Annulment in Michigan

Divorce Papers » Annulment in Michigan

The annulment in Michigan is also known as marital annulment or divorce annulment. It is issued in the form of a court decree for marriages which should never have been. The declaration of annulment in the state of Michigan implies that the marriage was never valid or a valid marriage never took place and thus it is nullified. The duration of marriage does not matter in the judgment of annulment in Michigan.

The process to follow and the documentation that is necessary for an annulment and a divorce is similar to each other. The grounds for annulment can be the grounds for divorce. The only difference between an annulment and a divorce is that divorce is a dissolution of a valid marriage whereas annulment is a nullification of an invalid marriage.

The statute of Michigan recognizes two types of marriages. These types are as follows:

1. Void Marriage - A void marriage is a marriage which is invalid right from its inception because something important was amiss while conducting the wedding ceremony and nothing can be done to make it valid or legal.

2. Voidable Marriage - A voidable marriage is a marriage which was valid when it was conducted, but later, due to some circumstances or situations it becomes invalid.

Grounds for Annulment in Michigan:

The grounds for annulment in Michigan have been specified by the statute. These grounds need to be cited and proved in front of the court as well as the judge so as to get an annulment. Let's have a detailed look at all these grounds as given by the statute:

• Force - When one of the spouses or both of them have entered the wedlock due to force, duress, threats, coercion or fear imposed on them, such a marriage is a void marriage as it lacks the free consent of the individuals supposed to marry. Free will and consent are two of the important elements of any marriage and the marriage that took place without these can be considered void and annulled.

• Fraud or Deception - When one of the spouses is lured into the wedlock for some personal gain by the other spouse such as the citizenship, inheritance, hiding the style of life they have chosen or anything that endangers the well-being of the wronged spouse such as the conviction of a felony, imprisonment or incarceration in an asylum can be considered as fraud or deception for a personal gain. Such marriage can be annulled on the basis of fraud.

• Underage Marriage without Parental Consent - When both or at least one of the partners are under legal marriageable age, such a marriage is considered as void as it lacks the consent of the individual or the parental consent necessary for underage marriage such as in case of teenage pregnancy.

  In a tender age, the partners do not have the necessary maturity to work out a complex relationship of a husband and wife which might result in divorce eventually.

• Bigamy - Bigamy and polygamy are illegal in all the states of the USA. A person is not supposed to marry another individual when he is married to some person who is still alive and the marriage has not been dissolved yet. If a partner unknowingly enters in a wedlock with an already married spouse, they can file for an annulment on the grounds of bigamy.

  The petition can be filed anytime after the wronged partner finds out about the cheating.

• Mental Incompetency - When a partner discovers that their partner suffers from temporary or permanent insanity, they can file for an annulment on the grounds that the suffering partner cannot provide for the family's basic needs as well as the well-being of the partner and the children. The family is bound to suffer due to the bouts of insanity that will affect them emotionally and socially.

  The petition can be filed on the basis of treatment being given to the patient and the diagnosis done by his / her therapist.

• Incestuous Marriage - A marriage which takes place between blood relatives is an incestuous marriage. Even step relations and first and second cousins also constitute the blood relations in a person's life. Such marriages are deemed invalid as they are illegal and not allowed in any state of the USA.

  One is not supposed to marry their parent, grandparent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, cousin, step-cousin or other cousins that have been added to one's extended family by marriage.

• Sexual Grounds - Gratification of sexual needs forms the base of every marriage. It is one of the important elements of a marital relationship. Inability to gratify sexual needs of one's partner due to conditions such as sterility, impotency, sexually transmitted diseases, venereal diseases or other conditions which render a person incapable to consummate the marriage, can be a firm ground for the annulment of marriage.

• Deliberate Abstinence - If a spouse conceals his / her intentions of abstaining from sexual contact after the marriage, it is considered as concealment of important information and the wronged spouse can file for an annulment on the grounds of the same.

  A marriage comes with the vows and promises of loving each other and procreating and this seriously undermines the main reason behind getting married.

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