There is a difference, legally between an Annulment and Divorce. Our Attorneys and Staff are up-to-date with the current laws, regulations, procedures and required documents that apply to the legal issues of Annulments. The stress, emotional turmoil, frustration, feeling of helplessness, and the consuming thoughts of your family situation can be debilitating. Our Law Firm is here to aid you, support you and represent your legal rights from the onset to completion.

There is a difference between an Annulment and Divorce. An Annulment voids a marriage and returns the parties to the status as prior to married. It’s as if the marriage never occurred.

An Annulment is very hard to obtain and very hard to prove. You must prove the marriage is void as a matter of law, or some type of fraud, coercion, or incompetency. The mere fact that one or both parties are Catholic is insufficient to obtain an Annulment.
An Annulment [or ‘nullity of marriage’ or ‘nullity of domestic partnership’] is when a Court says your marriage is NOT legally valid. After an Annulment, it is if your marriage never happened.

A marriage is NEVER legally valid when it is:
• Incestuous: When the People who are married are close blood relatives; or
• Bigamous: Where a spouse is already married to someone else.
Other marriages can be declared invalid because of:
• The Party filing for the Annulment was under 18 years old at the time of marriage or Domestic Partnership
• Prior ‘existing’ marriage or Domestic Partnership
• Either Party was of ‘unsound mind’ or unable to understand the nature of the marriage, including the obligations that come with it
• Fraud
• Force
• Physical Incapacity

Divorce on the other hand is the dissolution of a marriage between [2] parties requiring them to distribute the property between them in accordance with the laws of the state within which they reside.

California is called a ‘community property state’, which means that all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a party to the marriage during the marriage relationship while living within the state is community property. This community property shall be divided equally between the parties unless they have entered into some other written agreement or made an oral stipulation of the parties in open Court. Separate property of either party to a marriage is that property, real or personal, wherever situated, which they owned prior to entering the marriage relationship or acquired during the marriage by gift, bequest, devise or descent. In a Divorce, the Court will look at many things before determining alimony or Spousal Support, including the ability of the spouse seeking support to support themselves, the ability of a party to pay Spousal Support, the needs of the parties, the duration of the marriage and the standard of living established during the marriage. These maybe simple or can be complicated depending on your situation. “It Just Takes A Call”.

Your issue may be time sensitive, please contact our Law Firm to set-up your Initial Consultation.

Please read the FAQs’ prior to your Initial Consultation.

We file in all California Counties and Cities. In addition, BJ Fadem represents Clients throughout California, the United States and foreign countries with regard to Hague Matters.