Does my daughter need an annulment ?
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Does my daughter need an annulment ?
My daughter got her marriage license, had the wedding, but did not ever turn in the marriage license into the state or county. They are now separated it’s been 10 months since wedding Does she need to file for annulment if they never turned in the license?
Asked on April 6, 2018 under Family Law, Kansas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Failing to turn in the license does not mean she was not married--if they applied for and received the license and the marriage was performed by someone with the power to do so (a judge, a licensed clergy person, etc.), they are married even if they failed to then return the license.
Being separated does not undo or terminate a marriage.
So yes, your daughter will need to seek either an annulment or a divorce. Note that there are only limited grounds for an annulment: one of the people was underage at the time of marriage; one person was mentally incompetent at the time of marriage; one person was currently married to someone else; one person lied about something fundamental to marriage, like claiming to be heterosexual when he or she was actually gay. Apart from such basic flaws or invalidities in the marriage which allow annulment, so that it is considered to have never happened, you cannot get an annulment. Incompatibility, abandonment, infidelity or abuse, etc. are not grounds for an annulment. Your daughter will likely have to seek a divorce instead.
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