Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky
Better Description of Annulment
I was annuled in KY under paragraph B (unknown physical inability) and my maiden name was returned to me. Since then, I've had been told that I have to check divorced on legal forms for adoption and to provided copies of the annulment. I have also had to state my married last name (not my maiden) on federal forms as other names you may have been known by. If annulment truely is as if the marriage never occured, then why do I have to do these things? Can you explain to me what it really means to be annuled vs divorced? Can I check the ''single never married'' block on forms? Do I have to reveal the fact that I was married on federal forms etc? Why is my marriage license still on file and accessible to everyone?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Better Description of Annulment
In this day and age, I am not sure what annulment means either. I've never seen the continued reason for it except some pursue it because it seems to be a cheap and quick alternative to a divorce in a hasty marriage. In times gone by, it was important in certain churches and generally held religious beliefs that divorce was wrong. Annulment was the attempt to provide a legal fiction to solve the "personal" problem of a "bad" marriage that had not gone too far. It allowed folks to declare "I have not been married." and there was really no way to check records. Friendly clerks would remove the marriage paperwork-liscense etc- from the records. Today, records are accurately maintained. Your marriage liscense is a public record and cannot be removed. It is not uncommon for people to use an alias and really that is not against the law if you divulge it. The problems that you face are why I always advised a divorce instead of an annulment. The annulment creates too many personal problems.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
