Annulment is the legal process by which a marriage that should not have occurred is legally undone. Annulment can also be called invalidation of a marriage, as once it has been approved and signed by a judge, it is as if the marriage never existed from a legal standpoint.
There are a great number of reasons marriage may be annulled, known as grounds for annulment. If grounds are found for annulment, in the eyes of the law, it is as if the marriage never happened in the first place. If you believe you entered a marriage that should never have occurred due to a legal concern, you can petition for annulment in Arizona.
It is essential to ensure legal grounds for annulment exist. For help determining whether your marriage qualifies for annulment and assistance with completing the annulment through Arizona Family Court, turn to the professional divorce and annulment attorneys at The Valley Law Group. To get an annulment of marriage in Arizona, you will first need to petition the court for an annulment. The judge will examine the situation and determine whether there is sufficient proof that you did not consent to the marriage or that the marriage should never have happened in the first place.
You and your attorney must provide evidence that the marriage should be annulled for this reason, otherwise known as grounds for annulment. If sufficient grounds for annulment are found, the judge will then issue a court order that declares the marriage null and void. Sufficient grounds for annulment may include marriages that should have been prohibited from the beginning, such as in cases of bigamy or incest. Grounds could also include marriages where one party or the other cannot give consent, suffers from mental illness, or is married under duress.
Unlike divorce, an annulment removes certain rights that were gained by people throughout the marriage by determining that the marriage never existed on a legal basis. More specifically, an annulment can retroactively change whether a person had the right to make certain decisions during a marriage, undoing certain contracts or decisions they made as spouses.
