Legal mechanisms exist for terminating a marital union. Two distinct approaches, though often confused, are annulment and divorce. The former treats the marriage as if it never legally existed, finding that inherent flaws at its inception rendered it invalid from the start. Examples of such flaws might include bigamy, underage marriage, or fraud. The latter, however, acknowledges the legal validity of the marriage but dissolves it due to issues that arose during the marital relationship, such as irreconcilable differences or adultery.
The implications of these differing approaches are significant. An annulment often has ramifications regarding property division, spousal support, and child custody that diverge from those associated with divorce proceedings. Furthermore, religious and social perspectives frequently differentiate between these two forms of marital dissolution, with some institutions holding stricter views on the permissibility and consequences of divorce as opposed to annulment. Historically, annulments were often sought within specific religious or legal systems where divorce was either unavailable or highly restricted.
