If your spouse fails to respect one or more conditions necessary for the formation of your marriage, you can apply for the marriage to be declared null. The application may be based on various reasons: conjugal violence, a failure to provide mutual assistance, the fact that your spouse was already married or married you in bad faith, etc.
If your application is based on a reason of public order (a marriage between close relatives, for example), you may apply for it to be declared null at any time. For other reasons, you have until three years after the date of the marriage to apply for an annulment. However, a legal annulment does not affect the religious validity of your marriage.
