What Is The Difference Between Annulment and Divorce?
When people are considering divorce the word annulment might show up. In Michigan, there are two ways to end a marriage, annulment, and divorce. In this blog, we will be going over the difference between annulment and divorce and what steps you should take if you want to end your marriage.
What Is Annulment?
Annulment is a popular question that comes up when two individuals get married and are only married for a short amount of time. Annulment is NOT time based. There is a big difference between an annulment and a divorce. Michigan is a no fault divorce state, which means you don’t have to prove why you want a divorce you just have to ask for one. An annulment is a much more complicated analysis and is harder for the court to grant.
Annulment is not based on the amount of time being married; it is essentially based on fraud. In other words the marriage should not be terminated but rather void from the beginning. For example, you could be married to someone who turns out to be married to someone else and they were aware of it when you were not. If you just marry someone and it turns out you realized that you made a mistake, that is not an annulment but instead, that is a regular divorce. An annulment is a legal procedure that cancels a marriage. An annulled marriage is erased from a legal perspective, and it declares that the marriage never technically existed and was never valid.
Child Custody In Annulment
When it comes to child custody, legal separation is identical to divorce. This makes sense given that separations are either a preliminary step before a divorce or an identical alternative to one. The only difference being that the parties are technically still legally married, which has no bearing on child custody issues. As for annulment, the answer is mostly the same with a few minor complications. Annulment does not change the fact that child custody is not affected by the relationship status of the parents, so there is nothing that says that the rules are different for an annulment.
The only wrinkle is that the court has certain practices when it comes to the paternity status of the alleged father of a child. Family courts presume that the husband of the mother is the father of the child. However, annulment means that the marriage never existed so the male partner is not actually her husband. This is a very easy issue to resolve because the courts will also accept the father acknowledging himself as the legal father, to say nothing of DNA tests. Once a valid form of fatherhood is established, then both legal parents possess the same rights as any other mother and father, married or otherwise.
Does annulment make a difference when it comes to grandparents’ rights?
Surprisingly, yes. Both marriage and divorce give comparatively little deference to grandparents when it comes to visitation or custody. This is because family courts give strong deference and priority to married parents.
However, when annulment renders the marriage nonexistent, this opens the door to grandparents being granted visitation or even custody if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the child.
Conclusion
Michigan is a no-fault divorce state. You do not have to prove anything to get a divorce. If the marriage breaks down, there is no explanation needed. The best course of action to take is to speak to your attorney and make sure they receive all the information about your situation. Your attorney will know if you need an annulment or a divorce based on your situation. If you need more information on Divorce in The State of Michigan contact Goldman and Associates Law Firm. At Goldman and Associates, our attorneys are experts in family law and they will thoroughly examine all aspects of your divorce. With the best lawyers in Michigan, Goldman and Associates takes each and every case very seriously and gives you the outcome you desire.
For more information on divorce in the State of Michigan watch the video below and check out the Goldman and Associates YouTube channel for more videos on everything relating to law in Michigan. Make sure to give our attorneys a call if you have any questions.
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