A Florida Annulment is not a common practice in family law, but they do occur. Florida divorce attorneys do not see annulments on a regular basis because the standard of proof is very difficult to achieve. Recently, I was successful in getting a fraudulent marriage annulled in Jacksonville, Florida. The facts the case were perfect for showing that the marriage was based on fraud by one party against the other, however, that is typically not the case.
For those who don’t really understand what an annulment does, other than allow you to take communion in a Catholic church, it actually makes it as if the marriage never occurred. It’s not a divorce because it completely works to put the parties in a position as if the wedding, vows, etc. never occurred. They are granted only if the marriage is void (one party still married to someone else) or voidable (induced by fraud) and not consummated after learning of the fraud.
A divorce, on the other hand, is the recognized ending of an intact and valid marriage. A divorce is often an important action when there are children born of the marriage, even if the marriage was voidable at the time. The reason for that is because the parties do not want it to appear as if their child was born out of wedlock.
Florida Annulments are not actually defined by Florida statute, but Florida case law. Therefore, it is important to speak with someone that understands the process before asking the court to grant one.
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