Should a “bait and switch” marriage be grounds for annulment?
A question from a reader: You know, where either he or she puts on an act in order to “rope you in” then shows his/her true colours once they’ve “caught” you?
Should it be grounds for annulment?
My husband acted like a gentleman before we got married, but once I was stuck with him I found out he was a possessive, abusive alcoholic
My wife acted all feminine and sexual to seduce me, then once we were married she gained 2 stone and we never get to have sex anymore unless I cave in to all her demands?
Etc etc etc… Should these types of scenarios be grounds for annulment? It doesn’t seem fair to make people go through the risk of losing all their possessions in a divorce battle just because their partner lied about their true personality in order to trap them…
“Annulment”? Annulment is a Catholic concept only and it has a rigid set of rules before one can be sought.
If one partner wants to divorce the other for these behaviors, that is his or her choice.
That’s ALL marriage! No grounds for annulment.
Dude, that happens in every marriage. Just get a divorce and be done with it. You don’t sign an agreement that you’ll stay the same after you get married!
I think so. Or they should be able to punch the liar in the face. Just 1 time tho.
No. Let the buyer beware.
bait and switch is absolutely legal grounds for annulment. annulments are very rare to get but those are good examples. if you can prove you were genuinely tricked and would not have married the party had you known how they really were then you are eligible. also you must take into account how long you were married. you cant stay together for 10 yrs then claim it.
Yes and it’s grounds for rape charges. If a man was wearing a toupee he got sex under false pretenses.
Wise up and be a man. Be a feminist.
if you really get to know some one before you marry them that wont happen you have to know them a least longer than a year
It’s called a “no fault” divorce. You can ditch any marriage partner at any time you want.
And getting an “annulment” involves much the same legal paperwork as a “divorce” does what with the separation of property, etc.
Why would you do that when you can torture the offending party with mind games for 30 years?
Grounds for a civil annulment depends on the state or country you married in. Grounds for annulment vary between England, Scotland and N. Ireland as well as each and every state in the US. In most cases, you have a limited time to file (1 year is typical unless bigamy is involved).
In the first example you have, many states will permit annulment if you did not know about your spouse having an addiction. In others, no.
In the second example, divorce is your only choice. If she gained 2 stone, marriage itself could have been the cause. She didn’t lie about anything. People gain weight. It’s not like she had it hidden in the closet somewhere. If sex were not possible and the marriage unconsummated, you might have grounds, but not all states allow these grounds.
In the US, you can file for annulment in the state where you are resident in, not just the state you were married in. For instance, if you were married in Massachusetts and wanted a civil annulment because you found out your husband was a drunk after the fact, you would be stuck. The judge would tell you to file for divorce. However, if you moved to Nevada for 6 weeks to get residency, you could file for civil annulment there because one of the grounds is that you did not know of their alcoholism before the marriage.
How long have you been married? I think there is a time limit on an annulment. If you don’t love her then leave.
If the new behaviour makes it impossible for the marriage to stay together then I guess so. Isn’t that called irreconcilable differences?
the terms for dissolution differ from state to state and from country to country.
Most of the time, marriages terminating wihtin two years have not had sufficient time to acquire significant assets – unless you are rich – then there is another set of considerations
then the real issue is not the separation – you can do that by taking a cab – the real issue is the legal separation and division of assets.
some wealthy men prefer to get married in certain countries because of the way laws there treat community property less strictly during divorce [Austria, Japan}
HUH? Annulments are for situations when one of the parties does not have the requisite ability to consent a marriage.
a divorce yes… but after the marriage is consummated annulment is not possible.
No, if you’re mature enough to get married you’re mature enough to take the time to get to know your spouse to be. All dating (and getting to know anybody) is bait and switch to some degree, intentional or not. You never show every facet of your personality in the first year, or the first 5 years for that matter. You don’t really know someone until you’ve lived with them, and if you don’t really know them you have no business diving into a life-long relationship on the mere hope that you’ll be compatible over the long term
annulment is not simply a catholic thang, but also a legal thing and occurs when both parties agree that the marriage has not been consummated. no one did the deed, in other words.
no, i don’t think it should be a case for annulment. i think people should find out as much as possible about their partners before rushing to the alter. then, after marriage, they have to realize that a partnership isn’t something off of a sandra bullock movie. it takes real give and take.
i watch women and men rush to get married all the time. shame.
I agree. My hubby portrayed himself as an ambitious young man who just needed someone to boost his confidence so he could succeed in life. In truth, he was a lazy a$$ loser who had no ambition to do anything other than sit on his a$$ and surf the Internet. I divorced him.
“…for better or for worse…”
I’m in a bait and switch marriage.
My wife quit her full time job just several months after getting married. She then took it easy for several months before taking another full time job. Bought a new car for that commute and she quit after 3 months. I should have made her buy the car, as then she’d have some skin in the game so to speak.
Now, She won’t hardly have sex, and her only focus on sex was when she was ovulating.
She won’t even get a full time job now that I’m laid off from mine.
She is now potentially pregnant after years of $$$ invested in fertility clinics…. What she does not know is that if we are not pregnant, the minute I am re-employed, I’m heading to the divorce attorney to start work on ending my bait and switch marriage and get out while I’m still young.
All she wanted was a provider and a baby maker. That is not what she portrayed herself out to be. I will leave her an old maid, or someday leave her as a single mom. I’m not going to be stuck in a marriage like this long term, kid or no kid.