Marriage-Be-Gone: The Benefits of Annulment in South Carolina
What’s the best way to avoid some of the time (and money) wasting fights that come along with divorce? Get an annulment instead. Unlike divorce, which acknowledges a marriage’s beginning and end, an annulment simply declares the marriage to be null and void, as if it never existed in the first place. “When a couple gets an annulment, it’s as if the marriage never existed to begin with,” says Kristin D. Hofheimer, a divorce attorney in Virginia Beach, Va.
This can be a great thing for your financial outlook. The reason is that in an annulment, the courts do their best to restore the individuals to their original financial state prior to the marriage. So, what money and property you brought into the marriage is what you will walk away with, including any debt that came along with you. Anything that is joint, either assets or debts, are typically divided equally.
The problem is that qualifying for an annulment isn’t easy, and it’s not meant to be. In South Carolina, annulments are very difficult to obtain and the Court will only consider them shortly after the marriage and for the following narrow reasons:
- Mental Incapacity: South Carolina annulment laws states that a mentally incapacitated person cannot enter into a marital contract. If your spouse has a mental illness, you can claim annulment under South Carolina annulment laws.
- Fraud: According to South Carolina annulment laws fraud is a legal annulment ground in South Carolina. If your spouse misrepresented him or herself or tricked you into marriage, you can obtain annulment in South Carolina.
- Underage Marriage: A marriage of spouses, younger than the set legal marriageable age, can be annulled under South Carolina annulment laws.
- Impotency: To get annulment on this ground constituted by South Carolina annulment laws, you have to show a medical proof of your spouse’s impotency.
- Duress: Marriage under duress means compelling or threatening someone into a married. This is a valid annulment ground according to South Carolina annulment laws.
- Venereal Disease (STD): If your spouse is infected with a sexually transferable disease, you can obtain annulment in South Carolina.
Couples who are in the process of getting an annulment and want to take action to protect their finances can typically approach joint debt in one of two ways:
- Split the amount owed and each pay their share to take care of the debt.
- One party can pay the entire debt and then sue the other party for half. If you’re trying to protect your credit, you may want to take care of the debt and let your ex reimburse you so you know an unpaid bill won't end up bringing down your credit score, Hofheimer says.
If you are able to get an annulment granted then you might want to seriously consider the option. Couples who can will avoid one of the worst aspects of divorce, namely the nasty financial disputes that can drag on for months.
If you or someone you know is facing difficult situations surrounding their marriage and is considering an annulment then contact an experienced South Carolina family law attorney to help advise you on the best legal path to take.
Source: “Annulment vs. Divorce: How It Impacts Finances,” by Tamara E. Holmes, published at CreditCards.com.
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How do i get an annullment? The man i am currently married to tried to become z us resident and i thought he was already legal in the us then i found out he had a hispanic girlfriend the entire time. I want out of thos marriage. We never even lived together or consimated the marriage.