Orange County Annulment Attorney

Divorcing spouses in the state of California have a number of legal alternatives to the traditional courtroom-centered divorce proceeding. Those alternatives include legal separation, annulment, arbitration, mediation, and “collaborative” divorce. However, before choosing divorce, you should seriously consider the legal separation and dissolution options. In California, however, you can’t just walk into a courtroom and ask for an annulment. Annulments are rare, are often misunderstood, and may only be granted by a California judge for specific reasons.

Before you make any final decision about formally ending your marriage, it can’t hurt to seek sound legal advice from a reliable Orange County divorce attorney. If you are right now thinking seriously about ending your marriage, make the call to Bayati Law Group and get that legal advice from a divorce lawyer as quickly as possible. An annulment or a legal separation is often less costly and less emotionally-charged than a divorce, and if you are legally eligible for an annulment, it’s almost always the best option for concluding a marriage.

An annulment is a legal way to be absolutely certain that your marriage is legally null and void. Annulments end marriages in cases where the marriage was never actually “valid” from the start. An annulment is similar in many ways to a divorce or a legal separation, except that you wish to “annul” the marriage – that is, to declare legally that it never was a valid marriage – rather than “dissolve” a marriage that was in fact valid. Not every state offers the annulment alternative, and the courts in California will not grant every request for an annulment.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNULMENT

In fact, the legal requirements for a dissolution are quite precise in the state of California, and if a couple’s marriage does not satisfy the annulment requirements, they may need to consider obtaining a divorce or legal separation services instead. An experienced and dedicated Orange County annulment attorney at Bayati Law Group can help you determine if you meet the state’s legal requirements for annulment and if is the right option for you. Call Bayati Law Group at once for help and advice regarding an annulment, a legal separation, or a divorce. If your marriage does not qualify for an annulment, our family law and divorce attorneys can provide you with the legal resources you need to determine how to move forward.

A judge in California overseeing the annulment process will always grant a dissolution when it can be proven that a wedding is bigamous or incestuous. If false pretenses or any kind of fraud, force, or intimidation led to a marriage – and it can be proven – the marriage can almost always be annulled. A marriage in California may also be annulled if one of the spouses was too young to be married or if one partner suffered from any kind of physical or mental incapacity at the time of the marriage.

In a California annulment proceeding, when couples can agree on child custody, child support, and the division of marital property, an annulment can be granted in far less time than the typical California divorce, which is why so many people prefer this over litigation. If agreements cannot be reached because of unresolved issues involving personal matters or the children, a court conducting an annulment procedure in the state of California may make the same types of orders a court makes in a divorce proceeding, including but not limited to:

• Division of community property
• Determination of separate property claims
• Setting the terms of child support payments
• Setting the terms for child custody and visitation

WHAT YOU MUST PROVE

When you are seeking the dissolution of a wedding in the state of California, you must prove to a California court that at least one of the following conditions applies to the marriage:

• The marriage was bigamous; one spouse was already in a marriage to someone else.
• The marriage was incestuous; the partners were blood-related.
• The marriage was fraudulent, such as a marriage solely to obtain a green card.
• The marriage was forced rather than voluntary.
• One spouse was not yet 18 years of age at the time of the marriage.
• One spouse was not of “sound mind” at the time of the marriage.
• One spouse cannot consummate the marriage, and the condition seems to be incurable.
• A former spouse who had missing for five or more years or who was thought to be dead has returned.

Quite frankly, in some annulment proceedings, proving any of these issues to the satisfaction of a California court may be genuinely difficult. If one or more of these conditions does not exist in the marriage, it is virtually impossible for a judge in this state to grant an dissolution, and the alternative for most couples will be divorce. That’s another reason to retain the help of Bayati Law Group if you are seeking an annulment.

Our knowledgeable Orange County annulment attorneys have helped clients who are seeking annulments, so we have the experience you need to get through this long process and feel great about the outcome. We know what it takes to make it work and reach an agreement with your ex-spouse. If annulment is the option you choose, and if you meet the legal requirements for an dissolution in California, we can help you. If you do not meet the requirements for annulment, our divorce lawyers will meet with you to help you consider your remaining options for ending your wedding.

OUR JOB IS HELPING YOU

The truth is that California divorces and California annulments in the end accomplish most of the same goals. Both procedures dissolve marriages and remove couples from the legally incumbent obligations of a marriage license. In order to determine if your marriage is eligible for an annulment in this state, it is important that you consult with an experienced Orange County divorce attorney from the very beginning.

Whether you need immediate legal advice and representation from an experienced Orange County annulment attorney, or if you simply need some reliable legal guidance for yourself, for your family, and for your future, Bayati Law Group is available in southern California to evaluate your situation, to discuss your options, and to help you make the right legal decisions regarding your marriage and family.

Every Bayati Law Group client and prospective client is treated with complete respect and is extended every professional courtesy. Every call and email is returned promptly to ensure you receive the customer service you deserve. You can schedule a consultation appointment with an experienced Orange County annulment attorney today by calling (949) 798-5700 or by completing the form on this website’s contact page. Bayati Law Group office serves clients involved in spousal support, property division, divorce, or family law disputes in the Orange County area and throughout southern California.