Filing for divorce usually means you and your spouse have decided to part ways after several years of marriage. The decision seems to come much faster for certain celebrities, who have famously divorced after only a couples weeks. Yet, this is not the quickest way to undue a marriage. In California, if your marriage should have reasonably never happened in the first place, you may be able to rapidly nullify it with annulment, a process that effectively makes it as if your marriage never happened at all.
Due to the unusual purpose of annulment, it can only be used in uncommon situations. In particular, annulment is used to remove an “innocent” spouse from a marriage bound with a “guilty” spouse who has done wrong in some capacity.
People may be able to file for an annulment if:
- One or both spouses were of “unsound mind” or intoxicated at the time of marriage
- One spouse coerced the other into marriage based on lies
- One spouse was underage when married
- Blood relation was discovered between the spouses
- Violence or threat of violence forced one spouse into marriage
- One or both spouses were already married to another person
For many cases, you must file for annulment within four years of the marriage becoming official. After that statute of limitations expires, a traditional divorce procedure must be used instead. You can file for annulment jointly to expedite the process, which is often recommended when possible. For example, two people who discover only after marriage they are related by blood will likely both want an annulment. Filing for annulment alone means you need to convince the court to approve the annulment against the likely contest of your spouse. This can become problematic — and fast.
Pasadena’s Leading Name in Annulment Legal Representation
Gille Kaye Law Group, PC and our Pasadena lawyers can walk you through the annulment process from start to finish, taking the guesswork right out of the equation. If your spouse is not accepting of annulment, we will be ready to take the matter to mediation or litigation. Led by Attorney Christine Gille, a Certified Family Law Specialist, we have the know-how, insight, and experience needed to make certain your case is handled successfully.
Begin your annulment case today by contacting Gille Kaye Law Group, PCnow.