ANNULMENT OR NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

Annulment, also referred to as "nullity of marriage" or "nullity of domestic partnership," occurs when a court determines that your marriage or domestic partnership is not legally valid. Following an annulment, it is as if your marriage or domestic partnership never took place since it was never considered legal.

A decree of nullity is a formal declaration by the court asserting that your marriage had no legal existence. This means that, in the eyes of the law, no valid marriage exists between you and your partner. It's crucial to note that nullity, or annulment, differs from divorce. While divorce terminates a valid marriage, nullity declares that a valid marriage never existed in the first place.

To obtain a decree of annulment, one of the parties involved must petition the court. If the court determines that the marriage is voidable, it will declare the union invalid from its inception, essentially stating that the marriage never occurred.