There are three ways to end your marriage in Connecticut. Divorce (or Dissolution), Legal Separation, and Annulment. The most common is divorce. That is where the couple decides that they want to end the marriage because they have irreconcilable differences (fancy way of saying they can’t get along) or one or both spouses have committed one of the grounds for divorce. We’ll get into those in another blog. The process begins by one spouse filing a summons and complaint asking for a divorce. In addition to ending the marriage the couple asks the court to address other issues including dividing any assets, debts, figuring out alimony, parenting time and custody. You know, the fun stuff! The divorce can be finalized by the couple coming to an agreement known as an uncontested divorce or if they can’t agree on any or all of the divorce issues then they go to trial and the judge will divorce them after hearing both sides at the trial and issue a judgment addressing those unresolved divorce issues. If the couple meets certain requirements (married less than 9 years, no children, no retirement or pensions, no real estate) then they can get divorced quicker by filing a Non-adversarial divorce which requires the filing of some documents prepared jointly by the couple, filed with the court and if acceptable ruled on by the court resulting in a divorce in about 35 days without the couple having to go before a judge.
Legal separation is the same as a divorce except that when it’s over the couple are still legally married. But the couple or court can deal with all of the issues that are addressed in a divorce. After the legal separation is granted the coupled can come back to court later to convert the legal separation to a dissolution of marriage.
Finally, a (civil) annulment is the process by which a marriage is recognized by a state court as being void or voidable due to some statutory or common law ground at the time of marriage. A marriage can be annulled in Connecticut for a number of reasons, including:
Blood relation: Marriages between close relatives, such as siblings, parents and children, or stepparents and stepchildren, are not legal
Bigamy: Marrying someone while already married to another person is illegal
Age: A marriage is invalid if one spouse was under the age of consent
Mental incompetence: One or both spouses must have the mental capacity to consent to the marriage
Health issues: If one spouse fails to disclose a relevant health issue, such as impotence, before the wedding
Fraud or duress: If one spouse was tricked or coerced into the marriage
Legal defects: If the marriage ceremony was performed by someone who was not authorized or the couple did not have a valid marriage license
Concealment: If one spouse conceals a significant aspect of their identity, such as a prior marriage or criminal history
Unlike a divorce or legal separation where you don’t have to assert or prove any grounds for divorce, for the court to grant the annulment one spouse has to allege and prove one or more of the statutory or common law grounds. Couples can also get a religious annulment but that has no legal authority to terminate the marriage.
We can discuss which option is best depending on your circumstances and goals, and help you through each process. Please contact us to scheduled a consultation to discuss your situation.
