Dissolution of Marriage vs. Annulment

A judgment of dissolution of marriage recognizes the validity of the marriage and terminates the parties’ marital status. They are then free to remarry as of the date provided in the judgment.

A judgment of nullity is granted only when a marriage is adjudged void or voidable under specific conditions provided by statute. A marriage is void (as if it never happened) in cases of incest and bigamy, and is voidable (valid unless and until the court declares a nullity at the request of one party and following an evidentiary hearing) in cases of minority, a current spouse mistakenly believed to be deceased, unsound mind, fraud, force, and physical incapacity.

A marriage is void in the event of incest or bigamy. The state of California does not recognize marriages between parents and children, brothers and sisters, half brothers and half sisters, uncles and nieces, and aunts and nephews. A marriage is also void where one party was married to another person. In the case of incest or bigamy, any marriage is simply not valid and never was.

A marriage is voidable where: 1) one party was a minor and parental and court consents were not obtained; 2) one party at the time of marriage was of unsound mind; 3) either party’s consent to marriage was obtained by fraud; 4) either party’s consent to marriage was obtained by force; or 5) at the time of marriage either party was physically incapable of entering into a marriage and the incapacity is incurable.

A judgment of dissolution dissolves the existing marriage, recognizing the marital relationship between the date of marriage and the date of termination of the marital status, but a judgment of nullity is retroactive to the date of marriage and no marriage is recognized. It is as if the marriage never took place.

The majority of annulments are granted on the grounds of fraud. The fraud consists of false representations or concealment of facts relating to a matter of substance such that the deceived party would not have entered into the marriage had they known the true facts. So, if your spouse turns out to be lazy and has a drinking problem, or misrepresented the extent of his or her wealth, that would NOT be grounds for an annulment. But if your spouse had no intention of being faithful, or represented that they were capable of having children when they were not, then a court may grant a judgment of nullity.

The difficulty in obtaining an annulment, even with a valid reason, is the matter of proof. It is often difficult to obtain an annulment following a contested trial on the issue when the evidence of fraud comes down to one person’s word against the other. Often, an annulment is granted following a “default hearing” where judgment is granted based on one party’s testimony and the other party does not appear.