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I AM L.I.P

I am a Litigant In Person

Annulment Explained

 

WHAT IS AN ANNULMENT/ DECREE OF NULLITY?

A annulment – also called a decree of nullity – is a court order stating that a marriage is null and void and it never took place/never existed. The process to get an annulment of your marriage is very similar to the process of getting a divorce. For an annulment to be granted you must prove that your marriage did not comply with the legal requirements of marriage in the first place. This could be any one of the following –

  • One party was suffering from a mental disorder when the marriage took place.
  • One party had a lack of capacity to agree to the marriage.
  • One party was forced into marriage or was under duress.
  • There was a lack of consent.
  • The marriage has not been consummated since the marriage took place (except same sex marriage).
  • The marriage rites were performed by a person not legally authorised to.
  • Bigamy.
  • Polygamy.
  • Incestuous marriage.
  • One party was under the age of 16 years when the marriage took place.
  • One party had a sexually transmitted disease when the marriage took place.
  • One party was pregnant by someone else when the marriage took place.
  • One party was in the process of transitioning to a different gender when the marriage took place.

WHEN CAN YOU APPLY FOR AN ANNULMENT?

You can apply for an annulment within 3 years of your marriage. After this time you will need to get permission from the court to start proceedings.

There is no minimum time you need to be married to apply for an annulment. This is different from divorce where you will need to be married for more than 1 year to start divorce proceedings. 

WHAT FORM DO YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR AN ANNULMENT? 

You will need to send an application form to the family court to start court proceedings for an annulment. The form you will need is form D8N. Please click on the link below to access form D8N where it will go into detail how to complete it, what additional forms you may need to submit and where to send these forms. The topics covered are  – 

  • What is form D8N used for?
  • Are there any government or our own L.I.P help guides or write ups to help you complete form D8N?
  • What is the fee to send form D8N to the court and how to pay for it?
  • How to complete form D8N and where to send it.
  • Where can you find form D8N/download this form?
  • When was form D8N first published and last updated?

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D8N

HOW DO YOU SORT OUT CHILD ARRANGEMENTS AND THE DIVISION OF YOUR MARITAL ASSETS, FINANCES AND PENSIONS?

Form D8N is only the initial application form to start court proceedings for an annulment.

If you want to sort out child arrangements it is the same process as the one written in Help Guide 4.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE 4 – CHILD ARRANGEMENTS

If you want to sort out the division of your marital assets, finances, and pensions it is the same process as the one written in Help Guide 5. 

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE 5 – DIVIDING MARITAL ASSETS, FINANCES AND PENSIONS

You can sort out child arrangements and the division of your marital assets, finances and pensions between yourselves or through mediation. A mediator will be neutral, impartial and help both of you reach an agreement. Once you and your ex-partner have agreed everything from who will live where, maintenance terms, child arrangements and division of assets, you both will need to have these agreements and decisions written down in a document called a draft consent agreement. 

This draft consent agreement is an agreement reached by consent of both you and your ex-partner.

You will need a separate draft consent agreement for the division of your marital assets, finances and pensions and a separate one for child arrangements because they are dealt with at different family courts. 

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE TO MEDIATION  

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE TO CONNECT WITH ORGANISATIONS THAT HELP WITH MEDIATION.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR YOUR DRAFT CONSENT AGREEMENT EXPLAINED (ALSO REFERRED TO AS A DRAFT CONSENT ORDER AND AN INFORMAL AGREEENT).  

Once you have a draft consent agreement for division of your marital assets, finances and pensions you must send it to your local family court that deals with financial settlement along with a completed form A to start proceedings.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM A

Once you have a draft consent agreement for child arrangements you must send it to your local family court that deals with child arrangements along with completed form C100 to start proceedings. 

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C100

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO FIND YOUR LOCAL COURT

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU AND YOUR EX-PARTNER CANNOT AGREE ON CHILD ARRANGEMENTS OR THE DIVISION OF YOUR MARITAL ASSETS, FINANCES AND PENSIONS?

If you both cannot reach an agreement then you must let the family court decide for you. Please read Help Guides 4 and 5. Please click on the links above.