Last Updated on: 24th June 2025, 12:26 am

New York Annulment Laws: Can You Annul a Marriage When Your Spouse Is Missing?

The Emotional and Legal Challenges of a Missing Spouse

Once a decision has been made to divorce, a couple usually does not want to make the process any longer than necessary. If this decision has been made, and one spouse changes their mind, things can become more difficult. It’s possible for one spouse to go missing while the other spouse still wants the divorce.

Missing Spouse Divorce and Annulment Options

When Both Parties No Longer Agree

In many cases, when a couple files for divorce, it is because both of them have decided the marriage is over. It’s also possible for one spouse to simply leave and not provide any contact information. When this happens, it could result in a situation where one spouse does not know how to locate the other. During most divorce situations, the papers for divorce must be served prior to the start of any legal proceedings. A person with a missing spouse who still desires to end the marriage does have certain options.

Understanding Annulment vs. Divorce

Annulment

When some people wish they were never married; they can annul it. When a spouse chooses to annul the marriage, they engage in the legal process of eliminating their union by legally declaring it to be null and void. It’s important to understand that a divorce legally terminates a marriage. When a person is granted an annulment, the court has made a formal declaration that the marriage never existed.

Order of Notice by Publication for Missing Spouses

Once traditional annulment proceedings are initiated, a spouse’s attorney must have papers served on the other spouse. This is notification of the annulment action. These papers are served at a spouse’s last known residence. It is something that can be served on a spouse at other locations, such as where they work. If every possible avenue has been explored to find a person, and it has bee unsuccessful, their spouse can request an Order of Notice by Publication. This makes it possible for a person to give public notice of their desire to annul a marriage in a local newspaper. This publication needs to be near a spouse’s last known address. It’s important to know that a court must approve placing a notice to the missing marriage partner in a local publication. The paperwork to end the marriage must be filed prior to placing the advertisement. Should there be no response to the advertisement; an attorney can begin the proceedings by default.

Annulment Benefits

Should a person be successful in getting their marriage declared invalid; they will not have to be concerned with property division. A judge will usually simply assign all property and debts back to the rightful owners of them prior to the marriage. Should any debt be obtained during the marriage, it is usually split evenly. An annulment is also able to release a spouse from the terms of any prenuptial agreement. These agreements only apply to couples who divorce or are legally separating.

Annulment Categories Under New York Law

The annulment of a marriage is not only for unions that last for a short period of time. In the United States, each state has the authority to create its own laws concerning marriage, divorce as well as annulment. It is important for a couple to end their marriage in a state where at least one spouse meets the residency requirements. In order for a marriage to be annulled, it must meet the criteria for one of two different legal categories. It must be either a void marriage or a voidable marriage.

Voidable Marriage Grounds in New York

Specific Circumstances for Voidable Marriages

• This also applies when one person has a mental impairment.
• It could also be voidable if once spouse was coerced to marry by threat of force.
• A spouse makes false statements, and the other spouse marries because of those statements.
• It could be voidable because of an undisclosed physical impairment such as sexual impotence and more.

Void Marriage: Automatic Invalidity

This could be a prohibited incestuous relationship. A jurisdiction where the marriage took place may forbid brothers and sisters as well as first cousins from being married. This is also the case if one spouse is married to another person at the time of the marriage taking place and more.

New York Law: No Annulment for Missing Spouses

According to New York annulment law, you cannot obtain an annulment if your spouse is missing. An annulment is the act of legally voiding a marriage. The marriage never happened according to New York law. The spouses could forget they were ever married.

Only Certain New York Marriage are Voidable

In New York, a marriage can be automatically voided by the state. These marriages are not permitted by law because there is someone wrong. For instance, the couple married are half- or full-blood related.

Other marriages are voidable. This means you can take the specific steps to have your marriage annulled. You must have a reason, called grounds, why the marriage must be annulled. In New York, the narrow set of grounds for an annulment are:

Specific Grounds for Annulment in New York

• Impotency: One spouse is unable to have sexual intercourse and their medical condition is incurable. The spouse wanting the annulment must prove they did not know about the medical condition prior to their marriage.

• Underage: One or both spouses were younger than 18 years old at the time of the marriage. State law prohibits minors under the age of 14 years old from getting married in the state. If you are between the ages of 15 and 17 years old, you can legally get married with your parents’ consent. You cannot obtain an annulment if you were underage at the time of the ceremony and now 18 years old or older and still living with your spouse.

• Fraud: Your spouse married you under fraudulent pretenses like not telling you they were married. They could have deceived you or omitted the truth. Fraud also includes duress.

• Insanity: You or your spouse has a medical condition that prevents you from understanding what a marriage commitment means

Divorce as an Alternative When Annulment Isn’t Possible

Your Option to End Your Marriage in New York May Include Divorce

You are not stuck in a marriage with a spouse who deserted you. You do have legal options to end your marriage. One option is divorce. Divorce is the legal end to a marriage. You must file a petition to divorce your spouse. In the petition, you must include the grounds for divorce. One legal reason for a divorce in New York is abandonment.

Proving Abandonment for Divorce

To obtain a divorce based on abandonment, you must prove:

• • Your spouse left for the sole purpose of leaving the marriage. This means your spouse did not leave you to go to the military. They physically left the marriage home.
• • Your spouse has stayed away from home for more than one year. The year must be consecutive.
• • Your spouse rejected all attempts to reconcile or work on the marriage
• • Your spouse refuses to pay child support for the children you to share. Of course, this only applies if you have children with your spouse.

Contact a Family Law Attorney about Your New York Abandonment Divorce

You cannot obtain an annulment even though your spouse treats your marriage like it never happened. You do not have to remain married to someone who leaves the marriage. You can obtain a divorce.

Exploring Your Legal Options

It is best to consult us immediately about your marriage situation. If you want an annulment, we may help you depending on the circumstances. For instance, your spouse abandoned you, but you later found out they never obtained a divorce from their previous spouse. You could obtain an annulment instead of a divorce.

Taking Action Despite Abandonment

The key to resolving your marriage crisis is talking with us. During our initial consultation, we will listen to what happened. Based on your version of events, we will determine whether you can seek an annulment or divorce.

Contact us immediately for help. Remember, you spouse may have left you, but do have the power to end your marriage in New York State court.

Understanding New York Annulment Laws When Your Spouse Is Missing

State-Specific Marriage Laws

The rules about divorces, separations, and marriage annulments vary widely from state to state. Each state court has their own protocols for dealing with different marriage breakdowns. In New York, the annulment law states that an annulment cannot be obtained if the person’s spouse is currently missing.

Annulments vs. Divorces: Key Differences

Annulments are different from divorces, although the two things accomplish the same end result. Both processes are used to legally do away with a marriage. With a divorce, though, the marriage is acknowledged as being a valid union that is now dissolved. Annulments, on the other hand, treat the marriage as though it was never valid to begin with.

Complexity of Annulment Proceedings

Annulments can be less complicated than divorces, but it really depends on the circumstances. The main goal of an annulment is usually for both spouses to move on as though the marriage never happened. However, not all marriages can be voided. Under New York law, your marriage must meet certain criteria if you want to have it annulled.

Grounds for Voiding Marriage in New York

Automatic Void Marriages

New York is a state that allows marriages to be automatically voided if they meet the right circumstances. If the couple was violating state marriage laws, their marriage would be voided right away. One example would be spouses who are closely related by blood.

Seeking Annulment Through Legal Process

If it’s not obvious that state laws have been voided, you can still take steps to get the marriage annulled. For an annulment, you need to have a state-approved reason for your annulment. Your reasoning is referred to as the grounds for the annulment. New York marriage law has very strict definitions of grounds. You can get your marriage annulled if you meet any of the following circumstances:

• You or your spouse is impotent
• One party was underage when the marriage occurred
• Fraud was committed
• One party could not legally consent due to a medical issue

Detailed Grounds for Annulment

Impotency as Grounds

With cases of impotency, one spouse cannot have sexual intercourse with their spouse. The medical condition they have cannot be cured. If the non-impotent spouse wishes to have their marriage annulled, they need to provide proof that they were unaware of the condition before the marriage.

Age-Related Annulment Grounds

If either or both of the parties were under the age of 18 when they got married, this can be grounds for an annulment. New York law does not allow anyone below age 14 to get married. People from ages 15 to 17 can legally marry someone if they have the permission of their guardian. Unfortunately, annulments cannot be obtained if you still live with your spouse and are now over the age of 18.

Fraud and Duress

Fraud can refer to any number of circumstances. In its most basic definition, fraud occurs when one party lies to the other about relevant information or fails to disclose important information. One example would be a spouse not telling their spouse that they were still legally married to another person. If the marriage was officiated under duress, this also falls under the fraud clause.

Mental Incapacity

The insanity clause applies if one or both of the spouses has a mental condition that makes them unable to consent to the marriage. People who don’t understand the ramifications of marriage are not able to legally consent to be married.

Divorce May Be the Best Option

When Annulment Isn’t Available

If your spouse has abandoned you, you should know that you don’t need to be trapped in that union. Even though an annulment isn’t possible under the circumstances, there are other legal avenues you can pursue. The easiest option is divorce. A divorce legally ends a marriage and frees both parties to marry other people.

Filing for Divorce

If you wish to initiate divorce proceedings, you need to file a petition. The petition will include the grounds for the divorce. There are multiple legal reasons that a divorce can occur in New York. The one most relevant to this particular case is probably abandonment.

Proving Abandonment for Divorce

To get a divorce because of abandonment, there are a few things you need to prove.

• You need to prove that your spouse’s disappearance was solely so they could leave their marriage. This means that a spouse moving for work or the military cannot qualify as “abandoning.”
• The spouse must have been away from home for at least one consecutive year.
• You need to illustrate that you have made attempts to reconcile and work on your issues, and that your spouse rejected these attempts.
• If you and your spouse have children together, you must prove that your spouse isn’t paying the child support they are responsible for.

Annulment and Non-Consummation: Understanding New York Marriage Laws

Can our marriage be annulled if it was never consummated?

In New York, an annulment cannot be obtained due to a lack of consummation. Traditionally, a married couple will enforce their marriage by consummating it after the wedding. Historically speaking, if a couple failed to consummate the marriage, it would not be considered legally binding. In some other states, failure to consummate is still legal grounds for an annulment. New York isn’t one of them.

Understanding Annulment vs. Divorce

An annulment is one of two ways to end a marriage. The other way is divorce. With an annulment, the marriage is dissolved by the court like it was never real. Annulments are a way to void a marriage that was legally valid. The marriage is then viewed as something that never existed. If you marry another person after an annulment, that union will be considered your first marriage.

Two Categories of Invalid Marriages

Annulment in New York is divided into two circumstantial categories: voidable marriages and void categories.

Void Marriages

If a person enters into a void marriage, this means the union wasn’t legal in New York. By state law, the marriage is already void. Courts cannot uphold a union that doesn’t abide by the law. There are several types of marriages that are automatically void:

• Incestuous marriages
• Marriages broken by the return of a presumed-deceased spouse
• Marriages that were not solemnized by an individual who can perform marriages

Specific Void Marriage Circumstances

They may remarry another individual. If their spouse comes back and is actually alive, the second marriage is immediately void because the first marriage was never actually ended.

New York DRL 11 outlines a list of the individuals authorized to perform marriages. Marriages performed by non-authorized individuals will not be recognized by the state.

Voidable Marriages

Legal But Annullable Marriages

While a void marriage is a marriage that was never legal, a voidable marriage is a legally valid marriage. Both parties must have been legally permitted to form a marital union.

When Voidable Marriages Can Be Terminated

Voidable marriages can be terminated if one party pursues an annulment. However, unlike void marriages, they aren’t automatically voided by the state. The marriage will remain valid and legally binding if neither party pursues an annulment.

Valid Grounds for Annulment in New York

If you want to have your marriage annulled, you must meet one of several specific circumstances. Different states have different legal grounds for annulment. In New York, valid grounds for annulment are:

• Incurable mental illnesses
• Inability to consent
• Underage parties
• Fraud, duress, or force
• Impotency

Mental Illness and Consent

An incurable mental illness will not always be grounds for annulment. However, if a mental illness or impairment causes one spouse to be unable to understand the marriage contract, they cannot legally consent. This can be cited as grounds for annulment. In addition, if a person has a substance use disorder or chronic mental illness, and they did not disclose it to their spouse prior to the marriage, there may be grounds for an annulment.

Age of Consent Issues

If you, your spouse, or both of you were below the age of 18 when the marriage occurred, this is often grounds for annulment. New York law does not allow people under 15 years of age to be married. Marriages can occur for 15 to 17 year olds if they have their parent’s permission. However, New York’s age of consent is 18. Marrying below the age of consent gives you grounds for an annulment.

Force, Fraud, and Free Consent

The Importance of Free Will in Marriage

Marriages are legally binding contracts. Like all legally binding contracts, the people who sign them must freely consent. If there is force or duress involved, the forced partner did not consent of their own free will. This is grounds to annul the marriage.

Fraud as Contract Violation

Similarly, fraud violates the legally binding contract of marriage. If the marriage was entered under false pretenses, the deceived spouse cannot be held to the terms of the contract. The marriage can be dissolved.

Consummation and Physical Incapacity

While simply not consummating the marriage doesn’t make it voidable, a complete inability to consummate does. There must be proof that the spouse has an incurable medical condition. For an annulment due to lack of consummation, one spouse must have an incurable condition.