The invalidity of a marriage is the recognition of the fact that it was concluded illegally, in court. Divorce is the termination of a legally valid marital relationship. The consequences of these two procedures are different.
Legally, the union of a man and a woman breaks up in two ways:
- The first is divorce: the spouses were married, and then their marital status changed.
- The second is the recognition of the marriage as invalid, after which it is considered that they were not married.
In these cases, the mutual responsibilities of the spouses and the consequences of their separation are not the same. Let's take a closer look at the difference between divorce and annulment and what this leads to in the future.
On what grounds is a marriage declared invalid?
Chapter 4 of the Family Code is devoted to divorce, and the fifth covers aspects of its invalidity. By the latter, Article 27 understands the consequences of marrying in violation of the conditions:
- one of the spouses has not reached 18 years of age (or at least 16 if there are good reasons);
- the bride or groom signed not of their own free will or for the purpose of starting a family;
- one of the spouses is already married at the time of registration of the relationship;
- the newlyweds were close relatives and hid it;
- one of the couple is declared incompetent by the court;
- one of the spouses hid the presence of HIV infection or a sexually transmitted disease from the other.
To summarize: the difference between the termination of a marriage and the recognition of a marriage as invalid is that the latter requires the fact of a violation of family law. Divorce is filed for subjective reasons.
In which cases
Let's take a closer look at the cases in which a marriage can be annulled, and what consequences this has.
This becomes possible if there was a violation during registration
There are a number of conditions clearly stated in the relevant articles of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, and in no other cases.
A marriage (previously officially registered) can be declared invalid only in court, and only in case of violation of the conditions of Articles 12, 13,14 and paragraph 3 of Article 15 Chapter 3 of the RF IC, and also if the court recognizes it as fictitious, that is, concluded not for the purpose of starting a family.
Who can marry for it to be considered legal:
- Those wishing to get married must be 18 years old;
- registration must be voluntary.
Specialist's note: if no violations were committed during the registration of the marriage, then there is only one way out of the current situation - divorce. Who does not have the right to enter into marriage (Article 14, Chapter 3 of the RF IC):
- citizens who are already officially married to other persons;
- close relatives;
- adoptive parents with adopted children.
Marriage registration is considered illegal if:
- it is fictitious - it does not pursue the goal of creating a family, but solving other life problems;
- one of the couple has a sexually transmitted disease or AIDS, but has kept it a secret;
- hid the fact of a mental disorder, i.e. incapacity recognized by the court.
The procedure for recognizing a marriage as invalid
To annul a state-established family union, you must file a claim in a court of general jurisdiction. The following have the right to appeal:
- the spouses themselves;
- parents or guardians of the minor spouse;
- guardianship authorities, if a person under marriageable age is an orphan;
- guardianship authorities or legal representatives if the married person was incapacitated;
- the prosecutor who revealed the fictitious nature of the marriage.
Since the claim is non-property, the state fee is 300 rubles. The decision comes into force according to the rules of Article 209 of the Civil Procedure Code - if no appeals are received within a month. After this, the court has three days to send the act to the registry office to make the appropriate entry.
Persons who have the right to demand recognition of marriage as invalid
Persons who have the right to demand recognition of a marriage as invalid are the participants in legal relations who are married. If the application is sent to the court upon the dissolution of family relations, the body will be able to accept it only if the initial court decision on divorce is canceled. If the divorce took place in the civil registry office, then the court will accept the claim from the applicant when canceling the record of divorce.
Modern Russian legislation establishes a certain circle of subjects who have the right to demand recognition of family relationships as invalid, that is, it identifies such a concept as “Persons who have the right to demand recognition of marriage as invalid.” This list is specified by Article 28 of the RF IC. Persons who have the right to demand that a marriage be declared invalid depend primarily on the reason itself, which became the primary basis for the statement of claim. These determinants are clearly stated in the regulatory legal acts.
In what cases will the claim not be satisfied?
Article 29 of the RF IC allows for the elimination of circumstances that made the marital union illegal:
- the minor is 18 years old and does not mind continuing his family life;
- the minor wife is pregnant or has recently given birth, and therefore needs her husband’s support;
- a bigamist divorced his first wife (husband);
- a woman and a man, who were initially married fictitiously, began to live together and started a joint household.
Close relatives do not have the right to sanitize a marriage, since their blood ties are not eliminated over time.
It is also impossible to demand an annulment after a divorce. An exception is if the spouses are in a prohibited degree of relationship. If annulment is important for one of the parties, she has the right to first demand that the court's decision on divorce be annulled. Accordingly, if the procedure was carried out in the registry office, this will not be possible.
Reasons for which a marriage may be declared invalid
In order to avoid confusion, it is immediately worth noting what is the difference between the severance of a marital relationship and its recognition as invalid. The second option is relevant when violations provided for by family law are established (Articles , , 14 and 15 of the RF IC).
Despite the fact that the law of the Russian Federation does not have a precise interpretation of the term invalidity of marriage, the following definition can be given - this is a deviation from the norm due to violations during the registration of a civil act and the presence of obstacles to such an action, the provision of false documents or the concealment by one spouse of a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease.
There is no specific time limit for the approval of a marriage by an incompetent person. It can be revoked at any time once valid reasons for doing so have been demonstrated. This can be done by authorized persons by filing a claim in court. A limitation period of 1 year exists only for the case where the spouse concealed one episode - the presence of HIV infection.
The grounds for declaring a marriage invalid are summarized in the table:
| Reasons | Explanations | Some nuances |
| At the time of registration of the newlyweds, both or one of the couple had not reached the appropriate age (18 years), for which permission was not obtained from the local government authorities. | This is possible when the spouses deliberately deceived or the registry office employees made an oversight. Such a marriage can be abolished provided that it is in the interests of the minor. | It happens that a girl managed to get pregnant or give birth and does not want to get a divorce. Then the marriage is preserved. |
| Lack of good will to perform the marriage. | By law, a marriage is considered valid if the bride and groom give their consent. When there were threats, intimidation, lies, misrepresentation, then the marriage registration is illegal. | One more point is taken into account - the physical and psychological state of both spouses (both are considered separately) at the time of registration. It happens that a woman (man) is not aware of what she is doing. This is established by conducting a forensic psychiatric examination, on the basis of which conclusions are formulated. |
| The presence of one or both of the couple in an active marriage. This became known only after the registration of the second union. | According to Russian law, only one marriage is allowed - the second is automatically declared invalid. | The second marriage may not be canceled if, on the date of the court decision, a divorce from the previous union is filed. It is worth understanding that a marriage is considered completely terminated only after the registration of a judicial act in the registry office (Article 169 of the RF IC). |
| Marriage relationships are registered between related persons: father-daughter, mother-son, grandfather-granddaughter, brother-sister. | To use this basis, documentary evidence of the genetic connection of the spouses is required. | For example, many people know that spouses are related, but this is not confirmed by any papers. Then, according to the law, there is no way to prevent their union. |
| The marriage is formalized between persons related by adoption. | Such citizens are equal in legal status to relatives. Therefore, marriage between them is unacceptable. | If you want to get married, you must first cancel the adoption. |
| Both spouses or one were listed as incapacitated. | Such persons do not understand what they are doing and cannot independently make a decision about starting a family. | An exception would be the situation when the spouse’s legal capacity was restored during marriage and he wished to preserve it. |
| One of the couple knew, but did not admit, about his illness (AIDS) | The very fact of hiding is a gross violation of human rights. This will result in criminal liability. | If the ignorant spouse, after such information, agreed to leave everything as it is, then the marriage is not annulled. |
| Fictitious intentions to start a family. | People get married for selfish reasons, the desire to obtain a permanent residence permit, etc. | Proving the falsity of such a union is not easy, since both spouses are capable of behaving quite plausibly. |
A marriage cannot be declared invalid for other reasons. Then you should resort to divorce proceedings.
Consequences of invalidity
Relationships between a man and a woman are recognized as such from the date of their initial registration. That is, in fact, it turns out that there was no wedding. Both partners remain single rather than becoming divorced.
Accordingly, there are no rights and obligations inherent in married people in such a situation. A marriage contract is also considered void.
If one of the couple suffered from such a marriage (for example, was forced to live together or contracted a venereal disease), he has the right to:
- maintaining the acquired surname;
- compensation for material damage (for example, payment for treatment);
- compensation for moral damage;
- alimony in case of incapacity for work or caring for a child under three years old, a disabled child under 18 years old;
- allocation of the marital share from jointly acquired property.
In relation to common children, the rights and obligations of the former husband and wife are preserved. Moreover, if they were born not only before the court decision came into force, but also within the next 300 days.
Statement of claim for recognition of marriage as invalid
An application to the court from a category of citizens who want to have their marriage declared invalid has a standard sample. Such a claim, unlike an application for dissolution of a marital union, does not entail the imposition on the spouses of the rights and obligations prescribed in the RF IC.
As legal practice shows, such an application for the invalidation of a marriage, accepted from citizens of various categories, is in certain cases a more acceptable form. This is due to the fact that:
- The rule of equal division of property does not apply to real estate.
- When a claim is satisfied, no obligations arise, including alimony.
If you need to file a statement of claim in court, you should seek the qualified assistance of a lawyer who will offer to fill out a standard form. In this case, the documentation will comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Author of the article
What is the difference between a void marriage and a divorce?
Having considered the essence and consequences of the invalidity of a marriage, let us compare this procedure with divorce.
Table “Difference between divorce and invalidation of marriage”:
| Divorce | Cancellation (invalidity) | |
| Cause | Personal wish | Violation of the Family Code |
| Initiator | Only husband and/or wife | Husband, wife, parents or guardians, government agencies |
| Joint property | Jointly owned | In shared ownership (if one is not injured) |
| Subsequent maintenance (alimony) | In accordance with Article 90 of the SK | In accordance with Article 90 of the Criminal Code (only for the bona fide party) |
| Family status | Divorced | Single (if never married before) |
About the author of the article
Natalia Goncharova
Divorce and annulment of marriage
X Did you like the material? You can treat the author with a cup of aromatic coffee and leave him a good wish
