Annulment

Serving clients in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties

There exists a procedure in New York, as well as many other states, to completely set aside the existence of a marriage. This called an annulment. An annulment makes the marriage null and void retroactively from the date it took place. If you have your marriage annulled, it never existed. The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that having a divorce means that the parties were married, the marriage didn’t work out and the parties took action to set it aside. In the case of an annulment the existence of the marriage is eliminated from the date it took place. An annulment means you were never married to the other individual.

I. The Annulment Option:

For individuals who have been married and have no children, an annulment is an option that should be considered. In some respects it is superior to obtaining a divorce. To start with, when you fill out an application that says: ”married, single or divorced”, you would check off single. In some social situations there are negative connotations to having been in a marriage that ”failed”. Our annulment attorneys have been handling annulment cases for approximately 30 years. In the event the annulment is uncontested, neither of the parties needs to appear in court.

II. Grounds for an Annulment:

The grounds for annulment-in New York are found under the NY Domestic Relations Law §140(e). The general ground for an annulment in New York is fraud. To obtain an annulment the misrepresentation must have been a substantial one which was relied upon by the other party. Our New York and Long Island annulment attorneys have been successful in obtaining annulments for our clients.

There is a misconception that in order to obtain an annulment, one must move forward with legal proceedings shortly after the marriage. In New York you have up to 3 years to bring an annulment proceeding from the date the misrepresentation or fraud was discovered or could have been discovered. Annulments are not simple proceedings. You should consult with an experienced annulment attorney in the event you are considering moving forward with an annulment-proceeding.

Based in Lynbrook, New York, the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo represents clients throughout Long Island and New York City, including Nassau County, Suffolk County and Queens, as well as Westchester County, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island, NY.

Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo

Contact us to discuss your case and our qualifications to represent you. Feel free to call toll free, any time, day or night, at 1-800-344-6431 or contact us at 718-350-2802. You can also reach us in Nassau County at 516-561-6645.