Annulment of an unconsumated marriage

[christopherscott]

I am writing from California. My question is the following: My girlfriend, from Brazil, and I had a civil marriage ceremony while we were waiting for our church wedding plans to be firmed up, in order to expedite and simplify the visa process. We had every intention of marrying in a church which to us would represent our "real" wedding. However, now we are recontemplating the relationship and are considering dissolving this relationship. Neither of us wants to be divorced before we actually feel married, so we would like to annul the whole thing. Questions:

1. Are there special annulment request forms that we can get and do ourself?
2. Is the lack of a consumated marriage grounds for annulment? (we have been together for a little over a year, during which time we did not consumate the relationship and have lived separately for a portion of this time).
3. Will we have to appear in court, our can we mutually sign and submit paperwork?
4. What is the office in the courthouse that deals with this type of thing? (So I will know who to look for in the phone book!)

I thank you for any direction you can give me.

Sincerely,

CSC

 

[daisy1]

annulment

Check online for California annulment laws. You should have cause and grounds for annulment. The forms are also available online so that you are not out large sums of money with atty fees. You fill in the paperwork and file it yourself in the county courthouse. Good Luck & God Bless.