Annulment or Divorce?

[bolivar123]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? AL

I have only been married 10 days and the marriage has *not* been consumated. Also, I have not returned the completed (by the pastor) marriage license to the county clerk office. Here are my questions:

1. If I do not return the marriage license, is my marriage binding? On the license form it says license void after 30 days.

2. If the marriage is binding, and since the marriage was never consumated, would I be eligible for an annulment or would I have to send in the paperwork to the county clerk and just pursue a divorce?

One more detail, my wife and I lived together for 2 years prior to us getting married. Will this make any difference?

Your help is most appreciated.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? AL

I have only been married 10 days and the marriage has *not* been consumated. Also, I have not returned the completed (by the pastor) marriage license to the county clerk office. Here are my questions:

1. If I do not return the marriage license, is my marriage binding? On the license form it says license void after 30 days.

2. If the marriage is binding, and since the marriage was never consumated, would I be eligible for an annulment or would I have to send in the paperwork to the county clerk and just pursue a divorce?

One more detail, my wife and I lived together for 2 years prior to us getting married. Will this make any difference?

Your help is most appreciated.

On the surface one might initially say don't file the license or get an annulment, however AL is a common law marriage state, and you already meet the qualifications for that and thus would require a divorce in any event.
Alabama: The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) capacity; (2) an agreement to be husband and wife; and (3) consummation of the marital relationship.
Why do you now wish to get a divorce after only 10 days of marriage?

 

[bolivar123]

She and I were not sexually active during the 2 years we lived together. She held the fact that we were not married over my head during those 2 years. And now that we finally tied the knot, she has a whole new set of "excuses". Now don't get me wrong, sexual activity was not the reason I married her. But, she gets very angry and abusive when I bring up the subject of consumation.

So since I'm not happy in this "marriage" I'm looking for options.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

If you both will agree that you never had sex during the time you cohibitated, then then you might be able to get an annulment but a divorce may be asier, you will still have to settle up your property in some sort of a settlement. I suggest you consult an attorney for your specific questions, but it you continue to live together you may lose any grounds for annulment even if you don't consumate the marriage.

How does annulment work?

Annulment is available but rarely used. Because it's rarely used, expect it to be more expensive than a divorce. Grounds for an annulment include lack of capacity to marry (either underage or already married and not divorced), fraud, duress, or (depending on the judge) failure to consummate the marriage. Even though the 30 day waiting period applicable to divorce does not apply to annulments, annulments sometimes take more time because they may require a court appearance.