Some people do not like the stigma attached to the title “divorced” so they often ask during their consultation or initial meeting with their family lawyer if they can proceed to have their marriage annulled and not go through the divorce process. Obtaining an annulment of the marriage is asking the judge to declare that your marriage was not valid to even start off with. How To Get An Annulment.

If you find yourself caught on this thought you need to educate yourself further in order to come to an informed decision, if you want to invest time and money to proceed in this manner. To qualify for an annulment in comparison to a divorce is much more difficult, certain factors have to be established in order to proceed.

What Does An Annulment Entail?

Basically an annulment is a court order. It states that your marriage was never valid from the very beginning. The process is governed by Annulment of Marriage Act (Ontario) for a full read Click here

How To Get An Annulment. You may be able to obtain an annulment if you or your partner lacked the mental capacity to know what you were doing. For example, due to a proven mental health condition or one of the parties were intoxicated, you were mentally not “all” there when you or the other party married.

Another reason for an annulment of marriage is impotence. Impotence is the inability to consummate the marriage which in return renders the marriage voidable. This means that you or the other party was unable to perform sexual intercourse and you were unaware of this fact before you got married. There is an important distinction between “the inability to consummate a marriage and the wilful refusal to do so.” As was stated in an old English case:

“The only question is whether the [spouse] is or is not capable of sexual intercourse, or, if at a present incapable, whether that incapacity can be removed…If there be a reasonable probability that the lady can be made capable of a vera copula – of the natural sort of coitus, though without power of conception – I cannot pronounce this marriage void. If, on the contrary, she is not and cannot be made capable of more than incipient, imperfect, and unnatural coitus, I would pronounce the marriage void.” (D. v. A (1845), 1 Robb Ecc. 279 at 296 and 299)

How To Get An Annulment. Either party may move and petition the courts that an annulment of the marriage qualifies.

Marriages of convenience as such those entered into only for the immigration purposes will not be annulled. There is an underlining motive and one must prove there was a lack of capacity to enter into the marriage or that it was not consummated. Sexual incapacity must exist throughout the entire marriage not just on the night of marriage.

The Three Underlining Bars To Annulment

• Collusion
• Estoppel
• Insincerity

Collusion

• An agreement between the two parties that the marriage was entered to supress evidence
• The marriage was entered on the motive of fabricating evidence
• The marriage was entered to subvert the administration of justice

Estoppel

If one of the parties obtained a decree of nullity from a foreign court but that court was incompetent to assume jurisdiction, it may be precluded from attacking the validity of the foreign decree for the purpose of securing an advantage. For example, if a spouse obtains a decree of nullity of marriage from a foreign court that did not have the jurisdiction over the matter this decree would not be acknowledged by the Canadian courts. The marriage may still find itself to be valid in the Canadian system. However, if one of the spouses died leaving behind an estate the living spouse may be estopped from asserting succession rights under the Canadian laws. How To Get An Annulment.

Insincerity

How To Get An Annulment. This bar is based on the notion that “you cannot have your cake and eat it.”

If the parties adapt the habits of a married couple but then have a primatial agreement between them whereby the parties undertake not to engage in sexual intercourse after marriage, the court may refuse to annual the marriage.

Religious Annulment

If you find yourself unable to obtain an annulment through the Canadian Court System in the Province of Ontario, you might be able to talk to your religious advisor in regards to the steps you can take to have a religious annulment. Obtaining a religious annulment does not terminate a marriage in the civil system – Canadian law. You still must follow the steps of seeking an annulment or divorce in order to achieve your clean break from the other party in Ontario.

If you feel that you are in need of a good family lawyer call the team at AYOUN LAW. They are a trusted reputable team that are personable and there to serve you. You can reach them at 905-232-2793. Your call will always connect you to a lawyer! Call Now. How To Get An Annulment.