Can I get an annulment in Missouri?
Most clients are confused about what an annulment is and whether they can get one. First of all, religious annulments are granted through the Catholic Church. Religious annulments are a completely separate proceeding than a divorce or legal separation and they are handled solely through the church after your divorce has been granted. Talk to your priest.
A legal annulment is as if the marriage never happened. In order to get an annulment you must show strong, distinct, satisfactory and conclusive evidence to support why an annulment should be granted. This means you have to have a lot of proof to back up your claim.
Grounds for annulment include:
- Where one party is under age 15;
- Marriage between related persons;
- Marriage where one party lacks mental capacity including insanity, intoxication, and unconsciousness;
- Where one party consented due to duress;
- Between two persons of the same sex; or
- Fraud such as the failure to disclose sexual impotency or failure to disclose an STD.
Most of the time a legal separation or divorce is more appropriate. However, if you think you have grounds for annulment talk to a good family law attorney at Columbia Family Law Group