Void and Voidable Marriages

A void marriage is one that is invalid from the start, while a voidable marriage is valid until annulled. If a marriage is annulled, a good-faith putative spouse may still be entitled to a division of property as if they were married, but someone who knowingly participated in a void or voidable marriage will only receive property rights under standard property laws.

Jessica and Tom entered into a marriage that was later annulled because Tom was still legally married to someone else. Jessica believed the marriage was valid and acted in good faith. As a result, she is entitled to a division of their shared property, despite the annulment. Tom, however, cannot claim any property rights under the marriage since he knowingly participated in a void marriage.

Good faith gets you property, but knowing participants get nothing!

Exams may present scenarios where a party believes they are in a valid marriage, but the facts indicate otherwise, leading students to misapply property rights. Students often confuse the rights of good-faith putative spouses with those of knowing participants.

Questions often involve fact patterns where one party is unaware of the marriage's invalidity, prompting analysis of property rights under quasi-marital principles versus ordinary property laws.