What should i do about my marriage? Too late for an annullment?

Question

My husband and i have been separated for three months. I bought a house with him and after one year, we lost it. He was in and out of jobs very often and i had to frequently pay the bills. Stress soon turned into physical abuse and now im 23 years old living at home with mom. Now he wants me back... Its exasperating because i want a sense of belonging and i've been looking for it in all the wrong places. I dont want to go back with him though, i've moved on emotionally and sexually... But i dont have the money to file for divorce. We were only married a year. Is it too late for an annullment? Where can i find legal help for low incomes? Please help...appreciate it!

Answer 1

You can file your own divorce- check your state requirements. Even an annulment costs money, so it won't be totally free, but you should be able to do it for around $250.

Answer 2

This was my answer to a similar question:

It matters less how long you were married than the grounds for the separation. Given proper grounds, a marriage may be annulled ten years later, but without them, it cannot be annulled even the next day. Generally, a marriage is presumed valid, and can be annuled only on very narrow grounds, which fall into two categories:

1. Fraud in the inducement -- i.e. your fiance got you to marry him by lying about some factor which is fundamental to the marital relationship. Examples: not disclosing previous marriages or children, misrepresenting one's gender, lying about intentions to have children (or ability to have them), or one's adherence to a religion, or suffering from a very serious chronic illness -- all qualify as fraud sufficient to void a marriage. Things like misrepresenting one's finances, political beliefs, or cultural interests (unless the misrepresentations are truly extreme), by contrast, are not so fundamental to the marital relationship as to create grounds for an annulment. Just so we are clear -- only the defrauded party has grounds for an annulment in this case, not the one at fault; you can't commit fraud yourself and then use that as a basis to have your marriage voided. All elements of fraud must be proved -- the fact of the misrepresentation itself, your husband's intent, and your *justifiable* reliance on his statements. Additionally, you must prove that you did not forgive your spouse for the fraud by cohabiting with him after you learned the truth. If you found out that your husband has a child from a previous relationship one month after the wedding, but continued to live with him for another 3 months, you are not entitled to an annulment -- to preserve your rights, you must leave as soon as the fraud is disclosed.

2. Illegality -- i.e., showing that the marriage was invalid from the beginning by reason of incapacity (such as when a party is underage or mentally incapable of consenting), consanguinity (as defined by the applicable statute in your jurisdiction), bigamy, or some other violation of the marriage laws.

Unless you can squeeze into one of those two categories (and they are narrow indeed), divorce is your only option.
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By the way -- if money is an issue, you are much better off with a divorce. Annullments are way more expensive and invariably involve a lawyer. A divorce, if it is uncontested, you can do yourself.

Answer 3

I was married and ready for an annullment within 2 days. The lawyer told me it wasnt an option.
Get out of your situation. For crying out loud, if your already having sex with someone else, its time to get out.

Answer 4

Legal Aid.

Answer 5

Get a job

Answer 6

Yup, too late. Just get a divorce & be done with it.