The family court, by a decree of nullity, may declare void the marriage contract for any of the following causes, existing at the time of the marriage:
(1) That the parties stood in relation to each other of ancestor and descendant of any degree whatsoever, brother and sister of the half as well as the whole blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, whether the relationship is the result of the issue of parents married or not married to each other;
(2) That the parties, or either of them, had not attained the legal age of marriage;
(3) That the husband had an undivorced wife living, or the wife had an undivorced husband living;
(4) That one of the parties lacked the mental capacity to consent to the marriage;
(5) That consent to the marriage of the party applying for annulment was obtained by force, duress, or fraud, and there has been no subsequent cohabitation; and
(6) That one of the parties was a sufferer of or afflicted with any loathsome disease and the fact was concealed from, and unknown to, the party applying for annulment.
I am seeking an annulment from a 4 year marriage to an resident alien who proposed to me three days before he said that we needed to get married or he would be deported. My husband obtained my consent to marriage upon fraud, duress and coercion, as my current lawyer has made the case for. My husband filed for divorce 4 years and 1 day after marriage, which clears him of any INS problems. My husband drafted a PMA the night before the marriage and I had no time to seek legal advise as to the content of the PMA. I have come to learn only recently that it doesn't protect me at all but protects all his assets from me. I have been left penniless and am unemployed because of chronic illness. I spent the only investments I had during the marriage paying half of shared rent, utilities and expenses and have no savings or income. I cannot afford the growing expense of the divorce. I was taking prescribed antidepressants and a benzodiazepine for my chronic illness at the time of the marriage and was not mentally capable to sign a PMA or to consent to marriage. Do I have grounds to annul the marriage and how do I do it in the middle of divorce proceedings?
1
May 19, 2012
Susanne Monroe: ...
To clarify my post, my husband proposed 12/3/07. I said I have to think about it, but knew I didn't want to marry, at which point he told me that we had to get married by 12/7/07 or he would be deported. We were married on 12/6/07. At that point we had been been living together for 5 years and had 2 dogs. We have no children. My husband obtained his conditional green card on 5/22/08. We stayed married because of his conditional status. At any point before the date he filed for divorce, 12/7/11, he still risked deportation upon divorce. I believe he waited until 12/7/11 to be cleared of any INS suspicions that the divorce was, in fact, for a green card. Seeking annulment.
2
May 19, 2012
Steven Daily: ...
Susanne, I am sorry to hear of your troubles. An annulment under subsection (5) above would require proof of force, duress or fraud against you. You have not pointed to any evidence that you were (1) forced into the marriage; (2) under some kind of duress that compelled you to marry him; or (3) the victim of fraud. Your husband may have been gaming the immigration laws but I don't see how that constitutes force, fraud, or duress vis-a-vis you personally. But in addition, subsection (5) only allows annulment where you did not subsequently live with your husband. That is the meaning of cohabitation. If you lived with him after the marriage, subsection (5) does not apply.
3
May 21, 2012
Susanne Monroe: ...
Steven Daily, Thank for your reply. My attorney has compellingly proved the grounds for fraud, coercion and duress in my Postion Statement and Affidavit. I didn't want to go into detail in my post. My husband and I did cohabitate after the marriage and I know the law in Hawaii about that regarding annulment. Because this case is different, as he was a resident alien, I felt forced to marry him and stay married to him because if I didn't he would be deported. If I didn't stay married to him before he got his green card and after the necessary time he needed stay married per INS requirements, he still would be deported. This emotional force I was made to feel trapped me in the marriage. My husband did not share with me the fact of his INS deadline to marry or be deported until the day he proposed which was 3 days before his deadline. I did not want to marry him because I was having second thoughts about our relationship and wanted to move back to the mainland for the specialized medical treatment I was getting there in 2007. My husband and I live in Hawaii and I had to travel to the mainland for prolonged medical treatment, lasting 7 months. The marriage restricted my ability to move back home to the mainland to get treatment, as I had to cohabitate with him for his INS requirements. I was taking doctor prescribed antidepressant, benzodiazepine and three antibiotics for chronic Lyme Disease at the time of marriage, which all contributed to a confused mental state. My doctors support my mental incapability beginning many months before the marriage and continuing through into late 2008 and possibly longer. My husband knew of my medical condition and the medications I was taking, including side effects. My attorney believes he used my mental incapacity to coerce me into marriage with 3 days notice. My husband asked my parents for my hand in marriage in Dec. 2005, but didn't propose to me until 2 years later. My attorney believes that was when the threat of his deportation in 3 days would have a maximum coercive effect. How difficult would it be to prove I was mentally incapable at the time of marriage? Still seeking annulment.
4
May 21, 2012
Steven Daily: ...
Well, if your doctors are willing to provide evidence to a court that you lacked the mental capacity to consent to marriage, you can certainly give that a shot. It seems unlikely to work, however. To show mental incapacity means to show that you were so severely mentally deficient that you essentially didn't understand the nature of what was happening during the marriage ceremony (i.e., that you were becoming someone's wife). From the facts you've given, however, it sounds like you understood what you were doing. You may have been confused and may have felt trapped, but you knew you were consenting to marry someone. That's what matters. Good luck to you.
5
May 21, 2012
JWS: ...
I have a question to ask, but note on this site that my email exhange may appear as did email postings of an S.M. Before I ask my quesiton, how can I be assured my exchange will not so appear.
6
February 11, 2013
Steven Daily: ...
JWS,
I am not sure what your concern is, but if it is a matter of privacy, you may omit any real names and contact information. Your email address is used internally and not displayed on the site.
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