Annulling a marriage does not preclude ancillary relief
The difference between a divorce and an annulment seems pretty straightforward; a divorce terminates a marriage as of the date of the judgment of divorce, while an annulment treats the marriage as if it never occurred. However, when an annulment is granted, the court may still distribute the marital property under Domestic Relations Law 236B(5), children born during an annulled marriage are presumed to be legitimate, counsel fees may be awarded under DRL 237, and spousal maintenance under DRL 236(B)(6) may be granted.
The latter is exactly what happened in LeMieux v. LeMieux. In LeMieux, the plaintiff husband commenced an action to annul the marriage based on fraud, and won at trial. The Supreme Court then awarded the defendant wife maintenance at $300 per week until the age of 66, death, remarriage, or cohabitation. The plaintiff husband appealed.
The Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court’s award of maintenance, finding the court had the authority to make such an award under DRL 236(B)(2), which provides:
2. Matrimonial actions.
Except as provided in subdivision five of this part, the provisions of this part shall be applicable to actions for an annulment or dissolution of a marriage, for a divorce, for a separation, for a declaration of the nullity of a void marriage, for a declaration of the validity or nullity of a foreign judgment of divorce, for a declaration of the validity or nullity of a marriage, and to proceedings to obtain maintenance or a distribution of marital property following a foreign judgment of divorce, commenced on and after the effective date of this part. Any application which seeks a modification of a judgment, order or decree made in an action commenced prior to the effective date of this part shall be heard and determined in accordance with the provisions of part A of this section.
The lesson here is that no rights are lost or gained by filing an annulment as opposed to an action for a divorce.
