Personal experience with annulment in California?

Question

I am thinking about getting an annulment in California, but I cannot seem to find any clear answers. We have been married since 2005, but separated since 2006 (living in the same house 9 months). He cheated, but besides that I was seeking treatment for bipolar disorder. I want to file an annulment based on my mental incapacity to make the decision at that time. I have since finished treatment, but I don't know if this is grounds for an annulment or what documentation I should provide. Any help or insight is appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

Basically you would have to prove to  court that your were insane. [Ca Fam § 2211(c)]. Yes, marriage can be a crazy form of behavior in hindsight, but that duck wont fly.

What you might be able to do instead is that you could file an annulment based on the fact that the marriage was less than 12 months.

"Civil Annulment

A person may file a petition with the court stating the grounds on which his/her marriage should be annulled.

Marriage annulments occur shortly after the marriage has taken place. As there are no marital assets or children in a short time of marriage, issues like division of property and child custody or child support may not arise. "

http://www.aboutdivorce.org/annulment_la...

I would seek a family law specialist attorney with 20+ years exp to handle this.

search fam law specialists in CA

http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/cert...

Answer 2

Here is what the California Courts website has to say about annulments:

"An annulment (or "nullity of marriage" or "nullity of domestic partnership") is when a court says your marriage or domestic partnership is NOT legally valid. A marriage or domestic partnership that is incestuous or bigamous is never valid. Other marriages and partnerships can be declared "void" because:

of force, fraud, or physical or mental incapacity;

one of the spouses or partners was too young to legally marry or enter into a domestic partnership; or

one of the spouses or partners was already married or in a registered domestic partnership.

Annulments are very rare. If you ask to have your marriage or domestic partnership annulled, you will have to go to hearing with a judge." http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/fam...