annulments definition
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Annulment usually applies to marriage. In some states an annulment may be carried out by a court (judicial annulment), but annulment is generally practiced by a church (ecclesiastic annulment), and principally the Roman Catholic Church, which traditionally hasn't permitted divorce. Definition of 'annulment'. Word Frequency. annulment (ənʌlmənt ) Word forms: plural annulments. variable noun. The annulment of a contract or marriage is an official declaration that it is invalid, so that legally it is considered never to have existed. ...the annulment of the elections. He may appeal to the Pope for an annulment of his 24-year marriage. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, an annulment is properly called a Declaration of Nullity, because according to Catholic doctrine, the marriage of baptized persons is a sacrament and, once consummated and thereby confirmed, cannot be dissolved as long as the parties to it are alive. Legal Definition of annulment. 1  1 : the act of annulling : the state of being annulled. 2  2 : a declaration by a court that a marriage is invalid — compare divorce. An annulment is a legal procedure that dissolves a couple’s marriage, though it differs from a divorce in that it restores the couple’s status to how it was before the marriage occurred, as though it had never taken place. For some people, divorce is not allowed by their religion, or carries a stigma. How Marriage Annulments Differ from Divorces and the Grounds for Obtaining a Marriage Annulment. Divorces and annulments both have the same effect--they dissolve the marriage. However, they differ in how they treat the marriage. When people get a divorce, they are still recognized as having been married previously. An annulment, on the other hand, treats the marriage as though it never existed. A void marriage is a marriage which has no legal recognition (was not legally valid in the first place, i.e. is void ab initio). Such a marriage is automatically null, although a declaration of nullity is required to establish this. The process of obtaining a declaration of nullity is similar to an annulment process. Definition of annulment. 1  1 : the act of annulling something : the state of being annulled. 2  2 : a judicial or ecclesiastical pronouncement declaring a marriage invalid. Definition of 'annulment'. annulment (ənʌlmənt ) The annulment of a contract or marriage is an official declaration that it is invalid, so that legally it is considered never to have existed. ...the annulment of the elections. He may appeal to the Pope for an annulment of his 24-year marriage.
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void.