Annulment in Vermont

Divorce Papers » Annulment in Vermont

Annulment in Vermont is a legal decree stating that the marriage was never valid. The marriage which is invalid right from its inception, that is, the void marriage is the base of an annulment suit filed at the court. The duration of marriage or regret cannot be the deciding factors in the granting of annulment in Vermont.

After the annulment is granted, both the spouses can remarry as the marriage was never valid and does not exist in the eyes of the law.

Grounds for Annulment in Vermont:

There are few grounds specified by the statute of Vermont as the basis for filing for the annulment. These grounds are as follows:

• Immaturity - If the couple has entered the wedlock due to extreme reasons such as pregnancy in a young age, it is considered as they don't have the maturity needed to sustain a marital relationship. Some people refuse to mature howsoever grown up they are. In such cases, they fail to work on their marriage or are unable to keep it going in spite of hoping to do well. These marriages can be annulled under the grounds of immaturity or idiocy.

• Lunacy - If a partner is mentally unstable or suffers from permanent or temporary insanity, it seriously endangers the well-being of the spouse and the children. Also, they are not able to provide for and take care of their family. Besides, they spend a lot of time in the asylum for their treatment thus causing long separation periods.

• Physical Incapacity - If a spouse is physically incapable of consummating the marriage due to illness, insanity, sexual orientation or any other condition that renders sexual intercourse impossible, the marriage is considered as invalid and can be annulled on the grounds of physical incapacity.

• Substance Abuse - If a spouse resorts to habitual substance abuse with drugs , alcohol or medications which give the necessary 'high', the marriage is bound to collapse as the addicts cannot provide care and stability for their family which is one of the prime vows taken during the wedding. Supporting one's family and taking care of them is one of the major duties of the married couple. The marriage can be annulled on the basis of substance abuse.

• Bigamous Marriage - If a partner enters the current marriage being previously married to a living spouse, it is considered as bigamous marriage which is illegal in the USA. This makes the marriage null and void right from the beginning and thus can be annulled on the grounds of bigamy.

• Force - If either of the partners is forced or coerced to enter the wedlock, the marriage becomes invalid as it lacks free consent (main requirement for a marriage to be valid). The the marriage is void ab initio, it is annulled on the grounds of force or duress.

• Fraud - Concealment, lying and hiding truth about the important elements in a person's life constitutes fraud. This includes life-threatening diseases, insanity, substance abuse, sexuality etc. Any condition which seriously endangers the well-being of the family and the other spouse which is hidden from the other partner is considered as fraud.

• Underage - When one of the partners is underage while the wedding takes place, the marriage is considered void and invalid. The annulment can be granted on the grounds that a true marriage did not take place as one of the partners were entered into the wedlock without understanding the importance of the bond or the commitment they were entering into. Thus, it can be concluded that the marriage lacked free consent and sacramental value.

• Consanguinity - A person is not allowed to marry parent, grandparent, step-parent, cousin, sibling, step-cousin, step-sibling or any other relative which is half or full blood relation of the person. Such a marriage is considered as incest and hence invalid.

• Invalid Marriage License - In some cases, where the marriage license is provided to the candidate who did not qualify to be married or if it was acquired by fraud, there is a legal process to prove that the marriage license was incorrectly issued and hence the marriage was invalid as the main condition for a valid marriage was not fulfilled at the time of the wedding.

These are some grounds for Vermont annulment on which one can obtain the nullification of the marriage. Vermont is one of the states which recognizes filing of the annulment documents and the records also need to be changed accordingly.

For an annulment to be granted, the couple needs to provide the proof on the grounds which they are seeking annulment on. The only exceptions are physical abuse, where the annulment can be granted immediately considering the threat to the life of the petitioner.

Annulment in Vermont is a better option for couples who got married on impulse due to reasons such as teen pregnancy or were under the influence of alcohol to be entirely conscious of their actions.

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