In our modern world, an annulment tends to be more a creature of religion than of law. Annulments are rarely granted and when they are, very specific circumstances must exist. Often people believe that they may annul a marriage simply because it was of a very short duration. That is not the case. To annul a marriage, a person must demonstrate that the marriage is void because it is prohibited by the laws of the State or is voidable because the intent to enter into a civil contract was not present at the time that the parties married.
Marriage is a civil contract between a man and a woman.
As a result, the contract is legally binding so long as the requisite elements of the contract were present when the parties married. If the elements of the contract were not present, the marriage may be annulled. That means, the marriage is treated as if it never existed. For all purposes, it is considered null and void. In some states, an annulment may result in the harsh result of extinguishing interests in property acquired during the purported marriage.