WHAT IS AN ANNULMENT?

An annulment is a legal decree declaring a marriage void from its inception. It’s different from a divorce, where a valid marriage is dissolved and the status of the two parties is “divorced.” An annulment doesn’t just dissolve the marriage, it also makes it look like the marriage never happened in the first place, making the status of the two parties involved as “single.” Annulments are harder to get, however, a Nevada Annulment is easier to get than in other states.

The concept of annulment is frequently misunderstood. The reason for this is because modern culture and religious institutions have presented different views of what a Nevada annulment is. The Las Vegas Annulment Experts focus mainly on “civil annulments,” in terms of family law, not “religious annulments,” which can only be granted by the church. When the question is asked, “what is an annulment?” the answers are not always the same, especially when considering different points of view from State and religious organizations. Let’s look at the differences.

The Courts

An annulment requires a civil court hearing. It is the legal voiding of a marriage where a court order is issued declaring the marriage null and void. The legal meaning of “void” means the marriage was determined to be illegal or invalid based on certain criteria. The party seeking the annulment is the “petitioner,” and the other party is the “defendant.”

Regardless of what State you call home, you may be able to annul your marriage in Nevada. Couples who want to annul their marriage in Nevada must satisfy two basic requirements before filing a Complaint for Annulment. First, you must either have been married in Nevada or one spouse must be a resident of the state for at least six weeks prior to filing the complaint. The second requirement is that you must satisfy at least one of the legal grounds necessary for obtaining the annulment.

The Church

The concept of separation has a profound religious background. The act of separating from your spouse goes back to the time of Christ, as there are several scriptures in the Bible that talk about the act of separation. Although the word annulment in not mentioned in the Bible (KJV), it does include words such as “divorce” and “separate” and “put away.” Take into consideration the following:

1. Malachi 2:16: “I hate divorce, says the LORD God of Israel.” “So they are no longer two, but one.”

2. Matthew 19:6 – “Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate“

3. Matthew 19:9: “And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.”

“According to the Bible, marriage should be a life-long commitment. Genesis 2:24 – Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

While a marriage may be valid in the civil courts, it can be invalid in the Church dimension. In terms of a spiritual arrangement, a marriage between a man and woman was meant to represent a bond of permanent love between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Although the church has no authority to break a legitimate bond of marriage, it does include for itself the authority to investigate and determine that a marriage never formed a genuine and everlasting bond, creating a formal declaration that there was never a valid sacramental marriage between the couple. In other words, either the man or woman (or both) was lying about something at the time the marriage ocurred, or perhaps they were forced into the marriage rather than marrying of their own free will.

An Annulment Is Not The Same as Divorce

Remember that an annulment is not the same as a divorce. A divorce is the dissolution of a valid marriage. It is a legal method for ending the marriage between a legitimately married couple. A divorce may include alimony payments and the awarding of certain assets. In the case of a signed decree of annulment, the marriage never existed, so it does not give you or your spouse any rights to alimony payments, and no division of common property occurs. You also are not entitled to any spousal benefits under the federal Social Security program.