Annulment of military marriage is something you should know about, especially if you’re a military member or the partner of a military member. And are thinking of ending your relationship for whatever reason.
Annulment of military marriage
Most marriages end through divorce, but in some cases through annulment. Divorce and annulment are two very different terms that you should know about. You need to understand that divorce or annulment is always hard on your emotions and even the legal process.
And the annulment of military marriage is even harder, and this article also helps you understand why the annulment of military marriage is more complicated.
Let’s start with the basics:
What is a divorce?
Divorce is the legal process of ending a marital relationship. To get divorced, you need to file for it, go through the process (depending on your case), then the judge makes a decision accordingly, and you finally get divorced.
Grounds for divorce
For divorce, you either need to file for no-fault divorce (which means you want to get separated from your partner without any fault of your partner; it’s just not working) or fault divorce (which means your partner’s actions led to the separation, such as abuse, cheating, cruelty, etc.). The process of getting divorced highly depends on the case type.
As fault divorce causes more harassment, it’s always suggested to resolve issues (regarding child custody, child support, alimony, asset division, etc.) at your own end and make your case no-fault (if possible), because no-fault divorce takes less time, less money, and less harassment.
What is an annulment of marriage?
Annulment of marriage is the official order that the marriage is invalid, like it never happened. In simple words, it’s the cancellation of marriage. It’s not as common as divorce because annulment of marriage requires specific grounds that may vary from state to state.
Annulment requirements (grounds for annulment)
Following are the annulment requirements or grounds to file for annulment of marriage:
- If it’s a forced or threatened marriage,
- If any partner is mentally ill at the time of marriage,
- Marriage at a young age
- If any partner was already in a marital relationship with someone else (bigamy), etc.
Annulment vs. divorce
Let’s briefly explain the difference between the two, so that you understand it better:
- Divorce means the legal ending of marriage, whereas annulment means the marriage never existed (considered invalid).
- In divorce, there is a division of property, whereas in annulment, there is no division of property.
- No-fault divorces are not ground-specific, whereas annulments are ground-specific.
- After divorce, you get the divorced status, whereas after annulment, you get the unmarried status.
Annulment of military marriage
An annulment of the marriage of a military couple is considered an annulment of military marriage. Ending a military marriage is never easy, either through divorce or annulment. Talking about military members, the process of getting divorced or annulled remains the same, but the process gets complicated due to deployment.
Why the annulment of military marriage is complicated?
Deployment and residency are two aspects that cause delays in annulment or divorce processes because military members most often fail to attend the court hearing due to military duty. As the grounds for divorce or annulment of marriage are clear to you (as discussed above), you can file for either one as per your circumstances. But always remember that it’s somehow more complicated than a normal person’s annulment of marriage.
What should you do then?
Usually, the annulment of military marriage is complicated, but an experienced attorney can make it work for you in the easiest possible way. So always hire an attorney who has experience in this type of case. So that they can guide you in a better way by understanding your circumstances and helping you with this.
I hope this article helps you understand the basics of annulment of military marriage. For further details, consult an experienced attorney, as they can guide you better depending on your state’s law and your circumstances.
