Definition

• A divorce is different from an annulment in that a divorce says that a marriage is over while an annulment means that it never legally existed in the first place. In an annulment, the marriage is voided.
  
  

Grounds

• There are only six grounds under North Carolina law that render a marriage void. They include any marriage between people closer than first cousins, as well as marriages between double first cousins. A marriage may also be considered void if the spouses are underage (if either spouse is 16 and the other is 14 to 16 years old) unless the wife was pregnant at the time of the wedding or a child was born to the marriage. Other possibilities include a partner being impotent, but this has to be substantiated by a doctor. A marriage to a person incapable of understanding what he undertook when he married is considered voidable, but this is judged on a case-by-case basis. Finally, if a marriage is entered into under the belief that the wife is pregnant, but no baby is born within ten lunar months, you are eligible for an annulment as long as you separated within 45 days of the date of the marriage and have remained separated for a year.
  
  

Prohibited Marriages

• Prohibited marriages are different from voidable marriages (those that meet annulment grounds) because they are against the law in the first place. North Carolina law provides for only one "prohibited marriage." Bigamous marriages (to more than one spouse at the same time) are not allowed by the state code and therefore aren't recognized as ever having existed. You don't have to go to court to have such a marriage annulled or dissolved by divorce. It might be a good idea to go through the process, however, just to protect yourself from legal and social misunderstandings in the future.
  
  

Death of a Spouse

• Except in the instance of bigamous marriages, if you ever lived together as a married couple (cohabited) and a child was born to you, and your spouse dies, it is impossible to have the marriage annulled according to North Carolina law. This is somewhat moot in that you are no longer married regardless, but many people seek annulments for religious reasons and in this case, one is no longer possible.
  
  

Children

• Children born of a voided marriage are still considered legitimate, even if the marriage was declared not to exist on the basis of bigamy.