Difference Between Annulment and Divorce

annulment vs divorce
 
Couples who want to end their long time marriage have to undergo certain legal procedures. Annulment and divorce are the two legal procedures for ending a marriage.

Annulment is a procedure by which a marriage is completely erased, declaring that such a marriage ever existed technically or had any validity. Divorce is the procedure of ending a valid marriage, which gives both the husband and the wife a single status.

When talking of the difference between annulment and divorce, the former one is a legal process to obtain a verdict that such a marriage was invalid even from the very beginning. This means that a court will assume that a legal marriage had not taken place and there is no need for annihilation of the marriage. On the other hand, divorce is a legal procedure for ending a valid marriage.

In the case of divorce, factors such as alimony, child custody and property division are taken into account.  But in the case of annulment, no such factors are taken into consideration.   

Another difference seen is with regard to time of filing annulment and divorce petitions. An annulment has to be filed within a specific time after the issuance of a marriage certificate. However, a divorce petition can be filed at any point of time.

Divorce involves lengthy legal proceedings whereas an annulment is so fast. An annulment can take just a couple of weeks, whereas a divorce can take a couple of months or even a year. It can also be seen that an annulment is less messy when compared to divorce.  

Summary

1. Annulment is a procedure by which a marriage is completely erased, declaring that such a marriage never existed technically or had any validity.
2. Divorce is the process of ending a valid marriage, which gives both the husband and the wife a single status.
3. In the case of divorce, factors such as alimony, child custody and property division are taken into account.  But in the case of annulment, no such factors are taken into consideration.   
4. An annulment has to be filed within a specific time after the issuance of a marriage certificate. However, a divorce petition can be filed at any point of time.
5. An annulment can just take a couple of weeks whereas a divorce can take a couple of months or even a year.
6. An annulment is less messy when compared to divorce.  
   

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