Gavel Insight

Understanding Civil Annulment in Florida: When a Marriage Never Was In family law, we often discuss divorce – the legal dissolution of a valid marriage. However, there's another, less common, legal proceeding that addresses situations where a marriage, for specific reasons, is deemed to have never legally existed in the first place: civil annulment. For those in Florida grappling with the sudden realization that their recent nuptials might be fundamentally flawed, understanding annulment is crucial. It’s not just a technicality; it’s a legal declaration that can significantly impact property, children, and future legal status. Annulment vs. Divorce: A Critical Distinction Before diving into the specifics, it's vital to grasp the core difference between annulment and divorce. A divorce ends a legally recognized marriage. An annulment, on the other hand, declares that a marriage was never valid from its inception ( void ab initio ), or was voidable and is now...

📌 Understanding Civil Annulment in Florida A civil annulment in Florida is a legal declaration that a marriage was invalid from the beginning. Unlike divorce, which ends a valid marriage, an annulment states that the marriage never legally existed. To qualify for an annulment in Florida, one or more legal grounds must be met, such as: ✔ Bigamy – One spouse was already married to someone else at the time of the marriage. ✔ Fraud or Misrepresentation – One spouse deceived the other into marriage through significant lies (e.g., lying about the ability to have children). ✔ Lack of Consent – One or both spouses were forced or coerced into marriage or were mentally incapacitated at the time. ✔ Underage Marriage – If one party was underage and lacked parental consent. ✔ Impotence – If one spouse is incurably impotent and this was undisclosed before marriage. ⚖ Legal Process for Seeking Annulment The annulment process in Florida requires a petitioner to file a request with the cour...