[jamijones]

Is there a time limit after a marriage is performed in which you can get an annullment instead of seeking a divorce in Pennsylvania? My daughter got married and that night he severely abused her physically. He was arrested and she had to be taken to the emergency room. The pastor that married them told her she can not get an annullment but had to seeka divorce. Please inform...

[NowWhat]

I looked this up - because I wasn't exactly sure. What I found was this

Legal Annulments in Pennsylvania

Occasionally, people who live as a married couple learn that their marriage is not valid or legal. In this situation, a court may grant a legal annulment instead of a divorce. An annulment is a legal declaration that a valid marriage never existed. This differs from a divorce which declares a valid marriage is over.

In Pennsylvania, invalid marriages include situations such as when either party had an existing spouse at the time of the marriage, when the parties are blood relatives within a certain degree, or when either party could not consent because of a mental defect or other related reason. Other marriages may be declared void by Pennsylvania courts and an annulment granted if requested by one of the parties. In Pennsylvania, voidable marriages arise when the spouses are less than sixteen years of age and lack the consent of a parent or the court to marry, where either party was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, when either party was at the time of the marriage incurably impotent and when either party entered into the marriage as a result of fraud, duress, coercion, or force. Marriage is a contract, and if either individual was unable to enter into the contract, the court may determine that no contract of marriage ever existed.


*I don't know if this helps - maybe under the "fraud" part - since I am sure she didn't know he was a wife beater when she married him. Contact an attorney - many offer free consultations.
Good Luck.

[froggy7]

I will note that the information came from a pastor. Which may be important, because of the difference between marriage as a religious rite and marriage as a secular arrangement. The pastor may have been referring to annuling the religious rite, which is entirely independent from resolving the secular issue. Just throwing this out there for what it's worth.