Annulment or Divorce?
When two parties enter into a marriage, there are several ways to terminate this relationship. One way is obviously divorce. Another way to terminate a marriage agreement is through annulment. This happens when the court determines that a marriage is void or voidable, and returns both parties to their previous status, as if the marriage never happened.
What Nevada Requires for Annulment
Under Nevada law, annulment is available only if your marriage is legally invalid or voidable. Valid grounds include close blood relation between spouses, bigamy, underage marriage without parental consent, inability to consent (mental incapacity or lack of understanding), or fraud/misrepresentation. Simply wanting to end the marriage is not enough.
Also, the annulment must be filed in a Nevada district court. If you were married in Nevada, residency is not required; if married elsewhere, at least one spouse must have lived in Nevada for at least six consecutive weeks before filing.
The annulment process involves filing a formal complaint, serving the other spouse, allowing them time to respond, and, if contested, a court hearing. Once the court issues a Decree of Annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never legally existed.
Finally, even after annulment, children born during the marriage remain legitimate under Nevada law.
Annulment or Divorce?
Choose annulment if your marriage was legally flawed from the start—such as in cases of fraud or misrepresentation, bigamy, coercion, mental incapacity, or underage marriage—so that the marriage can be declared invalid as though it never happened. Annulments are generally cheaper and faster than divorces and revert your status to “single, never married” if it was your first marriage.
Choose divorce if your marriage was valid and consensual but no longer works. Divorce ends a legally recognized marriage and enables the resolution of property division, spousal support, and custody arrangements. It is more commonly granted and typically involves dividing assets, handling alimony, and other court-mediated processes.
An annulment is different than a divorce. Under Nevada annulment laws, an annulment treats the marriage as though it never happened. In contrast, divorce and annulment result in very different legal outcomes — divorce ends a valid marriage, whereas annulment voids the marriage entirely. With an annulment, there isn’t any community property to divide. An annulment voids the marriage.
There are several reasons why you might look to obtain an annulment rather than a divorce; 1) You object to divorce because of religious beliefs, 2) You want to avoid the stigma of being “divorced” or having a divorce on your record, 3) You think an annulment is cheaper or takes less time than a divorce, or 4) You do not want to divide property or take on your spouse’s debts. But annulments are not automatically granted by the court. There are requirements for an annulment.
Who Can File an Annulment in Las Vegas
Nevada has two jurisdictional rules before allowing you to petition for annulment: 1) At least one of the parties must be a resident of Nevada, and 2) the marriage took place in Las Vegas. To qualify as a resident, you must physically live in Las Vegas and have lived in Nevada for at least the past 6 weeks. If the marriage occurred in Nevada, there is no residency requirement. Las Vegas courts can void any marriage performed in their county, regardless of where either of you lives.
Because Nevada annulment laws are strict, only certain circumstances, such as fraud, underage marriage, or bigamy, qualify; otherwise, a standard divorce is more likely.
Nevada Annulment Laws and Legal Grounds
Requests for annulments need to show that special circumstances exist. Grounds for annulment are detailed in Nevada law, NRS Chapter 125 – Dissolution of Marriage. Most grounds are easy to understand and involve some form of deceit or fraud.
Prohibited – You are blood relatives, or one of you is still married to someone else. If you are married, you cannot get married to someone else without divorcing your first spouse. We have seen past divorces that were never finalized, causing more than one annulment. Marrying your cousin, niece, or other close relative is not allowed. This is Las Vegas, not Virginia.
Misunderstanding – The marriage occurred when one party lacked full understanding due to intoxication, medications, or stress. In Las Vegas, you have plenty of nightclubs, bars, and wedding chapels. It’s why Las Vegas is the capital of marriages on weekends and annulment central on Monday morning.
Underage – Being under the age of 18 at the time of marriage and lacking parental consent could be grounds for annulment. If you were underage at the time of marriage, but stayed married after you turned 18, you may have validated the marriage.
Fraud or Deceit – Not disclosing previous marriages, or marrying to obtain U.S. citizenship, are other examples of fraud. Lying about your criminal history, debt obligations to the IRS, bankruptcy, drug addiction, or sexual preference are common examples of deceit. Both fraud and deceit can give you grounds for an annulment.
Contract Breach – A contract is when one person makes a promise in return for another person doing something. Marriage is a social contract. You and your spouse may have made promises about having children or changing religions. Would you have gotten married if they hadn’t made these promises? If they change their mind, you could have possible grounds for an annulment.
As you see, most qualifying reasons to obtain an annulment involve some type of fraud, deception, or mistake. A marriage is based on honesty and trust, and when these do not exist or are deliberately ignored, the Nevada law offers the innocent victim a path for erasing the mistake.
Bear in mind, any situation where fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit is involved, the court will want to see some proof. You may be required to obtain verification in writing, submit evidence, or get an affidavit from another person. A Las Vegas divorce attorney can help you find the evidence you need before the court’s prove-up hearing.
Killing Time
Time is the killer for most claims of annulment. Annulment requests should generally be made shortly after a marriage occurs. If you wait too long, the court may feel the deceit or fraud was probably known about and accepted. In cases where a couple has been together for six months or longer, the grounds for annulment begin to erode. The longer the marriage, the more likely the court is to deny an annulment.
Void Marriage
The difference between an annulment and a divorce is that an annulment voids the marriage. With an annulment, the court views the marriage as never happening and will not divide property, divide debts, nor award alimony.
If an annulment is not granted, you may still file for a divorce. Either spouse could argue they want a divorce instead of an annulment, or the court could rule that an annulment is not proper. With the annulment denied, the standard divorce process is required. If the case is changed to a divorce, the court would hold hearings on assets, debts, and alimony.
Annulments are cheaper than divorces. There are fewer hearings. The court may not even require a meeting. Fewer hearings typically mean fewer costs.
If you are successful in having your marriage annulled, your marital status will revert to “single, never married” if this was your first marriage. If the annulled marriage was a second or subsequent marriage, your marital status will revert to whatever it was at the time your last marriage ended (through divorce or death of your spouse, etc). This is a very important distinction to understand for many legal documents and tax issues.
Laws on marriage, divorce, annulments, and dissolution of marriages vary from state to state. If you have any questions about these topics, it is important to contact a Las Vegas Divorce Attorney for the most accurate information. Your attorney can discuss your situation and help you determine what your options are. Once you’ve decided on the proper course of action, your attorney can help you pursue your goals.
If annulment under Nevada annulment laws is not available or is denied, your attorney may advise proceeding with divorce instead. Understanding the difference between divorce and annulment is essential before making that decision.
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