In California, a marriage may be legally dissolved, which means the parties return to their “single” status in three ways:
(1) By death of one of the parties
(2) A divorce judgment; or
(3) Nullity of the marriage.
Whether or not a marriage is “valid” for purposes of California law is question of degree. Dissolution of marriage and nullity of marriage are based on contradictory assumptions. For example, under Family Code §2310, a dissolution of marriage is a case brought in California court to dissolve a “valid” marriage. On the other hand, under Family code §2200, a marriage is nullified when it was “not valid” to begin with. This questions the essence of the marriage and asks whether or not such marital status was ever in existence.
An annulment may be granted only when a marriage is determined to be “void” or “voidable.” A void marriage is invalid from the beginning. There are two ways a marriage can be void: a bigamous (with some exceptions) or incestuous marriage. What this means is that the marriage never legally existed. Technically, if its void since the beginning, nothing more needs to be done to terminate the marriage; however, it is better to obtain a judgment of nullity in a void marriage because it provides a judicial ruling which becomes part of the public record and therefore eliminates any doubt about the party’s marital status.
A voidable marriage is valid until it is annulled. The marriage is invalidated only from the time it is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction. Essentially, this means that although is a “voidable” marriage, if the parties choose to cure the defect, the marriage can be determined to be valid. What makes a marriage “voidable?” The age of the person at the time of marriage, a previous marriage, unsound mind, fraud, force or incapacity.
With a nullity, there is no jurisdiction requirement to file for divorce and under California law, you do not have to wait the statutorily required six months before a divorce is granted. A judgment of nullity is said to “relate back” and erase the marriage and all its implications from the outset.
