What is the difference between an anulment and a divorce?

Answer 1

An annulment declares the marriage void, i.e., it never existed. You can only file for an annulment under certain grounds, and those depend upon the state you reside in. Divorce ends a marriage that did rightfully exist.

Answer 2

United States

A divorce is the civil legal dissolution of a marriage.

An annulment is a civil action that legally nullifies a marriage and the parties carry on as though there was no marriage.

Civil annulments can only be obtained under limited circumstances and state laws vary. Grounds for a civil annulment vary by jurisdiction but can include the following:

• lack of legal capacity
• force or threat
• under age of consent
• consanguinity- too closely related
• impotency not disclosed before marriage
• fraud
• marriage never consummated
• duress, insanity
• being under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Laws regarding civil annulment vary from state to state. Some states do not allow annulment if there are children born of the marriage. That makes sense because the couple can dissolve the marriage by a divorce proceeding. Every state has statutory reasons for which a court can declare a marriage null and void. The courts in states that allow civil annulment with children may look more closely at those reasons if there were children born of the marriage since declaring a marriage null and void may have some emotional or social effect on the children. If there are children involved, the annulment does not make them "illegitimate" and the court will issue custody and child support orders. Property division will be addressed as needed.

It should be noted that in the United States marriage is a civil legal status and clergy, among many other minor and major officials including any person who obtains a one day permit, are allowed to solemnize the marriage or perform the ceremony. The couple must obtain a civil marriage license or the marriage is not valid.

Accordingly, the couple must also obtain a civil annulment or divorce or they will remain legally married. Catholic annulments make no provisions for the custody or support of the children

Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church there is no divorce. An ecclesiastical annulment is a ruling by a canonical court that no valid sacramental marriage ever existed. However, it cannot be emphasized enough that the couple would remain legally married under civil law in the US and that has significant consequences. Although the couple would have their marriage ruled by the Church as never having occurred, each would remain the legal heir at law of the other in the case of inheritance and each would have other legal obligations, responsibilities and benefits that inure to a valid marriage under civil law. Note: in the Catholic Church, one must obtain a civil divorce before one can apply for annulment, under normal circumstances.

A civil divorce may be allowed by the Church, even in the case where no annulment is possible for a couple in certain extenuating circumstances. In such a case remarriage would not be possible for either as their sacramental marriage would still be intact. However, the parties would be legally severed from one another forever under civil law.

Philippines

Divorce is not available in the Philippines. In order to legally end a marriage in the Philippines there must be a court order declaring the marriage null and void. See the following for grounds for annulment and grounds for a declaration of nullity. See the related link for more information.

The grounds for annulment are:

• Lack of parental consent in certain circumstances
• Insanity at the time of the marriage
• Fraud
• Force, intimidation or undue influence
• Impotence
• Sexually transmitted disease at the time of the marriage

The grounds for a declaration of nullity are:

• Minority- below the age of consent
• Lack of authority of solemnizing officer
• Absence of marriage license
• bigamous or polygamous marriage
• Mistake in identity
• Failure to record an annulment
• Incestuous marriage
• Void by reason of public policy
• Psychological incapacity

Answer 3

An anulment is the declaration that the marriage that is to be annulled was never valid in the first place. This could be for a variety of reasons - non-consumation (i.e. no sexual contact having taken place) being just one. People who have had a previous 'marriage' annulled are allowed to marry in the Roman Catholic Church as their previous relationship is declared not to have been a valid marriage. A divorce is where a previous validmarriage has been legally dissolved. However, as the Roman Catholic Church does not accept divorce, in the eyes of that church, although legally the couple may not appear to be married, the church recognises that they still are married, and so remarriage in church is not possible. Other churches, however, (such as the Church of England) do recognise the legal dissolution of a marriage, as divorce under certain circumstances (such as infidelity) was even accepted by Christ himself. So, depending upon the bishop or individual priest's conscience and understanding of Christian doctrine, in the Church of England remarriage in church can take place after a divorce for pastoral reasons, under certain circumstances, and after a period of prayer, repentance, instruction and counselling. The remarriage of widowed people however, is perfectly in order, and is Biblically acceptible, as this breaks no vow made at any previous marriage service as the promise to remain married 'until death us do part' refers to either partner, the surviving partner after a death being free to remarry if they so desire.

Answer 4

A divorce is different from an annulment because in a divorce, you are breaking the marriage, in a way undoing the marriage, but in an annulment, the Church finds out if the marriage was legitimate (eg. Finding out if one of the spouses committed adultery, had a legitimate marriage before this marriage etc.), and if they find one point that would have made the marriage illegitimate in the eyes of God, there declare that the couple were never actually married in the first place.

Answer 5

Generally speaking, an annulment is a religious declaration that a purported marriage never existed. It is of no effect under law unless and until a civil divorce is obtained.

In some cases, especially in Ireland, a civil court may issue an annulment on the basis that a purported marriage never existed.