Missouri Annulments
An annulment is a legal action that dissolves a marriage. However, unlike a divorce or legal separation an annulment treats the marriage as though it never happened. A legal annulment is different from a religious annulment that is done through the Roman Catholic Church typically after the legal divorce has become final.
The grounds for annulment in Missouri are:
- Misrepresentation or fraud
- Concealment
- Refusal or inability to consummate the marriage
- Misunderstanding
Misrepresentation occurs when for example, a spouse lies about the capacity to have children, falsely states that they are over 18 or fails to state that they are still married to someone else. Concealment can include hiding a sex, drug or alcohol addiction, conviction of a violent felony, children from a prior marriage, sexually transmitted diseases or impotency. Refusal to consummate the marriage is the refusal or inability to engage in sexual relations with your new spouse and a misunderstanding can be a situation where one person wanted children and the other did not or one person expected the other person to conform to their religious views and move to a foreign country and the other person did not understand that those were the expectations of marriage.
Annulments are typical for marriages of very short duration where there are no assets or debts to divide, or children for whom custody, visitation and child support orders need to be made.
Talk to a Lawyer Today
If you want to find out more about a legal annulment and your options with pursuing the same contact Knight & Salladay Law Offices to find out more information. To learn how our legal team can help you with your property division issues, call 573-355-5592 or toll free at 888-458-5631 to schedule your initial consultation with an experienced lawyer. Or you may send us an e-mail.
