Married couples who due to whatever reasons decide to split up, there are two ways of going about it according to the law; divorce or an annulment. People often assume and confuse the two being similar procedures, in fact, that’s not entirely the case. In terms of legality, both have a few notable differences mostly when it comes to collecting and presenting evidence. The religious understanding, guidelines for divorce or annulment do not always comply with the legal implications of either a divorce or an annulment. To better understand the difference between the two, they have been defined down below.

Divorce

The definition of divorce is when a legal marriage is registered with the state and due to whatever factor the couple decides to split up, the marriage contract is ended legally making both the parties entitled to single status.

Annulment

Whereas annulment is defined as when the marriage was never considered a legal contract between the two parties in the first place, therefore if the marriage contract is terminated, it still remains on the records. If a marriage union is ended through the religious course, keep in mind it in no way terminates a civil marriage legally.

Comparison of Factors Involving A Divorce & An Annulment

The factors involving whether a party wants to opt for a divorce or an annulment boils down to the reasons given.

In case of a divorce, according to the state laws, it’s crucial to provide evidence to file for a divorce. A no-fault divorce i.e. where both parties agree to terminate the marriage mutually is fairly common, the parties still face the resolving of other issues that come with ending the marriage for instance, who will be taking the custody of the children if any, how will the property and finances be divided. All these issues can only be resolved through legal court procedures.

Whereas, in the case of an annulment, the marriage contract is deemed invalid if one of the partners never considered it to be a reunion in the first place. For example, if one of the parties was unaware of a child other than with the partner or not informed of a prior serious illness, the marriage contract is considered void. Annulment also occurs if the marriage doesn’t conform to the legal laws. For instance, if incest was involved, such marriage doesn’t hold any legal status, therefore making it void.

One can file for an annulment if one of the following reasons apply to one’s situation:

• if one of the partners or both the parties were deceived or forced into getting married
• the reason for getting married was because of either being under the influence of any heavy intoxicants or unstable mental condition
• If one of the parties or both were married presently when going for the second marriage, in other words, bigamy
• both the parties were underage to be legally married
• there was incest involved 
• if one of the partners were medically declared impotent at the time of the marriage reunion
• One of the partners or both had a secret child, didn’t plan on having children, had a criminal record that the other party was completely unaware of prior to the marriage

How Finances Work In A Divorce & An Annulment

In terms of finances, the aftermath of a divorce results in making both the parties entitled to a division of property, alimony and so on. Whereas, in the case of an annulment, as the spouses aren’t actually considered to be legally married thus are also devoid of the same rights as in a divorce.

Duration of The Marriage

It’s a common misconception that a relatively shorter period of marriage can be terminated with an annulment but that doesn’t hold true. As stated earlier a marriage contract can only be terminated through an annulment if one or both the parties were forced or tricked into the marriage, were not of legal age to get married, bigamy, impotence, lies, and deception were involved. The duration of the marriage has nothing to do with it being annulled.

Religious Guidelines Outlining A Divorce & An Annulment

It’s common practice in many parts of the world, where religious laws play a significant role when obtaining a divorce but are totally the opposite of the legal way to do it.

Even though one can decide to end their marriage in accordance with their religious rulings and the court may also take notice of your marriage status according to your respective religious rulings but the court will not take into consideration the religious rulings when it comes to matters involving property, finances or child custody.

It is crucial to hire a well learned and experienced divorce lawyer if you want the best outcome of your case.