Family Law Blog

What are Grounds for Annulment in Colorado?

By Denver Divorce Lawyer on July 19, 2011

An annulment is a legal declaration that a marriage was never valid. Unlike a divorce in Colorado, which states that a valid marriage took place but is now officially ended, an annulment is used only for marriages that were never valid under Colorado law to begin with.

Colorado law limits annulments to the following situations:

• (a) a party lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time the marriage was solemnized, either because of mental incapacity or infirmity or because of the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other incapacitating substances; or
• (b) a party lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse, and the other party did not, at the time the marriage was solemnized, know of the incapacity; or
• (c) a party was underage as provided by law and did not have the consent of his parents or guardian or judicial approval as provided by law; or
• (d) one party entered into the marriage in reliance upon a fraudulent act or representation of the other party, which fraudulent act or representation goes to the essence of the marriage; or
• (e) one or both parties entered into the marriage under duress exercised by the other party or by a third party, whether or not the other party knew of that exercise of duress; or
• (f) one or both parties entered into the marriage as a jest or dare; or
• (g) the marriage is prohibited by law, including the following:
  • (I) a marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties; or
  • (II) A marriage between an ancestor and a descendant or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood; or
  • (III) A marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures; or
  • (IV) A marriage which was void by the law of the place where the marriage was contracted.

An annulment is not an option for every Colorado couple, but for those who can use an annulment to separate, it may provide a preferred alternative to divorce. If you are considering separation or divorce in Colorado, please don’t hesitate to contact the experienced family law attorneys in Denver at Kaplan Law, LLC. To learn more, please call our law offices today at 1-877-527-5260 for a free and confidential consultation.