The annulment of marriage remains an alternative to divorce in certain situations. Therefore, once you have gathered enough elements, you can file a complaint with the public prosecutor while initiating a marriage annulment procedure. Remember, an annulment of marriage is reserved for an invalid marriage that has been contracted despite lacking certain conditions necessary for its legal validity.
For example, here are some admissible situations for an annulment of marriage: if the registrar who celebrated the marriage did not have the legal power to do so; bigamous marriage is forbidden by law, therefore if one of the spouses married under a bigamous marriage it is an admissible situation for an annulment of marriage; and if a spouse permitted an incestuous marriage. Also, remember that a request for nullity is admissible within a period of any number of years from the celebration of the marriage.
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Remember, more admissible situations for an annulment of marriage are situations of incest or bigamy or situations in which the formal conditions of marriage have not been fulfilled (incompetence of the registrar, etc.). Also, forced marriage is forbidden by law, therefore if one of the spouses married under a threat it is an admissible situation for an annulment of marriage; and if one of the spouses lied to their spouse on a point essential to the future of the couple (we speak then of consent in error). Therefore, unfortunately, a marital relationship acquired by fraudulent activity may, for example, refer to a union by which one spouse deceives the other on their feelings for the purpose of marrying a US spouse to obtain US nationality or a residence permit. Another admissible situation for an annulment of marriage is a case of nullity that concerns the lack of parental authorization if it is mandatory (for example, when the spouse is a minor).
However, the annulment of marriage procedure remains exceptional and often emanates from the prosecutor's office in the most serious cases, especially when the consent has been reached. Remember, the annulment of marriage procedure means that the rights acquired by the marriage disappear during the cancellation: the marital name, survivor's pension, succession, etc. It is also therefore possible to act in nullity of a marriage if, during its celebration, one of the spouses was already married.
The two "married" spouses are then deemed to have lived in concubinage. Therefore, one of the spouses may also be ordered to pay damages in order to make good the damage resulting from the annulment of the marriage and may also lose a residence permit or even a nationality acquired by marriage.
An annulment of marriage procedure, therefore, presupposes that a marriage is in one of these few situations that are provided for by law. It is thus distinguished from a divorce by which the two spouses may agree to a divorce. Remember, a person whose marriage has been annulled will be single.
An annulment is thus different from a divorce, which produces different effects because it dissolves the marriage. And, that is for a good reason: as the legal consequences of an annulled marriage are much heavier. For example, with an annulled marriage one of the spouses cannot ask for a compensatory allowance, support, etc.
A procedure fraught with consequences, the annulment of a marriage is intended to put the spouses back to the state they were in before their marriage and to act as if their union had never existed. In a majority of the cases, the marriage annulment application is examined by a judge. An application for marriage annulment cannot, therefore, be based solely on adultery or a "simple" disagreement between spouses. With a marriage annulment, a marriage can be challenged and canceled. Remember, there is no deadline for acquiring an annulment in NYC.