The intricacies of family law are never quite as simple as they seem, but annulments are one of the trickiest to tackle. They’re very different from divorces, even though both proceedings work to end marriages. In a divorce, the court is dissolving a valid marriage. When a couple gets an annulment, they are having the court declare that the marriage was void from the very beginning. As an annulment is essentially saying that the marriage was never valid, you can’t use just any reason to pursue an annulment.
Under Tennessee law, there are very limited circumstances that allow for an annulment. The Tipton Law Firm understands how complicated and frustrating it can be to pursue an annulment under such strict laws. His mission is to provide family law services by helping you sort out the confusion of annulment in Tennessee.
Grounds for Annulment
If you think that you need to pursue an annulment for your marriage, you should first know the common grounds for annulment recognized by Tennessee law. You will then need to contact a family law attorney Tennessee trusts, such as Samuel B. Tipton. He will be able to help you sort out whether or not your marriage truly qualifies for an annulment and then pursue that legal voidance of your marriage.
In general, a marriage needs to be intrinsically defective for a court to nullify it. The grounds for this defectiveness have historically been based in public policy, violations of the law, and society and procreation. Here are some of the more common reasons a court would grant an annulment:
- Fraud: One person defrauds the other into getting married, such as promising to procreate and then refusing to have children.
- Bigamy: A spouse has a living wife or husband at the time of the marriage.
- Incest: The spouses are related to each other and closer than first cousins.
- Mental illness or temporary insanity: One or both spouses were unable to understand the nature of marriage when they were married because of their mental state.
- Underage: At the time of marriage, one or both spouses were underage. In Tennessee, a minor needs to be 16 years old and have parental consent or be 18 years old without parental consent to marry.
- Duress: One person only married the other because they were coerced through duress, force, or threat of physical harm.
- Permanent Impotence: One spouse is physically unable to have sexual intercourse at the time of marriage.
Contact The Tipton Law Firm Today
From determining your grounds for annulment to dividing property, annulment cases can be very tricky. When the court nullifies a marriage, there can be legal ramifications for which an attorney can prepare you. For instance, a spouse who resides in the United States with a Green card can see a major change in their immigration status after an annulment with a spouse who is a U.S. citizen. An attorney can help prepare you for these types of changes.
To have a trusted family law attorney by your side, contact Samuel B. Tipton about your annulment case. Fill out our easy-to-use contact form or call or text us at 865-268-6974 today.