Family Law,Separation,Anulment and Divorce

Annulment
What is an annulment?
An annulment is a court ruling that a marriage was never valid. The most common ground for annulment is fraud or misrepresentation. For example, one person may have not disclosed to the other a prior divorce, a criminal record, an infectious disease, or an inability to engage in sex or have children. Annulment may also be granted for bigamy, incest, or marriage to an underage person.
How common are annulments?
They are uncommon because divorces are easy to obtain and the bases for an annulment are narrower than the bases for a divorce. One party may prefer an annulment, however, in order to avoid some obligations that a court might impose in a divorce. Also, in a few states, spousal support that terminated because of the recipient's second marriage may be reinstated if the second marriage is annulled.
Divorce
What is a divorce?
A divorce or dissolution of marriage is a decree by a court that a valid marriage no longer exists. It leaves both parties free to remarry. The court will award custody, divide property, and order spousal and child support.
Are most divorces contested?
No. Although divorces may be emotionally contentious, close to 95 percent of divorces do not end up in a contested trial. Usually, the parties negotiate and settle property division, spousal support, and child custody between themselves, often with the help of a lawyer. Sometimes parties reach an agreement by mediation, with a trained mediator who tries to help the husband and wife identify and accommodate common interests. The parties then present their negotiated or mediated agreement to a judge. Approval is virtually automatic if the agreement is fair.
If parties are unable to agree about property, support, or child custody, they may ask the court to decide one or more of those matters. One spouse may sue the other for divorce, alleging certain faults or offenses by the defendant. But this has become far less common than it once was. Most divorces now are no-fault divorces.
What is a no-fault divorce?
A no-fault divorce is one in which neither person blames the other for the breakdown of the marriage. There are no accusations or need to prove "guilt" or cause of the breakdown. A common basis for a no-fault divorce is "irreconcilable differences" or "irretrievable marriage breakdown." As those terms imply, the marriage is considered to be over, but the court and the legal documents do not try to assign blame. Another common basis for no-fault divorce is the parties living separately for a certain period of time, such as for six months or a year, with the intent that the separation be permanent.
Why does the law provide for no-fault divorces?
No-fault divorces are considered a less abrasive and more realistic way to end a marriage. The laws of no-fault divorce recognize that human relationships are complex and that it is difficult to prove that a marriage broke down solely because of what one person did. However, some critics of no-fault divorces are concerned that an economically dependent spouse may not be adequately protected when it is comparatively easy for the other spouse to obtain a divorce.
All states have some form of no-fault divorce, but many states also retain fault-based grounds as an alternative way of obtaining a divorce. Some spouses want the emotional release of proving fault by their mates. Courts are not a very good forum for such personal issues, and the accuser is usually less satisfied than he or she expected to be.
What are the grounds for obtaining a divorce based on fault?
States that allow fault-based divorce vary somewhat on the permissible grounds. Many states permit divorce for adultery, physical cruelty, mental cruelty, attempted murder, desertion, habitual drunkenness, use of addictive drugs, insanity, impotence, and infection of one's spouse with venereal disease.
Will use of fault grounds affect other aspects of the divorce?
That depends on the state. In a few states, fault may be taken into consideration in deciding property and spousal support, even if the divorce is granted on no-fault grounds. In some states, fault will be considered if it directly causes waste or dissipation of marital assets. In some states, a spouse who commits adultery may not be able to receive spousal support. In many states, the fault of a party in causing a breakdown of the marriage is not supposed to be a factor in dividing property or deciding spousal support. In custody cases, the marital fault of a party is not supposed to be considered unless that fault caused a harmful impact on the child. For example, a discreet extramarital affair would not normally be a major factor in deciding custody. But an affair or series of affairs that placed the child in stressful situations could be a factor in deciding custody.