Married for less than 3 years - what are my options to end the relationship?

Poor Roxy Mitchell. Eastenders' peroxide blonde thought she had finally ensnared the love of her life, publican Alfie Moon, only to discover within minutes of their wedding ceremony, that he was in love with ex-wife Kat.

Left heartbroken and devastated, viewers were able to witness the difficulties she went through in forcing herself to sign the annulment papers to permanently dissolve their union.

Whilst the annulment of a marriage is quite rare these days, the media has been whipped into a frenzy following the announcement that Clint Eastwood's daughter, 20-year-old Francesca is set to annul her week-long marriage to music manager Jason Feldstein. The couple married at the Simple Wedding Chapel in front of an Elvis impersonator.

But what is the difference between an annulment and a divorce?

As a divorce lawyer in Liverpool, serving the Wirral and St Helens, I don't often come across a couple seeking an annulment. If we look at figures from 2007, we can see that whilst there were 129,350 divorces in the UK, there were only 193 decrees of nullity.

These statistics confirm that annulments are extremely rare and whilst you may think an annulment may be the right option for you, I would always advise seeking legal advice first before making any decisions.

Admittedly, the courts aren't perfect, but they are a good means to ensure that things are done legally and professionally.

What is the difference between a divorce and an annulment?

If a couple want to end their marriage within 12 months of making their partnership legal, their only option under family law is to seek an annulment. This is because a divorce is only applicable after you have been married for a year.

And unlike divorce, a marriage can be annulled any time after the wedding ceremony with a maximum time limit of three years. However, like a divorce, there has to be valid grounds which have to be cited and met.

Once an annulment has been granted, you are treated as if you have never been married which is completely different to a divorce because in the eyes of the law, the latter will be recorded.

What are the grounds for an annulment?

In family law in England and Wales, you can only apply for an annulment if you can prove that your marriage is void or voidable as set out in sections 11 and 12 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

The difference between the two is that a void marriage is not a valid marriage, but a voidable marriage is a valid one until such time as a Decree Absolute of Nullity is pronounced.

Under family law in England and Wales, to claim that a marriage is void - not legal - there are five grounds:

  • you are closely related and prohibited from marrying each other. For instance, a father and a daughter or a brother and a sister
  • you are already married or have entered into a civil partnership
  • either one of you was under 16 at the time of the marriage
  • both of you are the same sex but this ground will now have to be removed since same-sex marriages will be taking place from March 2014. Read my blog to find out more.
  • the marriage was a polygamous one that was entered into outside England and Wales, while at least one of you was living in England and Wales

When the courts rule that a marriage is indeed void, it is treated as though it never happened but you will still need to apply for a Nullity Decree as this will allow you to remarry.

To claim a marriage is voidable - defective - there are seven grounds:

  • the marriage was not consummated
  • you were pressurised into getting married
  • your spouse had a sexually transmitted disease when you got married and you did not know about it
  • your wife was pregnant by another man when you got married
  • one of you was suffering from a mental health issue
  • one of you had undergone gender recognition before marriage and had not told the other
  • an interim gender recognition certificate was issued to a party after the marriage

Unlike void marriages, a voidable marriage will be seen by the law as having been valid up until the date of annulment.

I am in a civil partnership, can I apply for an annulment?

For a civil partnership to be legal, it must meet certain criteria such as both parties being over the age of 16 and not married or not being a civil partner to someone else.

If you civil partnership does not meet these conditions, you can apply to the court to have the partnership annulled.

How do I go about annulling my marriage?

Before you make any decisions, the best thing you can do is seek some family law advice to make sure this is the right option for you. If you are advised that it is, then you will need to fill in a nullity petition.

As a divorce lawyer in Liverpool, serving the Wirral and St Helens, please do get in touch with me - I am the only family law solicitor in the North West to offer a free no time limit first consultation meeting.

Have you had your marriage or civil partnership annulled? Do you think there is a need to separate divorce and annulment or could they be merged into one process?