Annulment is narrower than people expect
In New York a civil annulment is a court case in Supreme Court, and it is not a shortcut around divorce. Some marriages are treated as void from the start, while others are voidable and remain valid unless a court sets them aside on one of a limited set of grounds. Fraud is the ground people ask about most, and courts look at whether the concealment was serious enough to have changed the decision to marry, rather than at ordinary disappointments. What happened after the truth came out also matters. A short marriage is not by itself a ground for annulment, and New York requires proof even when the other spouse does not contest the case.
Religious and civil annulment are separate
A religious annulment granted through a church or other faith body has no effect on civil status, and a civil annulment does not satisfy religious requirements. Many people need both, in whichever order their faith community requires. On the civil side, an annulment case can still involve many of the same issues as a divorce, including property, support, and children, and children of an annulled marriage are not treated as illegitimate. Gather your marriage certificate, anything showing what was concealed and when you learned it, and evidence of how you lived together afterward. Messages and records from the period around the wedding are often central.
Comparing annulment with divorce
Because New York allows a no-fault divorce, some people who may qualify for an annulment decide that a divorce is the simpler path, while others care about a legal finding that the marriage was defective from the beginning. Religious practice, immigration questions, and inheritance can all factor into that choice. In a first conversation we look at whether your facts fit an annulment ground, how much proof is available, and what the other spouse is likely to do. We also consider whether a declaration that a marriage was void is needed for a different purpose, such as remarrying or settling an estate.
