Also known as: annul · annuls · annulled · annulling · annulments · annulment of marriage · void marriage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A judicial declaration that a marriage is void from its inception because of an impediment existing at the time of the ceremony. The declaration treats the marriage as never having occurred for most legal purposes.
A judicial declaration that a marriage is void from its inception because of an impediment existing at the time of the ceremony. The declaration treats the marriage as never having occurred for most legal purposes.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A judicial or administrative action that sets aside a criminal conviction on grounds of rehabilitation or innocence. The action removes the conviction from use as impeachment evidence.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A judicial or administrative action that sets aside a criminal conviction on grounds of rehabilitation or innocence. The action removes the conviction from use as impeachment evidence.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
After her marriage to Antonio Alvarado ended in annulment, Ariana Azizi never updated the beneficiary form on her life insurance policy that named Antonio. When Ariana died, the probate court applied the governing statute and treated the designation to Antonio as revoked, directing the proceeds instead to her estate.
Alexandra Armstrong and her spouse submitted their marital dispute to arbitration under the uniform act. The arbitrator issued an award granting an annulment on grounds of incapacity at the time of the ceremony, which the court confirmed as within the arbitrator's authority.
Amelia Amari gave birth to a child during her marriage to Antonio Alvarado. After the marriage was annulled, a dispute arose over parentage. The court applied the presumption of parentage because the child was born during the marriage even though the marriage could be declared invalid.
Anika Anand and her former spouse held investment property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Following the annulment of their marriage, the statute converted their interests into equal tenancies in common, eliminating the survivorship feature.
Annulment declares the marriage void from the beginning, so no marital property rights ever arose, whereas divorce terminates a valid marriage and divides property acquired during its existence. The probate code treats both events as triggering revocation of certain beneficiary designations and severance of joint tenancies.
Supporting sources
No. A decree of separation that does not terminate the marriage is not treated as a divorce or annulment for purposes of revoking beneficiary designations or severing joint tenancies.
Supporting sources
Yes, provided the award does not terminate parental rights, grant an adoption, or create a guardianship. The act expressly authorizes an arbitrator to grant an annulment of marriage.
Supporting sources
Andrew Avery testified in a civil trial. Years earlier he had been convicted of felony theft, but a court later issued a certificate of rehabilitation and vacated the conviction. The opposing party sought to impeach him with that conviction, yet the court excluded it because the rehabilitation finding met the rule's criteria and Avery had no later serious offense.
A witness faced impeachment with a decade-old conviction for illegal dumping. A specialized court had later annulled the conviction after new laboratory evidence established that the witness had not participated in the offense. The trial court excluded the conviction because the annulment rested on a finding of innocence.
Evidence of a conviction is inadmissible if the conviction was annulled based on a finding of rehabilitation and the witness has no later serious conviction, or if annulled based on a finding of innocence. The rule creates a categorical bar once either condition is met.
Supporting sources
…v. Walker, post , p. 618, at 631. [^maj-16]: See Hand, The Bill of Rights (1958) 70: "[J]udges are seldom content merely to annul the particular solution before them; they do not, indeed they may not, say that taking all things into consideration, the legislators' solution is too strong for the judicial stomach. On…