| Grounds for Annulment: Concealment |
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| Concealment and misrepresentation are used very commonly in annulment proceedings as part of the fraud ground. Most of the time, annulments for fraud are not granted as a matter of right and are granted only after close consideration. In most states, the courts require clear and convincing evidence of fraud and a showing that the injured party would not have married but for the fraud. More... |
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| Role of Expert Witnesses in Divorce Proceedings |
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| Witnesses can be fact witnesses who testify to facts, or expert witnesses who can testify to facts as well as give their opinions. Expert witnesses are engaged to provide testimony regarding their knowledge in a particular subject. Such knowledge is beyond that of the average person by virtue of the expert's education, profession or experience so that their opinion will assist the judge or jury in making a decision. In divorce proceedings, many times physicians, psychologists, social workers, pension analysts, and appraisers are engaged as experts. More... |
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| Effect of Annulment |
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| Usually, an annulment action involves issues of property distribution together with problems involving maintenance, custody, and child support. Annulment nullifies the marriage, but not the legitimacy of the children born to the marriage. Parents in an annulled marriage have a duty to support their children born before and after annulment. Children born during the annulled marriage are considered legitimate, and they have the same rights as children of divorced parents. During annulment proceedings, when a wife applies for child support and the husband insists that he is not the father of the child, the court has jurisdiction over the paternity question. More... |
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| Annulment Proceedings |
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| Annulment is different from divorce because, in annulment, the marriage will be entirely nullified by the court as if the marriage never existed between the parties. Annulment thus will enable the parties to marry again. Annulment proceedings are restricted to the proof of certain grounds like fraud, insanity, cruelty, or insanity. More... |
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| Property Division in Divorce: Commingling and Tracing |
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| The terms "commingling" and "tracing" are related concepts in the identification and division of property in divorce proceedings. Commingling occurs when a spouse or both spouses treat separate property in such a way that it loses its separate property character. Common ways for that to happen is for a spouse to use his or her separate property to pay marital debts, purchase marital property, collateralize a marital debt, or allow the other spouse to use the property as if it is marital property. More... |
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