It is common to confuse the terms “annulment,” “legal separation,” and “divorce.” Many clients think they mean the same thing, but in reality, they do not. Legally speaking, there are significant differences between these three concepts.
When we speak of the annulment of a marriage, we mean that the marriage never existed, that it was not valid, and, therefore, that it was not legal. The grounds for annulling a marriage must exist before the marriage takes place.
A judge may rule that a marriage was never legally valid if certain grounds exist, such as defects in consent—that is, if one of the spouses married because they were coerced into doing so. Another example would be concealing relevant information from the other spouse (such as an illness or known infertility).
If we are dealing with a separation, the situation is different. In this case, the marital bond still exists, but the couple decides to stop living together. It is as if we were temporarily suspending the marriage. A separation can be de facto or de jure. Since the marital bond is not broken, if the couple later wishes to remarry someone else, for example, they would have to go through the appropriate divorce proceedings. Until 2005, it was standard practice to separate first before getting a divorce. That is no longer the case. We can now get a divorce directly.
If we are facing a divorce, what we want is to dissolve the marriage. Either spouse can file for divorce—either with the other’s consent or on their own. Keep in mind that you no longer have to provide a reason for wanting a divorce. You can now file for divorce three months after the marriage took place. If you’re unsure which situation applies to you, please contact us so we can discuss your case in detail.
Anna Nicolàs Torán
Attorney Specializing in Family Law
MC Abogados
