Legal Difference Between Annulment and Divorce - Every Married Couple Should Kno

Posted by Shivani Jani on January 31st, 2021

When a marriage ends, it’s important to take certain legal steps to formally terminate it. You can do so in the way of an annulment or a divorce. An annulment is a legal procedure that cancels a marriage and declares that the marriage did not exist and wasn’t valid from a legal perspective. Every state has its own annulment laws and requires certain legal terms and requirements. 

An annulment case is managed by an annulment lawyer in Singapore and can be initiated by either party in the marriage, given that they have the grounds or proof to do so. If not, it will be considered null and void by the court. Here are some of the requirements for annulment:

• Bigamy – Either the husband or the wife is already married to another person at the time or marriage.

• No consent – Either party was forced into the marriage and entered it only under duress or was threatened into it.

• Fraud – One of the partners agreed to get married on the basis of fraud

• Mental illness – Either partner was mentally unfit, ill, or emotionally disturbed when they got married. If either spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of marriage and never gave their consent, this counts as mental incapacity by the best family lawyer in Singapore.

• Underage marriage – Either of the partners was too young to enter into marriage without consent or parental approval. 

Most annulment cases have their own set of laws that differ from divorce. In divorce property, and assets are divided and debts are settled. If there are any children then the divorce law in Singapore assess who they can stay with, along with visitation rights, and child support issues.

What is Divorce? And how does it differ?

A divorce is a dissolution of marriage in legal terms and returns both parties back to being single with the ability to remarry. Divorce law in Singapore can have either a no-fault divorce or a fault divorce. A no-fault divorce states that neither spouse is guilty nor the cause for the breakup and they can get their marriage dissolved legally. 

If neither party accepts the blame for the marital breakup then the no-fault option can be done by the best family lawyer in Singapore. A fault divorce is only granted when one partner can prove the fault with the other partner. For example, an annulment lawyer in Singapore will step in when the other partner has an addiction to drugs, gambling, alcohol, mental illness, or a crime. Some other causes of a fault divorce are:

• Adultery – One of both the partners engage in extramarital relationships outside their marriage.

• Abandonment – One spouse physically and emotionally abandons their partner for a long period of time. 

• Physical or emotional stress – One partner subjects the other one to abuse through violent attacks, verbal abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, and threats of physical violence. 

The state you are in will determine whether your breakup needs to be divorced or annulled and is simple or complex. Research and familiarize yourself with the laws of the state, this is the best way to learn your rights and determine the next course of action to take.