Need Advice for annulment

Ashwin Raju

New Member
Jurisdiction
Colorado
Hi,

Please help me out here. I moved in to my girlfriends place and we applied for a marriage license together to get married. Later we had an argument and I was not as inclined as before to get married. We got the license and then when she asked me to sign, I said I didn't want too, so she threatened to kick me out of her apartment. Out of sheer panic and heightened emotional stress I signed the document and asked her not to mail it for a week. She ended up mailing the marriage certificate the same day. We later had another argument and I ended up having to leave the place. Now the signed marriage certificate is on its way to the Denver clerk office. Can anyone on this forum provide me with options to annul the marriage? Whats a good way to about this? I don't want have my relationship status as divorced. Please help.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by "options to annul." If you want to annul your marriage, hire an attorney and, if the attorney advises that you qualify for an annulment, file a petition for annulment.
 
I'm confused - without a ceremony, you're not married. Why do you believe you're married? Have you told others that you are married?
 
Can anyone on this forum provide me with options to annul the marriage? Whats a good way to about this?

Let's share with others a rather UNIQUE twist regarding a marriage in CO:

Colorado is a self-solemnizing state, meaning that you technically don't need anyone to marry you–you can simply marry each other.

==============================



You appear to reside in Denver.

You can't LEGALLY annul a marriage in CO.

Colorado does not have an official court action called "annulment of marriage."

However, you can ask a judge for a "declaration of invalidity," which is very similar to annulment.

This is a CO Court Official Self help Site:

Colorado Judicial Branch - Self Help - Annulment

Read the information and you can begin filing your case, ASSUMING you and your spouse qualify.

Read the information furnished on the site to determine if you and your spouse qualify.

Good luck.
 
I'm confused - without a ceremony, you're not married. Why do you believe you're married? Have you told others that you are married?

Colorado is a self-solemnizing state, meaning that you technically don't need anyone to marry you–you can simply marry each other.

You can't LEGALLY annul a marriage in CO.

Colorado does not have an official court action called "annulment of marriage."

However, you can ask a judge for a "declaration of invalidity," which is very similar to annulment.
 
Colorado is a self-solemnizing state, meaning that you technically don't need anyone to marry you–you can simply marry each other.

You can't LEGALLY annul a marriage in CO.

Colorado does not have an official court action called "annulment of marriage."

However, you can ask a judge for a "declaration of invalidity," which is very similar to annulment.

Thanks for the info.
 
I'm confused - without a ceremony, you're not married. Why do you believe you're married?

The OP's post is silent about whether or not a ceremony occurred, so it's just as possible that one did occur as that one did not occur. Also, Colorado allows for the formation of common law marriages, so the statement that, "without a ceremony, you're not married," in incorrect as phrased.
 
The OP's post is silent about whether or not a ceremony occurred, so it's just as possible that one did occur as that one did not occur. Also, Colorado allows for the formation of common law marriages, so the statement that, "without a ceremony, you're not married," in incorrect as phrased.
Army Judge already corrected me - and neither of your points seem to apply.
 
Annulment has criteria. If you seek this instead of divorce you must qualify. Each state likely has its own criteria for annulment. You are best served seeking an Attorney's advice. Many will grant free office visit so you can find out then. If you do qualify you move forward with the Attorney or do it yourself.

 
As a Colorado lawyer myself, let me clarify how marriage works in this state as there is some apparent misunderstanding in this thread. There are two ways to get married. The first is a formal marriage following the procedures of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-2-104. That statute states:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, a marriage is valid in this state if:
(a) It is licensed, solemnized, and registered as provided in this part 1; and
(b) It is only between one man and one woman.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 14-2-112, any marriage contracted within or outside this state that does not satisfy paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not be recognized as valid in this state.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to repeal or render invalid any otherwise valid common law marriage between one man and one woman:

(a) Entered into prior to September 1, 2006; or
(b) Entered into on or after September 1, 2006, that complies with section 14-2-109.5.

Subsection (1)(a) provides the requirements for a formal marriage in this state: it must be licensed, solemnized, and registered. Thus, for a formal marriage in this state simply sending in the marriage license is not good enough. You have to have the marriage solemnized (e.g. the marriage ceremony) and have it registered. All the references to a marriage only being between a man and woman may be disregarded because the U.S. Supreme Court has held a state cannot deny same sex couples the right to marry.

So, in short, you are not yet married in this state simply by sending in the marriage license. You must also have the ceremony to solemnize the marriage in order to have a formal marriage.

The second way to marry in this state is by common law. A common law marriage does not require that you have a marriage ceremony or a license. But it does require that both parties intend to enter into the marriage and that thereafter they represent themselves as married to the rest of the world. As the Colorado Supreme Court stated: "A common law marriage does not require any kind of ceremony at all but only the agreement of the parties, followed by the mutual and open assumption of a marital relationship." In re Marriage of Cargill & Rollins, 843 P.2d 1335, 1339 (Colo. 1993).

The fact that you and your girlfriend talked about signing the license tells me that you two did not already consider yourselves married before that and that you haven't been going around representing to others that you are married. If I am correct on that then you are not married under common law either.

The bottom line here is that, just based on what you've said here, it does not appear that you have ever married your girlfriend. If that is correct, there is no need for divorce and no need for "annulment" either. You've simply never been married.

You may wish to consult a family law attorney in this state to verify what I've said here would apply to you given all the facts of your situation. I don't have all the facts of your relationship and I'm not your lawyer, so I can't give you specific legal advice. I've just outlined for you the basics of forming marriages in this state. Perhaps something you haven't revealed here would make a difference and it turns out you have in fact formed a common law marriage. But if you formed a valid common law marriage, you'd need to get divorced. In Colorado annulment is not possible where a valid marriage was formed.
 
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As a Colorado lawyer myself, let me clarify how marriage works in this state as there is some apparent misunderstanding in this thread. There are two ways to get married. The first is a formal marriage following the procedures of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-2-104. That statute states:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, a marriage is valid in this state if:
(a) It is licensed, solemnized, and registered as provided in this part 1; and
(b) It is only between one man and one woman.


How does that reconcile with 14-2-109?

14-2-109. Solemnization and registration of marriages - proxy marriage. (1) A marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court, by a court magistrate, by a retired judge of a court, by a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, by the parties to the marriage, or in accordance with any mode of solemnization recognized by any religious denomination or Indian nation or tribe.
(emphasis added)​




 

How does that reconcile with 14-2-109?

14-2-109. Solemnization and registration of marriages - proxy marriage. (1) A marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court, by a court magistrate, by a retired judge of a court, by a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, by the parties to the marriage, or in accordance with any mode of solemnization recognized by any religious denomination or Indian nation or tribe.
(emphasis added)

There is no conflict. What I stated is correct. They must still solemnize the marriage — as the statute I cited clearly states. Simply signing the marriage license is not enough; signing the license is not itself solemnization. They don't need to have some official like a judge or clergy member officiate the ceremony, they can be their own officials for that purpose, but they have to do some act of solemnization to make the marriage, complete the marriage certificate, and return that certificate to the clerk and recorder. The act of solemnization need not be anything elaborate or contain anything in particular. It can be very simple and short. But the point is, they have to do something.

If they completed and returned both the license and the marriage certificate to the clerk then they have a potential problem because if they attested to solemnization then they have, at least on the face of it, entered into a formal marriage. If they've actually formed the marriage, then they need a divorce to end the marriage.

Hence my recommendation that the OP see a family law attorney to review everything that was done. I don't have all the details. Just going by what the OP has said it doesn't look like he's married, but if he left out something important, like returning the marriage certificate, that could change things.

 
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There is no conflict. What I stated is correct. They must still solemnize the marriage — as the statute I cited clearly states. Simply signing the marriage license is not enough; signing the license is not itself solemnization. They don't need to have some official like a judge or clergy member officiate the ceremony, they can be their own officials for that purpose, but they have to do some act of solemnization to make the marriage, complete the marriage certificate, and return that certificate to the clerk and recorder. The act of solemnization need not be anything elaborate or contain anything in particular. It can be very simple and short. But the point is, they have to do something.

If they completed and returned both the license and the marriage certificate to the clerk then they have a potential problem because if they attested to solemnization then they have, at least on the face of it, entered into a formal marriage. If they've done that, then they need a divorce to end the marriage.

Hence my recommendation that the OP see a family law attorney to review everything that was done. I don't have all the details. Just going by what the OP has said it doesn't look like he's married, but if he left out something important, like returning the marriage certificate, that could change things.


I've bolded the pertinent part insofar as my question was concerned. I agree that the OP needs to clarify things because he stated that he signed the "license" and asked that it be held for a week, but that she mailed the "certificate" the same day.
 
I've bolded the pertinent part insofar as my question was concerned. I agree that the OP needs to clarify things because he stated that he signed the "license" and asked that it be held for a week, but that she mailed the "certificate" the same day.

Exactly. Both would need to sign the marriage certificate if they self-solemnized the marriage and return that to clerk. He hasn't clearly stated whether they both signed the marriage certificate and returned it. If they did, he's got a problem. If all they sent back was the marriage license — not the marriage certificate — then they are not married. And if she sent back the marriage certificate without both signatures they are not married either when the marriage is by self-solemnization.
 
Exactly. Both would need to sign the marriage certificate if they self-solemnized the marriage and return that to clerk. He hasn't clearly stated whether they both signed the marriage certificate and returned it. If they did, he's got a problem. If all they sent back was the marriage license — not the marriage certificate — then they are not married. And if she sent back the marriage certificate without both signatures they are not married either when the marriage is by self-solemnization.
Got it! :)
 
If they completed and returned both the license and the marriage certificate to the clerk then they have a potential problem because if they attested to solemnization then they have, at least on the face of it, entered into a formal marriage.

Oops, as Carole King often sang, "It''s Too Late"




we applied for a marriage license together to get married.

Later we had an argument and I was not as inclined as before to get married.

We got the license and then when she asked me to sign, I said I didn't want too, so she threatened to kick me out of her apartment.

Out of sheer panic and heightened emotional stress I signed the document and asked her not to mail it for a week.

She ended up mailing the marriage certificate the same day.


The deed might have already been done.
 
Indeed she is, ma'am.

Gloria Estefan covered the song about 1995, that wasn't too bad.


However, Carole King did it in 1971, and no cover has beaten hers in my view.

I still have my original 1971 copy of Carole King's Tapestry. I was 16 when it came out and my boyfriend gave it to me for Christmas.

It's a wonder I didn't play the grooves right off that record back then, but I recently bought a turntable and dug out my old records and it plays just fine. And I still love her music just as much as I did back then!
 
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