Family Law

Fact pattern

When A was a senior in high school, she met B. Though B was only a freshman at the time, the two became fast friends. Later, A took B to her senior prom as a platonic date. Even after A became a student at the local campus of the state college, the two continued to spend time together. At the end of A’s freshman college year, which was B’s sophomore year in high school, they began dating.

The two remained a couple for the next few years. But at the start of B’s senior year of high school, B told his parents that he planned to apply to the local state college’s early admission program, to stay close to A, his girlfriend. B’s parents believed that B’s grades and extracurricular activities could get him admitted to a more prestigious university. They worried that young love was clouding B’s judgment regarding his future.

Even so, the parents did not outright forbid B from seeing A, but they did sharply restrict his curfew and started monitoring his phone usage. This made it much more difficult for B to see or talk with A.

Three months into these restrictions, B told his parents that he was spending the night at a friend’s house. Instead, he visited A in her apartment. They discussed their frustrations with all the restrictions, and they decided that if they were married, B’s parents couldn’t interfere with their relationship.

B already had a fake ID indicating he was 21 years old, though he was in fact only seventeen. The following week, A and B applied for and received a marriage license, using B’s false ID. Then, a judge in the local courthouse married them.

Initially, A and B planned to reveal the marriage to B’s parents, but for unrelated reasons, the parents relented on the curfew and phone restrictions. B decided that because one of the main reasons for the secret marriage was now gone, he would wait until he was older to tell his parents about it.

As B’s high-school graduation approached, B promised A that he would enroll in the local state college and move in with her that summer. True, A had attended her own senior prom with B the previous year. However, A could not go with B to his senior prom, as she no longer attended the high school. To avoid the embarrassment of going to the prom without a date, B invited a female friend, a fellow high-school senior, to be his date.

Swept up in the romance and excitement of the dance, B and his friend got a room in a nearby hotel and spent the night together, engaging in sexual intercourse. The following morning, overcome with remorse, B confessed his indiscretion to A. A was extremely upset, but after a series of tearful discussions, she decided not to end the relationship.

Over the next few months, B graduated from high school, turned 18 years old, and moved in with A. Shortly after B moved in, A became frustrated at how immaturely her husband behaved, so much so that she is now considering ending their relationship.

Questions

1. What argument(s) could A raise to terminate her marriage to B through annulment, and will she succeed? Explain.
2. What arguments could A raise to terminate her marriage to B through a fault-based divorce, and will she succeed? Explain.
3. What will A have to show to terminate her marriage to B through a no-fault divorce? Explain.