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Canadian/US annulment

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annulmentadvice

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello,

I'm Canadian currently living in Canada - got married to a US citizen living in California. Found out that he didn't plan on having kids and has a vasectomy. Now I want an annulment because he did not disclose this to me and I thought it was something we wanted.

I have a few questions:

1- Do I have a case for an annulment based on fraud?

2- As a Canadian/resident of Canada, can I or do I file for the annulment in California or in Canada?

3- What are the basic procedures for doing it in California if that's where I have to do it? And generally how long does it take from the time of filing to the actual judge's decision - assuming that my husband and I agree on everything with the case and are willing to file the papers quickly to get this over with?

4- What "proof" do I have to provide for this?

5- Will I have to attend a court hearing?

Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


justalayman

Senior Member
from my understanding, annulments are not very common. Where does your husband live?

I'm Canadian currently living in Canada - got married to a US citizen living in California. Found out that he didn't plan on having kids and has a vasectomy. Now I want an annulment because he did not disclose this to me and I thought it was something we wanted.
here are the California statutes regarding annulment. From what I have read, I do not believe you have a real argument for annulment. For an annulment, one of you has to reside in California, in the county where the annulment is filed.


http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=02001-03000&file=2210-2212


1- Do I have a case for an annulment based on fraud?
read section 2210(d). that is the closest to what you claim but I do not have all the facts required to answer the question. Depending on what was said between the two of you, it may not have been fraud but only a misunderstanding.

2- As a Canadian/resident of Canada, can I or do I file for the annulment in California or in Canada?
if you want to file in California, which since that is where the marriage took place and you are seeking to have a California marriage annulled, only if your husband resides in California could you seek an annulment in California. I do not know Canadian laws.

3- What are the basic procedures for doing it in California if that's where I have to do it? And generally how long does it take from the time of filing to the actual judge's decision - assuming that my husband and I agree on everything with the case and are willing to file the papers quickly to get this over with?
offhand, I don't know the answers to these questions

4- What "proof" do I have to provide for this?
whatever it takes to support your claim. Witnesses and medical records would be a start.

5- Will I have to attend a court hearing?
yes

and there is a 4 year limitation after the fraud was discovered so if it has been more than that, you are looking at a divorce rather than an annulment.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello,

I'm Canadian currently living in Canada - got married to a US citizen living in California. Found out that he didn't plan on having kids and has a vasectomy. Now I want an annulment because he did not disclose this to me and I thought it was something we wanted.

I have a few questions:

1- Do I have a case for an annulment based on fraud?

2- As a Canadian/resident of Canada, can I or do I file for the annulment in California or in Canada?

3- What are the basic procedures for doing it in California if that's where I have to do it? And generally how long does it take from the time of filing to the actual judge's decision - assuming that my husband and I agree on everything with the case and are willing to file the papers quickly to get this over with?

4- What "proof" do I have to provide for this?

5- Will I have to attend a court hearing?

Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I am not sure that you would have to file in CA. You may be able to file in your own country. Consult a local attorney.
 

annulmentadvice

Junior Member
!

HelloMy husband currently lives in California and we got married in California in Feb 2010.

He can provide medical records of the vasectomy. What witnesses are needed - and what would they have to be a witness to? Would not the medical records be sufficient?

Before we married we discussed having kids - I can't remember details but I do know that he never mentioned he had a vasectomy - think that would be something to come up in a discussion about kids.
 

annulmentadvice

Junior Member
Hello,

Thank you for all your comments. In response to some questions:

My husband currently lives in California and we got married in California in Feb 2010. Does the length of our relationship before/after the marriage have any effect on the case?

He can easily and is willing to provide medical records of the vasectomy. What witnesses are needed - and what would they have to be a witness to? Would not the medical records be sufficient?

Before we married we discussed having kids - I can't remember exact details but I do know that he never mentioned he had a vasectomy - I think that would be an appropriate thing to bring up in a discussion about kids. So when I found out after we were married, I was shocked to say the least. Would I have to somehow recall the exact specifics of the "kids discussion?"

I told him about the joint summary dissolution option but he refuses to get a divorce because he already has one on his record and doesn't want another. Don't bother asking what the problem is - I have tried and with little success.

Has anyone ever heard of a successful annulment case based on something like this? Would I need to hire an attorney to navigate this one or can I just do it all on my own (I have just finished researching all the forms to file) with his medical records as sufficient proof?
 

CourtClerk

Senior Member
Nullity of marriage is not a do it yourself project....

If you choose to go that route, you had better hire yourself an attorney.
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
Hello,

Thank you for all your comments. In response to some questions:

My husband currently lives in California and we got married in California in Feb 2010. Does the length of our relationship before/after the marriage have any effect on the case?

He can easily and is willing to provide medical records of the vasectomy. What witnesses are needed - and what would they have to be a witness to? Would not the medical records be sufficient?

Before we married we discussed having kids - I can't remember exact details but I do know that he never mentioned he had a vasectomy - I think that would be an appropriate thing to bring up in a discussion about kids. So when I found out after we were married, I was shocked to say the least. Would I have to somehow recall the exact specifics of the "kids discussion?"

I told him about the joint summary dissolution option but he refuses to get a divorce because he already has one on his record and doesn't want another. Don't bother asking what the problem is - I have tried and with little success.

Has anyone ever heard of a successful annulment case based on something like this? Would I need to hire an attorney to navigate this one or can I just do it all on my own (I have just finished researching all the forms to file) with his medical records as sufficient proof?
As CourtClerk says, it's not a DIY project. The nature of your questions further confirms that you don't want to be handling this on your own. You will need a CA attorney to even try it.

I'd suggest that you at least talk with an attorney in Canada. It may be easier to get the annulment in Canada. Or, hey may convince you that the divorce is easy enough that you may decide not to mess with a CA annulment (at the very least, you will need to hire an attorney AND an appearance before the CA judge is necessary).
Divorce, Legal Separation and Annulment

As someone else indicated, it's unlikely that you would have grounds for an annulment in CA, anyway (but feel free to contact an attorney because I could be wrong). The most likely ground is fraud. Unless you specifically agreed to marry him contingent on having children, it would be hard to prove that as a ground. He may have felt that if you decided to have kids, he could try for a reversal. Or he may have felt that your discussions were hypothetical and you didn't really want kids, anyway. Or any number of other things that would eliminate fraud as a defense.

While I don't know anything about divorce or annulment in Canada, I can say that in CA, annulment is fairly uncommon and (even if you can get an annulment) it will almost certainly cost you more than getting a divorce there. Why does it have to be an annulment?
 

annulmentadvice

Junior Member
Hello and thanks again for all of your comments.

I am perfectly fine with doing the divorce - he's the one who is adamant about the annulment. He just has issues with having two divorces on his record. So I am trying my best to see how this can be done via an annulment - if there is a slim chance, then we'll have to shoot for the divorce.

My vision of our life together was to get married and have kids. I explicitly indicated that I wanted at least two kids - a son and a daughter. He didn't respond with - well I have a vasectomy and I don't want kids. Now that I think about it - I belive his response was along the lines of "me too." - or some sort of agreeance. Now he's saying quite firmly - I don't want kids and it will never happen. If he told me exactly this when we first discussed it, I would have thought twice about the whole marriage thing.

Does anyone know what the starting price would be for an attorney to work with this case? I know filing all of the paperwork with the courts, etc. will run at least $400.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Hello and thanks again for all of your comments.

I am perfectly fine with doing the divorce - he's the one who is adamant about the annulment. He just has issues with having two divorces on his record. So I am trying my best to see how this can be done via an annulment - if there is a slim chance, then we'll have to shoot for the divorce.

My vision of our life together was to get married and have kids. I explicitly indicated that I wanted at least two kids - a son and a daughter. He didn't respond with - well I have a vasectomy and I don't want kids. Now that I think about it - I belive his response was along the lines of "me too." - or some sort of agreeance. Now he's saying quite firmly - I don't want kids and it will never happen. If he told me exactly this when we first discussed it, I would have thought twice about the whole marriage thing.

Does anyone know what the starting price would be for an attorney to work with this case? I know filing all of the paperwork with the courts, etc. will run at least $400.
Again, at least TALK to an attorney in Canada about the whole thing before automatically deciding that you have to do in in California.
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
Hello and thanks again for all of your comments.

I am perfectly fine with doing the divorce - he's the one who is adamant about the annulment. He just has issues with having two divorces on his record. So I am trying my best to see how this can be done via an annulment - if there is a slim chance, then we'll have to shoot for the divorce.

My vision of our life together was to get married and have kids. I explicitly indicated that I wanted at least two kids - a son and a daughter. He didn't respond with - well I have a vasectomy and I don't want kids. Now that I think about it - I belive his response was along the lines of "me too." - or some sort of agreeance. Now he's saying quite firmly - I don't want kids and it will never happen. If he told me exactly this when we first discussed it, I would have thought twice about the whole marriage thing.

Does anyone know what the starting price would be for an attorney to work with this case? I know filing all of the paperwork with the courts, etc. will run at least $400.
Call some attorneys and ask - but don't be surprised if they can't give you a firm answer.

If stbx is eager to get it done, that may help, but frankly, it's silly to worry about it. Does he think that a future girlfriend is going to care whether he was divorced twice or divorced once and one marriage annulled because he lied to his fiancee? It just doesn't make a hill of beans worth of difference.
 

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