What is the Difference Between an Annulment and a Divorce?

Hands of wife and husband signing divorce documents - annulment and divorce concept

When marriages fail quickly, old secrets come to light, or coercion preceded the vows of matrimony, spouses may wonder if they can get an annulment rather than a divorce. Understanding the difference between an annulment and a divorce, legally speaking, can be a little complicated. However, in some cases, an annulment may be the best choice when a marriage was entered into by mistake or under threat.

If My Spouse and I Never ‘Consummated' Our Marriage, Are We Really Married?

What is a legal marriage? For many Michigan residents, a wedding, and by extension a marriage is a religious rite as much as it is a legal status change. Many religions connect the ideas of sexual intimacy and marriage, but legally speaking, a couple need not “consummate” their marriage by having sex. Instead, a legal marriage is complete when two mentally competent, single adults, who are not closely related to each other, sign a marriage license before witnesses and a person legally entitled to perform a wedding (most often a judge or religious leader), and submit that marriage license to the county clerk.

No specific ceremony or spousal acts are required to complete a legal marriage. All the would-be spouses need to do is declare their intent to take each other as lawfully wedded spouses in the presence of an officiant and two witnesses, each of whom sign the marriage license. Both spouses may change their legal name after the marriage by presenting their marriage license, but they are not required to do so for the marriage to be valid.

Some religious leaders will perform a religious marriage ceremony without including the mandatory civil marriage language or signing and registering the required marriage license. This is illegal, and can create problems, including possible tort liability, for the couple. However, some couples do it – against legal advice – to protect their separate property against claims by their spouse, or to avoid terminating an earlier spousal support arrangement.

What is the Difference Between an Annulment and a Divorce?

When most people seek to end a marriage, they file a Complaint for Divorce, but for a small number of couples, divorce is not the only way out of a marriage. One or both spouses can also seek an annulment, if certain requirements are met. The end result is the same: the couple enters the process as spouses and ends the process as two single people. However, the process and the requirements to prove a complaint for annulment are different from a standard divorce.

What is an Annulment?

An annulment is a court order declaring that a marriage is legally invalid. It could be that the marriage was “void” when it was entered because one or both spouses didn’t meet the requirements to be married. A marriage can also be considered “voidable” if either spouse raises certain issues after the marriage is formalized. There are several different circumstances that can invalidate a marriage:

  • One spouse was already legally married at the time (bigamy)
  • The spouses are more closely related than is allowed under Michigan law (affinity or consanguinity)
  • One or both spouses were too young to marry (nonage)
  • One spouse was mentally incapable of entering into contracts when the wedding was performed due to a mental disability, drugs, or alcohol (incapacity)
  • One spouse committed fraud on the other or made a substantial misrepresentation
  • Concealment of a major fact, such as a felony conviction or impotence
  • One spouse was placed under duress or did not agree to be married voluntarily

If any of these circumstances apply, you may be entitled to file annulment vs divorce proceedings.

What's the Difference Between a Legal and Religious Annulment?

Some religions, particularly more traditional or observant faiths, require their members to receive a religious annulment before entering into a new marriage – sometimes even before civil divorce or annulment proceedings can begin. While the faithful may choose to follow these requirements and seek permission to separate from their spouse from their priest or other religious leader, there is no legal requirement for them to do so.

A religious annulment will not legally end your marriage. Only a judge can do that. Civil annulments are an entirely separate – and secular – process. While a civil annulment may not be recognized in your church, synagogue, or mosque, only a civil annulment will officially invalidate your marriage. Without an annulment or divorce, you will still be considered married under Michigan law. If you only receive a religious annulment, you will not be allowed to remarry, and your spouse may be entitled to certain spousal benefits (including inheritance) long after your faith considers you single.

Annulment vs Divorce: What Are the Differences?

Both an annulment and a divorce will get you to the same finish line: the end of your marriage and restoration of your single status. However, there are several differences between the two processes:

Grounds for Annulment vs Divorce

Michigan is a no-fault divorce state. That means either spouse can terminate their marriage based solely on the fact that the bonds of matrimony have been broken and there remains no reasonable likelihood for reunification. In other words, they’ve fallen out of love and don’t want to be a couple anymore. That’s it.

However, as explained above, annulment is only available in certain circumstances. It is up to the person filing a complaint for annulment to prove that their marriage was void when it was created, or that the other person did something to make the marriage voidable.

Timelines for Annulment vs Divorce

Before you can file a Complaint for Divorce, you or your spouse must live in the State of Michigan for at least 180 days and the county where the divorce is filed for at least 10 days. A Judgment of Divorce also cannot be signed in less than 60 days after the Complaint was filed, or 180 days if there are children involved (unless you can demonstrate a compelling need to accelerate that timeline).

An annulment does not require a specific length of residence. As long as one party is a resident of the county where the Complaint is filed, the case can go forward. There is also no 60 day mandatory waiting period.

Outcomes for Property and Support

Because annulment actions are generally filed in the first years of marriage, child custody is rarely involved. However, in some cases, paternity can be an issue. If it is, the Child Custody Act applies the same in an annulment case as in a divorce case.

However, property and spousal support issues may be treated slightly differently. Spousal support is almost never granted in an annulment case. Also, separate property issues will often play a much larger role. Your Michigan family court judge may be inclined to restore each spouse to the way they were at the start of the marriage, rather than giving either spouse an equitable interest in the property held by the other. The longer the marriage lasted before the Complaint was filed, the more likely a spouse will have a claim to an equitable distribution of property accumulated during the marriage.

Annulments are not common in modern Michigan family law. If you believe your marriage was invalid, or if you are seeking to avoid the stigma of a divorce, you need to work with family law attorneys who know annulment law, and can make it work to your benefit. At NSSSB, our Ann Arbor divorce attorneys can help you review options and decide whether annulment or divorce are right for you. Click here to schedule a consultation with our divorce team.

Categories: Annulments