Annulment Attorneys in Jacksonville

Legal Guidance for Annulments in Florida

Like a divorce, an annulment terminates a marriage. However, unlike a traditional dissolution, which recognizes that the marriage exists but is irretrievably broken, an annulment means that the marriage was never a legally valid contract.

If you believe that you have grounds for an annulment, contact our law office for step-by-step guidance through the annulment process.

If you or your spouse is in the military, the circumstances may be different than what is mentioned below. However, the attorneys at Owenby Law, P.A. have experience handling cases involving military divorce as well.

What Are the Grounds for Annulment in Florida?

Because the annulment of a marriage is a declaration that it was never valid in the first place, certain conditions must exist for the Duval, St. Johns, Clay, and Nassau circuit courts to allow one. It's important to note that time is often of the essence when it comes to annulments in the state of Florida.

The longer a petitioner waits, even if the marriage has not been consummated, the more likely the marriage will be interpreted by the courts to be valid, and the parties will have to file for divorce. In other words, if you believe that you have grounds for annulment, you must contact an annulment lawyer as soon as possible.

As such, the following legal grounds can be used to annul a marriage in Florida:

• Underage spouse: One or both spouses do not meet the legal age to be married
• Incest: The spouses are related by blood
• Bigamy: One of the spouses has another living husband or wife at the time of marriage
• Insanity: One of the spouses is mentally unstable or incapable of understanding the nature of marriage
• Duress: One of the spouses was coerced into the marriage
• Impotence: The spouses were unable to or did not have sexual intercourse
• Fraud: One of the spouses was deceived into the marriage through misrepresented information
• Denial of marital rights: A spouse refuses to live with the other spouse or have sexual relations during the marriage

In some cases, parents, other family members, or legal guardians are able to file an annulment on behalf of a juvenile who was married without consent or an impaired adult who lacked the mental capacity to enter into the marital contract.

Petition for Annulment

The petition for annulment will need to be filed with your local county court.

To file, you will need the following things:

• Background information about your marriage
• The reason you’re requesting the annulment
• A statement regarding any children arising from the marriage
• Documentation of your assets

If the marriage resulted in children or a significant amount of shared assets, the court might require a divorce instead of an annulment.

Questions? Speak with Our Professional Jacksonville Annulment Attorneys.

As a full-service family law firm dedicated to protecting our clients' legal rights, we at Owenby Law, P.A. can help you file for an annulment of your marriage. We have handled countless marriage dissolutions and annulments in the past. You can place your trust in our solid legal knowledge.