As I’m sure you have heard, (and what Minnesotan hasn’t?) Minnesota boy Kris Humphries is seeking an annulment from Hollywood royalty Kim Kardashian. Shocking news, I know. A 90-day engagement led to a brief 72-day marriage, all documented on the show “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, which I shamefully have watched. A reported 10.5 million people tuned in for the lavishly reported 10 million dollar wedding (for the record, I did not watch that.  They did not make their money off of me).  A short 72 days later, on Halloween no less, Kim filed for divorce, claiming she married for love but got “caught up in the hoopla”.

Kris Humphries has now countered with an Annulment, saying the marriage was a fraud and done for Kim’s reality TV show.  If the Annulment isn’t granted, he would like to file for a Legal Separation, not a divorce.  Huh? Let’s sort this out.

In Minnesota, you can get an Annulment for one of the following reasons:

• One party was not able to give consent to marriage to due mental illness, insanity, capacity due to alcohol or drugs at the time of the ceremony.
• If consent was obtained through force or fraud.
• If one part was not able to consummate the marriage through sex and the other party didn’t know about this at the time of the ceremony.
• One of the parties was not old enough to get married (Minnesota requires either age of 18 or 16 if the parent approves and a juvenile court judge approves).

(Minn. Stat. §518.02-518.05). 

A Legal Separation, on the other hand, is very much like a divorce but you’re still married at the end of it.  People file for Legal Separations for various reasons.  Namely,

1. There is no 6-month residency requirement for Legal Separations;
2. Religious reasons;
3. Health insurance reasons (i.e. you may be able to remain on your spouse’s health insurance); or
4. You just don’t know if you want the finality of a divorce, but would like to divide marital debts and assets.

Even after a legal separation, if you decide you want to get divorced after all, you would have to go through the whole divorce process.  (http://johnsonandturner.com/as_divorce-overview)

I suppose Kris Humphries is looking for an Annulment to show bad faith on Kim Kardashian’s part.  But why a Legal Separation?  In Minnesota, there would be no reason for the Legal Separation that I can see.  Maybe this is some kind of strategy under California law, where this is all venued.

I did learn one thing from this case.  Kim is now dating Kanye West. Humphries’ attorneys have been trying to serve him with deposition papers.  He has evaded service, so Humphries' side has resorted to packing a deposition request for West in a Nordstrom's box and delivering it to Kardashian's front door.  Kim opened it, probably thinking she ordered something (I can’t imagine that would be out of the ordinary) and BAM! Served!  I think I’ll start serving my papers in Gander Mountain boxes, Forest Lake style.