Divorce Law and Annulment

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

An annulment is different than a divorce in that it legally makes a marriage null and void. An annulled marriage is considered to have never existed. There are two types of annulment, legal annulment and religious annulment.

Legal Annulment

In order to have an annulment, it must be shown that the marriage was never valid to begin with. Some common reasons a marriage can be invalidated are:

• One spouse was under the legal age to get married at the time of the marriage
• One spouse suffers from mental illness, or was under the effects of alcohol or drugs at the time of the marriage
• One spouse was already married to someone else at the time of the marriage
• One spouse withheld important facts, such as a desire not to have children, inability to have children or having a serious illness
• The marriage was never consummated
• The marriage was between two people that are too closely related to be legally married, such as a parent and a child or aunt and a nephew

Religious Annulment

Religious annulments have nothing to do with legal annulments. They are granted by your religious institution, not your state. In some cases people obtain a divorce, and are later granted a religious annulment. Religious annulment requirements vary with each religion.

Differences Between Divorce and Annulment

The process of an annulment is very similar to a divorce. Similar papers must be filed and similar hearings are held. An annulment can usually be finalized much more quickly than a divorce. While annulments usually apply to short marriages, the duration of the marriage is not a factor in determining if an annulment is an option. For example, if two people were married for 30 years, but one of them was married to someone else first, it would qualify for annulment.

Because an annulment essentially means the marriage never existed, unlike with a divorce, there can be no claims for alimony or spousal support. Any children that were conceived during a marriage that was later annulled are considered legitimate children and child support, health care and visitation must still be determined for them. Some states are reluctant to grant an annulment for marriages that had children.

This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact an attorney in your local area for more information about divorce law.

Legal Information: Long Island Divorce Lawyer Elan Wurtzel. Serving clients throughout New York.

Tags: alimony, Divorce Law, legal annulment, long island divorce attorney
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Divorce Law and the Military

Monday, May 11th, 2009

A military divorce is different from civilian divorce. It requires a special law knowledge that’s not applicable to an ordinary kind of divorce. For example, certain circumstances entitle active members of the armed forces to get a court-appointed counsel and to delay divorce.

Also, military pensions are the one divisible during military divorce, but still subject to different rules. Child support and alimony have another set of rules as well. Collecting support and calculating income may be a little bit more complicated due to regulations governing retired or active military members.

For example, familiarity with “disposable retirement income” is the key to establish support orders when negotiating with retired military personnel. Furthermore, strategizing and planning will require a good comprehension of the special rules surrounding military divorce.

It goes without saying that hiring a divorce attorney knowledgeable in military law would be best for your case. Make sure that he or she has a copy of the “Military Retirements Benefits in Divorce” book because it’s the only authoritative book explaining this topic.

Also, your attorney should also be familiar with USFSPA (Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act). Aside from division of retirement, there are other vital issues that need to be addressed.

Tags: alimony, child support, counsel, disposable retirement income, Divorce, Military Divorce, Military Retirements Benefits in Divorce, USFSPA
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Child Support vs. Alimony

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Divorce is not just an emotional issue; it’s also an economic one. A good divorce attorney will save you more money than you realize. On the other hand, a bad one will cost you thousands just on the initial settlement.

Many financial issues revolve around the actual agreement for divorce. And the two main ones are child support and alimony. Child support payments are not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the payee.

On the other hand, alimony payments are completely different. These payments are deductible by the payer and taxable to the payee.

Fixed payments for child support are not considered as alimony. These are separate payments ruled by the divorce court as support for the child. Each state has guidelines that describe the inclusion of child support. Most of the time, the parent is willing to commit more support for the child than what’s required by the state.

But if the parent has very little income, then child support will be prioritized more than alimony. One important principle in divorce law mentions that the child’s best interest is more important. Therefore, alimony is discussed only after the needs of the child have been provided for.

Child support expenses include electricity, rent, food, and other general expenses needed to take care of your child such as repairs, laundry, and transportation. To make sure that your child is well provided for, ask the help of an experienced divorce attorney to guide you through the complicated divorce proceedings.

Tags: alimony, child support, Divorce, divorce attorney
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