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Marriage Annulment | Voidable marriages
The annulment or nullification of a marriage means the dissolving of the marriage contract as if it never came into being, the marriage beeing rendered null and void. Unlike divorce, it is retrospective. Potential grounds for annulment of a marriage in South Africa are:
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being forced consent to marriage
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if the female party, at the time of getting married, is simultaneously pregnant by a different man to the man she is marrying.
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one party misrepresenting who he or she is
Annulment, if agreed between the parties, can be a clean end to a marriage. It’s important to know that this process involves applying to the high court with evidence showing the marriage is either void or voidable. Since annulments can be a bit more complex, most divorce attorneys will represent you alongside an Advocate in the High Court. The costs typically range between R60,000 and R100,000 (numberes are merely a rough guideline, cost can be higher or lower), with an initial deposit required to get started. Find an annulment lawyer in Cape Town by filling in the form below, or by emailing lawyer@capetownlawyer.co.za
Family, Estate & notarial legal services
Catholic annulment of marriage
Note that a Catholic annulment may havee different requirements to the requirements for the legal annulment of a marriage (it may well be that one is possible but not the other).
The nearest Archdiocese may be approached by the spouse who wishes to apply for an annulment (the petitioner) or both spouses
(petitioners).
The petitioners will be informed of the procedure to be followed. The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a permanent union
between a man and a woman and divorce is not permitted. Annulment is a ruling by the Catholic Church that a marriage is not
valid according to Church law if certain necessary prerequisites to the marriage are lacking.
Grounds for annulment could be e.g:
- Lack of consent i.e. if a party did not willingly consent to the marriage (he or she was forced to do so) ; or a party did not
know and understand that he consented to the marriage - Lack of capacity e.g. the party was already married
- Lack of form – the form of the marriage was lacking e.g. In a marriage in the Catholic Church at least one of the spouses must
be baptized in the Church and there must be a priest and 2 witnesses present. - Psychological incapacity to understand the requirements of marriage
- A party was not open to having children
- Lacking in unity of the couple at the time the marriage was entered into.
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