How can I legally end my marriage?

Marriages in Ohio may be terminated by divorce, dissolution (essentially a joint divorce filing), or annulment. Although it is the least frequently used method to terminate a marriage, annulment may be preferable on religious or property distribution grounds.

What is the effect of an annulment?

An annulment renders the marriage legally invalid and void from the beginning rather than simply ending a legally valid marriage.

What are the grounds for an annulment?

The principal grounds for annulment are bigamy, marrying before the legal age of marriage, and the mental incapacity of one or both persons at the time of their marriage, or that the consent of either spouse to the marriage was obtained by fraud or force.

For further information, the Ohio State Bar Association’s web site has a paper on the subject at Marriages Are Annulled in Special Cases.

For more information on domestic violence visit the Ohio Domestic Violence Resource Center.

See also the Forms & Education tab in this section for more information.