Annulling a marriage because of “fraud”

Written on September 28, 2011 by David C. Sarnacki

FindLaw shows the traditional and the modern approaches to annulments based on allegations of fraud.

Joanna L. Grossman writes (excerpt):
In Part One of this series, I discussed the traditional approach to defining fraud as a ground for annulment, which requires that the misrepresentation relate to the “essentials of the marriage” – some aspect of marriage that is fundamentally important to any marriage, not just to the particular spouse seeking an annulment.

In this Part, I will argue that there has been at least a subtle shift in the doctrine in some jurisdictions away from this one-size-fits-all approach to a more individualized approach. Under this more modern approach, a court might ask whether a misrepresentation related to something that was fundamental to this marriage, rather than to marriage in general. This type of approach treats marriage more like other contracts – where private parties define the terms of the deal, as well as the circumstances under which they are willing to enter it at all.

Posted in Law: Cases/Statutes