Annulment Attorney in Overland Park, Kansas

In some situations, parties to a marriage may seek to have it annulled. An annulment is different from a divorce because it is a declaration that the marriage did not exist. Under the law, it is as though the marriage never took place. Annulments are only available in specific circumstances. A family law attorney can work with you to determine whether your marriage qualifies for an annulment.

KANSAS ANNULMENT REQUIREMENTS

An annulment is based on the validity of the marriage itself. In other words, it’s a declaration that something about the circumstances of the marriage was not valid at the time the marriage happened. 

This could occur if:

• The marriage is void for any reason, such as one party being unable to marry due to age or because they already had a valid legal marriage.

• The marriage is voidable because it was brought about by fraud. This means that although the marriage was legal at the time because one party defrauded the other, it should be declared void. This could happen if one party lied about who they were in order to induce the other person to marry them.

• The marriage is voidable because it was brought about by a mistake of fact, lack of knowledge of a material fact, or other reason justifying the cancellation of the marriage contract. This may happen if one spouse has a significant mental or physical health condition and did not inform the other spouse before marriage.

ANNULMENT PROCESS

In an annulment process, a court will determine issues of child custody, support, alimony and property and debt division just as it would in a divorce case. In Kansas, there is no residency requirement to file an annulment action; you do not have to be an official resident of Kansas to file this type of action. Unlike in a divorce, there is no waiting period for the annulment to be finalized. Kansas law does not set a time limit on the length of the marriage to be eligible for an annulment.