Not all marriages end in a straightforward divorce. Sometimes, a complete erasure of a marriage’s legal existence may be required via an annulment. An annulment in California is a different legal process to a divorce. It means that your marriage was never valid in the first place.
An annulment is an option in California that is limited to grounds such as incest, fraud, force, and others. The process generally involves presenting evidence in court to support one of those grounds. After the annulment, the marriage ceases to exist as if it never occurred. Read along to learn the ins and outs of California annulment laws and processes.
Annulments Treat Void and Voidable Marriages Differently
California's annulment law provides for void and voidable marriages, depending on the nature of the marriage at its inception.
A marriage is considered “void” if it is invalid. Void marriages are those that violate basic social standards, for example, those of incestuous or bigamous character. In these cases, the marriage is automatically considered void, so you are considered unmarried from the beginning without any court ruling.
A voidable marriage is legally valid initially but voided only after one spouse successfully challenges it in court. Often, grounds for voidability relate to the fact that your consent to marry was not given freely. Grounds for annulment include being pressured into marriage by force, fraud, or not understanding the commitment due to mental incapacity.
In void marriages, neither spouse has any right to property division or spousal support. Voidable marriages, however, can satisfy these financial considerations, but the case details will depend. Knowing if your marriage is void or voidable helps determine your eligibility for annulment. You also know your rights and obligations and the judicial steps to dissolve the union legally.
The Annulment Process
Below is a stripe-by-step process for you to achieve an annulment in California:
Initiating the Annulment Process
The first step of the annulment process in California is filing a petition with the family court stating your intent to invalidate the marriage. You should outline the grounds for annulment, such as fraud, coercion, mental incapacity, or another legally recognized reason.
You must file and complete particular forms, including:
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The Marriage/Domestic Partnership (form FL-100) petition starts the annulment.
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In addition, you file the Summons (Family Law) (form FL-110) to notify your spouse formally.
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If you and your spouse have children together, California also requires a Declaration under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) (form FL-105).
After submitting these forms, your annulment process begins.
Required Documentation
The annulment process requires preparing and offering the court a set of documents that include all the auxiliary information concerning the marriage and grounds for its annulment.
The Marriage/Domestic Partnership (form FL-100) petition shows information about your marriage, including the date, location, and grounds for annulment. The petition is your official request to the court to annul your marriage and void it as though it never existed.
Next, you will include the Summons (Family Law) (form FL-110). These serve as formal notice to your spouse. This summons notifies them of the legal proceedings and outlines their rights and responsibilities throughout the annulment process.
Court Filing Procedures
Once your documents are ready, the next step is to process them officially with the court. First, take all the forms you have filled out to your county's correct family court division. When going to the courthouse, you must have the signed forms and the necessary copies.
Most California courts always request that you submit at least one copy for yourself and one for your spouse. The court clerk will then review each of the filed documents and even sign them to show that they were filed.
When submitting the forms, you are expected to pay a filing fee. Filing fees are generally between $435 and $450. You may apply for a fee exemption if the filing fee is costly. For this waiver, fill out the Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001) form and attach it to your annulment papers.
Serving Annulment Papers to Your Spouse
After filing the correct forms with the court, you must deliver a copy of these documents to your spouse. In California, this is referred to as a service of process, which means that you must notify your spouse of the annulment case and allow your spouse to respond. You, or the petitioner, cannot serve these papers. Instead, a third party, an adult over 18, should do it. It could be a friend, a family member, or a professional process server.
Service of process in California can be completed in two primary ways:
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Service by mail with a signed acknowledgment. This may be an option if personal service is impractical.
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Personal service. The server will hand the annulment papers directly to your spouse, the fastest and most reliable way to ensure the process is legally valid.
The server will send the documents to your spouse, along with a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt (form FL-117). Then, your spouse must sign and return this form to verify receipt of the papers. Your server will complete a Proof of Service of Summons (form FL-115) once the documents have been successfully served, indicating the date, time, and manner of service.
Once your spouse has been appropriately notified of the annulment action, this document must be filed with the court, making a record of the court of your spouse’s receipt of notice of the action. Your spouse has 30 days from the service date in California to respond. The moment the papers are handed over or the acknowledgment is signed, this countdown begins.
Annulment Hearings
The judge will assess your reasons for annulment at this hearing and determine whether the evidence satisfies California legal requirements. Before your hearing date, you must collect any documentation or testimony supporting your claim for annulment.
Witness statements, medical records, and such documentation as fraud or bigamy could be evidence. However, if you have children or shared property, the court might also deal with issues related to custody, child support, or asset division, depending on the particular facts of your case.
Both you and your spouse (should they attend) will have the chance to tell your sides on the day of the hearing. The judge may ask you to elaborate on the grounds for annulment or provide some further details.
Court Appearance and Proceedings
In the proceedings, the judge allows both parties to make their arguments. If your spouse contests the annulment, they can tell their side, prove you are wrong, or dispute the evidence.
The court may also ask witnesses to testify, corroborate, or prove the events you claimed happened. For example, if you are trying to obtain an annulment because of fraud, a witness who can confirm your claims may help your case. The court may also review any supporting documents you have filed at times.
Determining Grounds for Seeking an Annulment
According to California Family Code section 2210, you have the right to seek an annulment in certain circumstances or legal “grounds” for a court to nullify your marriage. These grounds relate to the integrity or lack thereof of your consent to marry in the first place. An annulment differs from a divorce, which ends a valid marriage. An annulment declares that the marriage was never valid in the first place based on the conditions under which you married.
Below are examples of these grounds and how to approach the annulment for each:
Annulment on the Grounds of Incest
According to California Family Code 2200, a marriage between close relatives is not only invalid but illegal. Examples of incestuous marriages include those between the following persons, whether whole or half-blood:
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Parents and children.
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Brothers and sisters.
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Half brothers and sisters.
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Uncles and aunts.
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Uncles or aunts and their nieces or nephews.
This description is void, legally unenforceable, and inherent in any marriage meeting. Therefore, these do not need to be dissolved because they never existed in the eyes of the law.
Annulment on the Grounds of Age/ Minority
The marriage of a minor (anyone under the age of 18) is voidable under California Family Code 2211(a)(1) and (a)(2). Such a union can be annulled under some circumstances. According to California Family Codes 302 and 303, people under 18 need a parent’s consent and a court order to marry legally. The marriage may be annulled on these grounds if you married as a minor and did not meet these requirements.
Annulment Due to Physical Incapacity
California Family Code 2210(f) sets forth circumstances under which a marriage may be annulled if one spouse is physically unable to consummate the marriage and the incapacity appears incurable.
Physical incapacity here specifically means that the inability to engage in sexual relations is an inability to engage in marital relations, which are considered essential to the marital relationship. The grounds for annulment are available if the incapacity existed at the time of marriage and was incurable. Family Code 2211(f) provides that only the injured party may petition within four years after the marriage.
Annulment on the Grounds of Unsound Mind
California Family Code 2210(c) allows you to ask for an annulment if your spouse was of "unsound mind" at the time of marriage. An unsound mind, or lack of mental capacity to understand the nature and responsibilities of marriage, is the basis for an annulment. It might be because of mental illness, developmental disability, or any other condition that impairs comprehension or judgment.
In California, marriages involving individuals of unsound minds are treated as “voidable” rather than void from the outset. This distinction means you have to petition for annulment and prove that your spouse was mentally incompetent when you married.
To establish that the individual could not understand or consent to marriage when it occurred, you will typically need professional medical or psychological documentation, as well as possibly testimony of a mental health expert.
Family Code 2211(c) provides that only a person with the legal right to file on behalf of the affected individual, as a family member or, for example, a legal representative, may initiate the annulment proceedings on the grounds of unsound mind. If the affected spouse later realizes their incapacity at the time of marriage, they can also bring an application.
Annulment on the Grounds of Fraud
A marriage may be annulled under California Family Code 2210(d), where it was entered under fraudulent pretenses. Fraud in an annulment refers to one spouse deceiving the other into marriage regarding a basic matter of importance to marriage that, had the other spouse known, would have led them to refuse to marry the person.
Typically, fraud as grounds for annulment includes significant misrepresentations or omissions, such as hidden intentions not to live as a faithful spouse, concealment of children from previous relationships, or deceit over the ability or willingness to have children.
The misrepresentation must be material to meet the fraud requirement for an annulment. That means it directly affects marital duties or expectations. Common examples include concealing an intention never to have children, hiding an ongoing criminal record, or deceit regarding sexual orientation if it impacts marital commitment. Trivial misrepresentations, even if unrelated and amounting to minor exaggerations, do not constitute fraud for annulment purposes.
Family Code 2211(d) says you must file for an annulment within four years of discovering the fraud. This is a strictly enforced statute of limitations, so action must be taken immediately. However, if you wait beyond this period, you will lose your right to seek annulment on fraud grounds.
Annulment on the Grounds of Bigamy
In California, a marriage can be annulled on the grounds of bigamy under Family Code 2211(b) if one spouse was already legally married to someone else at the time of the marriage. Under California law, bigamy renders a marriage invalid because it is an act of marrying one person while still legally married to another.
Such marriages are declared void from the start and are never legally binding. To pursue an annulment for bigamy, you must show that your spouse was already legally married to someone else when you got married.
Under Family Code 2211 (b), an annulment petition from the prior marriage may be filed by either spouse or a legally married spouse. This provision protects the rights of all parties involved, including the legally married spouse whose rights may have been injured by the bigamous marriage.
Additionally, it is important to know that the court will treat the bigamy as if it never took place, and you and your spouse will not have rights or obligations that would normally come from a legal marriage, such as spousal support or property division.
Annulment on the Grounds of Force
Under California law, force is grounds for annulment if one spouse was forced or coerced into the marriage against their will. Entering into marriage under Duress or threat is invalid consent under Family Code 2210(e), which is necessary to a lawful union.
For an annulment based on force, you have to show that the marriage was not voluntary and that one party was pressured, threatened, or otherwise forced to marry without true, willing consent.
Such a marriage is voidable rather than void. That means it is valid until the court annuls it.
Statutes of Limitations for Annulments (Time Limit)
Be mindful of the statute of limitations if considering an annulment in California. There are limits to the law, and if you miss the deadline, you cannot get your marriage annulled based on specific grounds.
Annulments have separate statutes of limitations, and how long you have to bring your case depends on the grounds for seeking an annulment.
California Family Code section 2210 limits an annulment based on fraud, force, incest, or bigamy to four years from the date of the marriage. If you want to base your annulment on these grounds, you must file your annulment petition within four years of your wedding. The clock begins to tick from the moment the fraud, force, incest, or bigamy is discovered, not when the marriage ceremony happens.
For these grounds of physical incapacity or unsound mind, the statute of limitations is four years from the date the incapacity or unsound mind was discovered. If you did not know your spouse was ill at the time of marriage and only realized it later, you can file an annulment petition upon discovery.
Find a Skilled Family Law Attorney Near Me
An annulment is a significant legal process that you must prepare thoroughly and pay attention to every detail. It may be complicated, and the stakes are high whether you are seeking to annul your marriage on the grounds of fraud, bigamy, force, or unsound mind. Filing the correct paperwork and presenting evidence in each case are different.
If you are considering an annulment, the most prudent step is to consult with an experienced family law attorney. At the San Diego Divorce Attorney, we know how tough annulment can feel. Our skilled family law attorneys have extensive experience handling annulments, and we can guide you every step of the way. Call us at 858-529-5150, and we will initiate your petition and advocate for your best interests in court.
