How to Get an Annulment in Illinois

There is a lot of confusion surrounding annulments. To get a better understanding, read further on what an annulment is and who can actually get one.

Also, in Illinois’s laws, an annulment is called a declaration of invalidity of marriage. This is different from a divorce which is called a dissolution of marriage.

The Meaning of Annulment

An annulment is an uncommon method for ending a marriage. In an annulment, the court deems the marriage is invalid rather than dissolved. In more simple terms, this means that the marriage shouldn’t have ever happened and thus is terminated.

This is different from a standard divorce. In a standard divorce, the actual marriage is still valid, but it ends because it has broken down. With an annulment, the marriage is legally erased like it never happened.

Both of these also differ from a legal separation. In a legal separation, parties still remain married. They just become physically and financially separated.

Annulments are uncommon because you can only get them for specific reasons.

Reasons for an Annulment

The court outlines four reasons why a divorce can end. You can only get an annulment if:

1. One of the parties getting married was unable to consent at the time of the marriage due to:
   • the influence of drugs or alcohol,
   • a mental incapacity or infirmity,
   • force or duress imposed by another party, or
   • fraud regarding an essential detail to the marriage.
2. A party lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage through sexual intercourse. (And the other party did not know at the time of the marriage.)
3. A party was under 18 and did not have the consent of their parent or guardian to get married.
4. The marriage is prohibited by law due to reasons such as a party already being married or the parties being too close of relatives.^[1]

There is nuance and variation within each of these reasons. To know whether you can get an annulment based on your situation, call Sterling Lawyers, LLC to set up a consultation today.

The grounds, or the minimum requirement, for an annulment is having one of the reasons listed above. To have grounds to get an annulment, you also need to be within the time limit to file.

Time Limits on Annulments

Each of the four reasons for annulment have different time limits on them:

1. For the inability to consent, the limit is 90 days after finding out about the described condition.
2. For the inability to consummate, the limit is one year after the marriage.
3. For underaged marriages, the limit is until the underage party turns 18.
4. For prohibited marriages, these depend on the reason but there usually isn’t a time limit other than no more than three years after a party dies.^[2]

If a party wants an annulment for one of the first three reasons, they cannot get one if either party dies before they file for the annulment.

The Benefits of Annulment

Oftentimes, the process of an annulment is pretty close to the process of a divorce. However, there are some key differences that many see as benefits. The benefits of an annulment include:

• A Simplified Division of Property – Property in a marriage is more likely to return to its original owner than it is to be split equally in an annulment.
• Division of Debts – Similarly, debt accrued before the marriage will stay with that person and only debt gained during the marriage gets split.
• No Alimony/Spousal Support – Alimony is much rarer in annulments in part because the marriages were usually short-term.
• Invalid Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements – Because the marriage is invalid, so are any prenuptial or postnuptial agreements.

If you want an annulment, be sure to speak to a family law attorney as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss the window and not get these benefits.

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