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Effect of Annulment

In annulment cases, the court may decide issues concerning the custody of children of the marriage and require the payment of child support and spousal support. An annulment can also have unexpected consequences with regard to taxes and alimony.

Taxes

The IRS has concluded that couples who have their marriage annulled do not have the right to file a joint tax return for the years they were married. The IRS follows the logic that since the marriage never existed the parties incorrectly filed joint returns. The couple must refile any joint tax returns under the rules for unmarried (single) persons.

Support Payments

After an annulment, a spouse may be entitled to support payments (spousal maintenance) for a period of time.

Alimony

By law, alimony paid to an ex-spouse terminates if the ex-spouse remarries. In cases where that second marriage is annulled, there is an issue of whether alimony should be reinstated.

The person paying alimony no longer has an obligation to his ex-spouse when she marries. However, in extenuating circumstances, alimony has been reinstated when the ex-spouse's marriage is annulled. Reinstatement of alimony depends on the facts of each case that led up to the annulment. For instance, a woman receiving alimony from her ex-husband may have the alimony reinstated after her second marriage was annulled where she married the man after knowing him only a few weeks, then he drained her bank accounts and disappeared.

If our marriage is annulled, are our children illegitimate?

No. The law clearly provides that children of an annulled marriage are legitimate.

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