Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
My husband and I were married two months ago. We took a residence but took separate rooms and never consummated the marriage. Do we still qualify for an annulment?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It will depend if the courts will allow it. However, as long as you do not consummate the marriage, you should have no problem in obtaining an annulment.
You probably don't qualify for an annulment, but a judge may give it to you anyway. To obtain an annulment, your marriage must be illegal. In other words, you didn't have a license, one of you was married and not yet divorced when you got married, one of you is underage, etc.
Consummation doesn't mean what people think it does (having sex). It actually means to "begin" a marriage (to move in together, to act like husband and wife, to open a joint account, etc.). Lack of consummation or failure to have sex doesn't entitle you to an annulment but some lawyers (as the other lawyer's answer demonstrates) and even some judges think it does.
Anyway, when you file, file for annulment and, in the alternative, divorce. That way, if the judge doesn't give you the annulment, you'll still get the divorce. You're allowed to ask for both at the same time.