Can I get an annulment in Connecticut? I get asked this from time to time.
Some spouses think they can ask for an annulment in Connecticut because they have been married for a very short time. However, an annulment is usually only possible when the marriage was not legal – for example, if one of the spouses was underage or already married.
Some churches have a separate “annulment” process, which is the name they give for granting religious permission to end a marriage. That is not connected in any way to the Connecticut state laws or marriage procedure.
The court process is the same for an annulment as it is for a divorce or legal separation. The only difference (and it is a significant difference) is that if your marriage is annulled you were never married. So an annulment is a court order that says that a marriage never existed in the first place.
Property division is the same for annulment as it is for divorce or legal separation: “At the time of entering a decree annulling or dissolving a marriage or for legal separation pursuant to a complaint under section 46b-45, the Superior Court may assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse. The court may pass title to real property to either party or to a third person or may order the sale of such real property, without any act by either spouse, when in the judgment of the court it is the proper mode to carry the decree into effect.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a).
Ditto for alimony, custody and child support: “Section 46-28 of the General Statutes provides that the issue of any void or voidable marriage shall be deemed legitimate and permits the Superior Court to order alimony, custody and child support as it might in a divorce proceeding.”
Stamford and Fairfield Divorce and Annulment Attorney
I represent clients in Connecticut Family Court proceedings through out Fairfield County including Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 if you have questions about a Connecticut annulment.