What is the difference between “divorce,” “dissolution,” and “annulment”?

A “divorce” is the legal separation and termination of the marital relationship by the judgment of a court which may be granted only upon a finding by the court that certain “grounds” for divorce exist. A divorce puts an end to the marital relationship.

A “dissolution” of marriage is a form of no fault termination of the marriage relationship where both parties have agreed upon all of the terms of the termination (such as division of marital property, spousal support, parental rights and responsibilities, child support, etc.) and are requesting that the court terminate the marriage and approve the agreement between the parties. The basic advantages of a dissolution are that it is not adversarial in nature (i.e. the parties have already agreed upon every aspect of termination); there is no plaintiff or defendant; it is not a “divorce” (although it does terminate the marriage like a divorce); and the court does not have to make any of the decisions it would have to make in a contested divorce. Additionally, it is usually concluded faster than a divorce action.

An “annulment” is a decree from a court determining that the marriage is legally invalid because of some defect that existed at the time the marriage was entered into. An annulment decree declares that a marital status never existed, unlike a divorce decree that terminates a marriage. The grounds for an annulment include: an underage marriage; bigamy (i.e. one of the parties has another living spouse); mental incompetence of one of the parties; fraud; duress and non-consummation of the marriage (which may include impotency).