vs divorce. Annulment is different from a dissolution or divorce because it declares that a marriage was never really valid to begin with. Meanwhile, a dissolution or divorce states that the marriage is ended.

An advantage of an annulment is that individuals’ religious values are not harmed, because there are religions that are against divorce and divorced persons are ostracized. Annulments do not have the stigma as divorce does but, there are disadvantages to an annulment though -- like for instance, a spouse who decides to leave a marriage is not afforded protections in the same way that divorce does. When a couple decides to get an annulment, they do not have to take into consideration time frames. An annulment is effective for briefer marriages, where issues like alimony would seem inappropriate, and division of property may not be as well handles as in divorce.

However, the benefits of annulment may still be availed of by couples, depending on the laws governing the state they live in. For longer marriages, there is interdependence on a lifestyle the couple used to share, so alimony is a valid issue. In an annulment, child custody is a difficult issue since the courts are not likely to permit an annulment if the couple has children. However, if a couple really wants to get annulled, then decisions like child custody will be determined just as if the couple were getting divorced.