Annulment in Ohio
Divorce Papers » Annulment in Ohio
An annulment in Ohio is preferably sought for religious reasons. It renders the marriage invalid and void right from the beginning and thus non-existent in the eyes of the law.
According to the statute of Ohio, the court can grant annulment if certain circumstances exist and there is a time limit on some of these grounds.
The residency requirement for filing for an annulment in Ohio is six months and the rules for filing a divorce petition are similar to filing an annulment petition.
After the annulment is granted, the spouses have a right to remarry and lead their separate lives as annulment decree treats marriage as if it never occurred and the spouses are considered as 'single'.
The Decree of Annulment wipes the marriage off the state records and makes the marriage a mere memory. There is no proof that the husband and wife were married to each other.
Grounds for Annulment in Ohio:
The grounds specified by the statute of Ohio for annulment need to be cited as the reason for seeking the annulment. It is not enough to just mention "irreconcilable differences". Besides, these grounds need to be proved in order to get an annulment in the state of Ohio.
These grounds are as follows:
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Fraud - If a spouse or both of them have entered into the current wedlock on the basis of falsehood or pretenses, such a marriage is considered to be fraud and thus void and invalid right from its inception. These reasons could include fake pregnancy, disputed paternity, misrepresented gender of the spouse or misrepresented identity of the spouse, etc. For instance, if a person has undergone a sex change surgery, he / she is supposed to be honest with the person they are marrying which is the base of a marital relationship.
The petition for annulment on the basis of fraud must be filed within 2 years of discovery of the fraud carried out.
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Incestuous Marriage - If the husband and wife find out that they are too closely related for comfort or considered normal, they need to file for annulment. Such marriage cannot be considered as valid as it is illegal to marry one's parent, grandparent, sibling or cousin (first / second) or step-relations.
These marriages would be considered as incestuous and thus be annulled on the basis of incest, consanguinity or affinity. Also, these marriages are illegal in each state of the USA including Ohio even if the relationship is legitimate.
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Incompetency - If either of the spouses have been declared incompetent to take a decision to marry or too immature to consider the possibility of getting married and leading a life of "marital bliss", such a marriage can be annulled on the grounds of incompetency or immaturity.
Many a times, such marriages are entered into by people who are too young to understand the consequences of getting married, barely of legal age, confused due to the pangs of puppy love or afraid because of situations such as teen pregnancy, etc.
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Bigamy - If one of the partners is previously married to a person who is alive and not divorced, he / she cannot remarry without getting a divorce. It is illegal. If a spouse finds out that their partner was previously married and the marriage was not dissolved, he / she can file for annulment on the basis of bigamy.
The claims, however, need to be proved in front of the court. The reason of bigamy does not have a time limit for filing for annulment. It can be done anytime after the spouse finds out about it.
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Underage Marriage - The legal age for marriage in the state of Ohio is 18 for males and 16 for females. If either of the spouse is younger than the legal age of marriage while getting married, such a marriage is considered null and void right from the time it took place.
The birth certificates need to be provided and the petition should be filed within 2 years after the spouses attain the legal marriageable age.
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Force - The forced wedding, popularly known as "shotgun wedding", is a wedding where both the spouses or either of them have been forced to enter a wedlock by means of duress, threats or coercion. Such a marriage is illegal in the eyes of law as well as against the religious principles where free consent and will is a requisite.
The petition should be filed within 2 years of the date of marriage in order to get an annulment; otherwise, the couple needs to file for a divorce.
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Consummation - A marriage which is never consummated even after the officiation of marriage or the couple failed to have physical relations until the end, such a marriage is null and void as it defies one of the basic elements of any marriage.
The petition needs to be filed within two years of the date of marriage and couple is not allowed to indulge in any sort of physical relation during the period of filing till granting of the annulment.
- Mental Illness - Either a temporary or permanent mental illness which renders a person incapable of normal functioning and unreasonable and violent behavior, is dangerous for a marriage. The family and the spouse suffer from these periods of insanity which makes them unable to lead a normal life. The petition can be files anytime after the diagnosis.
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