Annulment


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You are not required to hire an attorney, but getting a marriage annulled can be complicated. Consider talking to an attorney to go over your options. One way to talk to an attorney is to visit a free legal clinic. Clinics provide general legal information and give brief legal advice. You might also hire an attorney for just part of your case or to do one particular thing, rather than represent you for the whole case. For more information, see our webpage on Finding Legal Help.

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Introduction

In some limited circumstances the court can order a marriage annulled. Annulment means that the marriage never existed. This is different from a divorce, which ends a marriage. An annulment has different financial, social and religious consequences than a divorce. Most couples who wish to end their marriage can meet the legal grounds for a divorce, but not for an annulment.

Even though an annulment means the marriage never existed, the court may order child custody, parent time, and child support for children born during the marriage. The court may also address property and debt division and other issues.

While the court process for requesting an annulment is similar to that for a divorce, the required legal grounds are different. For that reason, the forms for an annulment case are different than those for divorce.

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Requirements

The circumstances in which the court can order a marriage annulled are limited. Under Utah Code Section 30-1-17.1 a marriage can be annulled only for one of the following reasons:

  • One person was married to someone else, including if that person's divorce decree was not yet final.
  • One person was under 18, and that person's parent did not consent to the marriage.
  • One person was under 14 (if the marriage was before May 3, 1999) or under 16 (if the marriage was on or after May 3, 1999).
  • The marriage was between parties of the same sex.
  • The marriage was between close relatives (such as a brother and sister) who are not permitted to marry.

Length of marriage is not a legal ground for annulment under Utah's statute. Although not mentioned in the statute, a marriage can also be annulled for reasons recognized by the court, such as misrepresentation, fraud or refusal to consummate the marriage.

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Forms

There are no forms on this website for requesting an annulment.

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Related Information


Page Last Modified: 2/10/2012
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