Annulment

Divorce is the legal process of ending a validly entered-into marriage, including permanent settlement of marital matters like support, child custody and property division. When a spouse wants to end their marriage, filing a petition for divorce is the first official...

Annulment of a marriage ends it, just as a divorce does. But the grounds and context are different. A divorce is the legal termination of the marital relationship – the end of something that validly existed. Annulment, on the other hand, declares that a marriage was...