The Ex-Files: Our arranged marriage only lasted four weeks – can we get an annulment?
Question: My wife and I have decided to end our marriage. We’ve only been married for four weeks and have not consummated our marriage. The marriage was arranged by our parents, and I didn’t meet my wife until our wedding day. Soon after our wedding day we realised there was no way the marriage was going to work. Can we get an annulment?
Answer: “Annulment” is a term adopted from overseas legal systems, and it does not appear in any New Zealand legislation that affects marital status.
It is possible to have a marriage declared void by the Family Court, but the grounds for such an order are very limited.
Unlike a dissolution, which terminates a valid marriage, an order declaring a marriage to be void can only be granted if there is proof that the marriage was invalid at its inception.
Learn about the grounds for an order and how the recent law changes make an exception for family violence by reading the full NZ Herald Ex-Files article.
