Every year, hundreds of thousands of marriages in the United States end in court. In 2023, the CDC counted about 672,500 divorces and annulments. The divorce rate was reported to be at 2.4 per 1,000 people across the 45 states and D.C. that report the data. Most of these cases are divorces, with annulments making up only a small share of the total.
Annulment is often mistakenly thought to be a synonym for divorce. But this is a common misconception. In reality, annulment is a much less common alternative to divorce. The difference affects what happens once a court gets involved.
Let's talk about the processes, who qualifies for each, and what each means for property, child support, and child custody.
Divorce Ends a Marriage. Annulment Says It Never Legally Existed.
Divorce refers to the formal termination of a marriage in a court. In contrast, an annulment is a declaration that the marriage never legally existed.
An annulment may be granted based upon illegality, like bigamy. Another example is how the consent was obtained, like fraud or coercion. After an annulment has been granted, the marriage is deemed to have never occurred. This outcome can change how property and alimony are handled. In California, if a spouse believed in good faith that the marriage was legal, that spouse may still receive a share of the property and spousal support.
Children are the main exception. Knowing how to file for child custody matters either way, since custody has to be settled whether the marriage ends in divorce or annulment. The steps vary by state. In New York, for example, a parent can file a custody petition in Family Court, or custody can be decided in Supreme Court as part of a divorce.
Why Annulment is Harder to Obtain Than Most People Expect
Every state now allows no-fault divorce, based simply on the marriage not working out. In comparison, an annulment requires proving one of a few limited grounds.
For instance, in the state of California, there are basically two types of marriage. The first type is a marriage that is void from its inception. These cases include those that involve incest or bigamy. The other type is a voidable marriage, which is deemed valid unless and until the court annuls it based on one of several possible grounds. Examples of valid grounds include underage marriage without proper consent, fraud, duress, and mental incapacity.
The length of the marriage alone doesn't decide eligibility, but timing still matters. Most voidable grounds must be raised within four years, and continuing to live together after discovering fraud or after coercion ends can rule out an annulment.
When Divorce Is the Only Realistic Option
Most marriage problems don't qualify for an annulment. Typical issues, like quarrels, financial hardship, and infidelity, don't make a marriage null and void. The majority of broken marriages, however, end in divorce.
Custody and Support Questions Don't Disappear Either Way
Whether a relationship presents as divorce or annulment, the relationship structure is irrelevant for child custody, visitation, and child support, as courts assess these issues uniformly. Judges decide based on the child's best interests, and stability is often part of that.
Family procedural rules involve requirements that concern where a family law case is decided, how certain filings for a family case must be filed with the court, and how one parent must notify the other. Individual states legislate these requirements, which can differ across jurisdictions.
When it comes to divorce or annulment cases, you can find child custody as the most controversial and contentious issue. In California, the court has to weigh the child's health and safety, including any history of abuse or substance use.
According to Carlsbad divorce lawyer Erica Bloom and their website overview, evidence matters in the child custody cases. It's also important how each required step is handled in the process. These details can affect the result for a long time.
Getting the Right Process From the Start
Figuring out which process applies is often the first real decision in an already difficult situation, as annulment and divorce lead to very different outcomes regarding property and support. The rules surrounding annulment's eligibility are much stricter than those for divorce.
There are many reasons a couple may want to end a marriage, but the law, not the couple, decides which process they qualify for. Divorce is for marriages that simply didn't work. Annulment is for the small number of marriages that were legally flawed from the beginning. Each has its own impact on how property and support are handled.
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