Timothy F. Rayne, Esquire

Dissolving a marriage by annulment depends
on the marriage's legal validity

In Pennsylvania, marriages can be terminated in one of two ways – by divorce or by annulment. Divorce terminates a valid marriage from the date of the decree forward. An annulment destroys the existence of a "void" or "voidable" marriage and everything pertaining to that marriage from its inception.

Pennsylvania has different rules concerning annulments depending upon whether a marriage is considered void or voidable.

Void Marriages
The following marriages are deemed to be void – that is, having
no legal legitimacy:

• Where either party at the time of the marriage had an existing spouse and the former marriage had not been annulled nor had there been a divorce;
• A marriage between close family members: parent and child, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, grandparent and grandchild, or first cousins;
• Where either party was incapable of consenting by reason of insanity or serious mental disorder or otherwise lacked the capacity to consent or did not intend to consent to the marriage; or
• Where either party to an alleged common-law marriage was under 18.

Void marriages can be declared valid in the event that the parties cohabitate after the removal of the impediment. For example, a marriage that is void due to a prior marriage not terminated will be ratified if the parties cohabitate after the prior marriage is terminated. In order to annul a void marriage, a court action must be filed to prove that it is void.

Voidable Marriages
The following marriages are characterized as voidable-meaning their legal legitimacy may or may not be challenged:

• Where either party was under 16 years of age, unless the marriage was expressly authorized by the court;
• Where either party was 16 or 17 years of age and lacked parental consent or court authorization and an action for annulment is started within 60 days after the marriage ceremony;
• Where either party to the marriage was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and the action for annulment is commenced within 60 days of the marriage ceremony; or
• Where one party was induced to enter into the marriage due to fraud, duress, coercion or force on the part of the other party and there was no voluntary cohabitation after knowledge of the fraud or release from the effects of fraud, duress, coercion or force.

In the case of voidable marriages, either party may seek an annulment through court action; however, until the annulment decree is obtained from the court, the marriage is still valid. The validity of a voidable marriage cannot be subject to attack or question if confirmed by the parties or if either party has died.

Property Rights in Annulment Actions
The Divorce Code provides that equitable distribution of marital property, alimony, counsel fees and expenses are available in annulment actions, as well as divorce actions. Accordingly, there is no particular economic advantage in obtaining an annulment rather than a divorce.

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