Divorce

A divorce is the termination of a marriage by legal action, requiring a petition for dissolution by one party. The major issues in divorces are division of property, child custody and support, alimony (spousal support), child visitation and attorney's fees.

The most relevant issues to be decided during divorce proceedings are alimony or spousal support, division of marital assets, and, if children are involved, child custody, visitation and child support.

Annulment

An annulment differs from a divorce as it is a judicial statement that there was never a marriage. An annulment means that the individuals were never united in marriage as husband and wife. An annulment declares that a marriage, which appears to be valid, is actually invalid. There are two kinds of invalid marriages. A void marriage is one that was invalid from the very beginning. The major grounds for a void marriage are incest, bigamy and lack of consent. A voidable marriage is one that can be declared illegal but continues as valid until an annulment is sought.