Can I Get My Marriage Annulled in Florida?
Unlike divorce, annulment is the process of nullifying or voiding a marriage. In other words, you weren’t married for a period of time and then divorced. Instead, you were never legally married in the first place. There are precious few grounds for annulment in Florida, but they do exist. In one case, Mahan v. Mahan, the Florida Supreme Court reviewed an annulment case.
In Mahan v. Mahan, the wife sought to annul her marriage, claiming she was too intoxicated to consent to the wedding ceremony. The husband also claimed that he was too intoxicated to recall whether he was married or not. The court addressed the legal question of consent due to intoxication. A lower court ruled that the marriage would not be annulled on the grounds of intoxication. However, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the lower court erred and Mrs. Mahan should have been granted an annulment on the grounds of being “too intoxicated to consent.”
Understanding annulment in Florida
Florida law distinguishes between void and voidable marriages when considering the matter of annulment. Void marriages are those that are considered invalid from the beginning. Marriages involving bigamy or incest are two examples of void marriages. Voidable marriages, on the other hand, are marriages that are considered valid until some court action is taken against them, which determines they are invalid.
Grounds for annulment in Florida
Grounds for annulment in Florida include:
- Bigamy – One spouse is already legally married at the time of their current marriage.
- Incest – The spouses are closely related by blood.
- Lack of capacity to consent – One or both parties lacked the mental capacity to understand and consent to the marriage due to factors such as intoxication or mental illness.
- Fraud or misrepresentation – One party was deceived into marrying through lies about essential aspects of the marriage. One example would be if a spouse could not or would not have children.
- Duress or force – The marriage was entered into under threat or coercion.
- Impotence – One spouse is permanently impotent, and the fact was concealed before the marriage.
- Underage marriage – The spouses were too young to marry in the first place and lacked parental consent.
- Marriage as a joke – The marriage was entered into as a prank or a joke.
The outcome of the case
Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and held that the wife’s request for an annulment should have been granted. The court found ample evidence to support the conclusion that the wife was so intoxicated that she was “non compos mentis” (not of sound mind) at the time of the wedding, and therefore, could not consent to the marriage. The case was ultimately remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
The ruling highlights the importance of “being of sound mind” during your wedding ceremony, as a prerequisite of a valid marriage contract in the State of Florida. If one party is significantly incapacitated at the time of the marriage, the marriage can be annulled.
Talk to a St. Petersburg, FL, Divorce Lawyer Today
Can your marriage be annulled? Call the St. Petersburg family lawyers at the Law Office of Kevin F. Coleman and learn more about how we can help.
Source:
law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/1956/88-so-2d-545-0.html
