Does Virginia permit annulments?

Virginia does permit annulments. However, in order for a marriage to be annulled in Virginia, certain conditions must be met - 1) there must have been a defect in the marriage, 2) the marriage must have involved fraud, or 3) one of the parties must have withheld crucial information from the other. Scroll down to learn more about how to annul a marriage in Virginia.

UPDATED: Oct 9, 2024

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Oct 9, 2024

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UPDATED: Oct 9, 2024

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It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Oct 9, 2024Fact Checked

An annulment is different from a divorce because it erases the marriage, making it null and void. Basically, an annulment means the marriage was not valid from the beginning. Virginia does permit annulments. However, in order for a marriage to be annulled in Virginia, certain conditions must be met. Under these conditions, most married couples do not qualify for an annulment. 

How Do You Qualify for an Annulment in Virginia?

In order to qualify for annulments in Virginia, one of three conditions must be met:

  • There must have been a defect in the marriage.
  • The marriage must have involved fraud of some kind.
  • One of the parties must have withheld crucial information from the other party. 

Examples of Defects in the Marriage

For purposes of getting a Virginia annulment, a marriage is considered to have a defect if there was a serious error in the process. Examples of defects include:

  • The person officiating at the ceremony was not legally qualified.
  • Your marriage license was not valid.
  • One party was married to someone else at the time.
  • One or both parties was too young to be married legally.
  • One or both parties was mentally handicapped at the time of marriage.  

Fraud in the Marriage

Fraud is another reason for annulments in Virginia. If you are trying to prove fraud, you need to show that:

  • Your spouse misled you. 
  • The misrepresentation was intentional. 
  • You suffered damage.
  • You trusted your spouse fully. 

Withholding of Information 

The final reason for annulment in Virginia involves the withholding of pertinent information before the wedding. This information must be critical and significant, and disclosure of said information must cause the other party to be extremely upset. Some examples are:

  • Pregnancy outside of the marriage within ten months of the wedding date.
  • The fact that your husband is impotent.
  • A felony conviction.

Getting an Annulment in Virginia

If you believe you have grounds for annulment in Virginia based on these criteria, you should contact an attorney who specializes in family law for assistance with getting your marriage annulled.  

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Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Mary Martin

Published Legal Expert

Mary Martin has been a legal writer and editor for over 20 years, responsible for ensuring that content is straightforward, correct, and helpful for the consumer. In addition, she worked on writing monthly newsletter columns for media, lawyers, and consumers. Ms. Martin also has experience with internal staff and HR operations. Mary was employed for almost 30 years by the nationwide legal publi...

Published Legal Expert

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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