When marriages break up, many couples informally separate and live apart. The marriage  breakdown affects all areas of a person's life and most people go on to sort matters between them in a legal context. There are a number of different ways of doing this in Ireland:

• Judicial separation
• Divorce
• Deed of Separation

A separation agreement is reached through agreement between the parties, whereas a court grants a judicial separation or a divorce. Of these, only a decree of divorce dissolves the marriage and allows each party to remarry.

In specific circumstances, a court can grant a nullity decree. The effect of a nullity decree is that the court determines that no marriage ever existed. The law in relation to nullity is complex, and you should always seek legal advice to assess whether the circumstances exist for a nullity application. A Roman Catholic church annulment has no legal effect.