San Bernardino Annulment Lawyer

If your marriage should never have been legally valid and you need to get out of it, a San Bernardino annulment lawyer can help you determine how to proceed with your case.

As a San Bernardino annulment lawyer, Laurence J. Brock can assist you in filing for and obtaining an annulment to your marriage. This process is both different from a divorce and more difficult to qualify for because you must prove that your marriage is not legally valid. An annulment is essentially the court saying that your marriage never actually happened.

Qualifying for a Marriage Annulment in California

To receive an annulment, we must prove that your marriage was never legal in the first place. There are several potential arguments your San Bernardino annulment lawyer can make:

• Unsound Mind – If you did not understand the nature of becoming married or were suffering mental problems that rendered you unable to make this type of decision, you could qualify under the unsound mind provision.
• Too Young to Marry – If you were less than eighteen years old at the time of the marriage, you could apply and qualify for an annulment.
• Prior Relationship – Some marriages and domestic partnerships never end in divorce due to abandonment. However, if your spouse was in one of these relationships at the time of your marriage, the marriage would be considered invalid.
• Threat of Harm – When physical force or its threat is used to coerce one party into marriage, the marriage is then invalid.
• Fraud – While more challenging to prove, fraud is a good reason to file for an annulment. Some examples may include not being informed that your spouse had children or that he or she only wanted to marry you for a green card.
• No Consummation – In California, one element that separates a marriage from a friendship is the ability to consummate the relationship. If your new spouse cannot do so, you can qualify for an annulment.

Providing Evidence for a Marriage Annulment

To receive an annulment, we must prove that one of the scenarios described above applies to your marriage. If we do not have the evidence to do so, the judge may view your marriage as legally valid. In this case, you will need to go through a divorce proceeding instead.

If you do not want to divorce for religious or financial reasons, then it is critical for you to hire a San Bernardino annulment lawyer who can gather the necessary evidence and present your case in the strongest possible light.

Filing for an Annulment in Time

Most people are unaware that you need to file for an annulment within a set period of time. While a divorce can be filed for at any point after a marriage, this is not the case with an annulment. You need to file within four years if your reason for an annulment is any of the following:

• Being less than eighteen years old at the time of the marriage
• Force or its threat were used
• No consummation of the marriage

If there was fraud involved, you still only have four years, but the time limit begins once you discover the fraud.

The only reasons that do not have a statute of limitations for filing are unsound mind and filing due to an existing marriage or domestic partnership. To be safe, however, you should hire a San Bernardino annulment lawyer to represent you as quickly as possible.

Help from a San Bernardino Marriage Annulment Lawyer

As a San Bernardino annulment lawyer, Laurence J. Brock can assist you by filing for a marriage annulment and ensuring that the legalities are attended to correctly and efficiently. To get the process started, simply complete the contact form below or call us at 909-466-7661.