As we discussed in our last post, divorce is not the only avenue out of a marriage. The parties can ask for an annulment, but only under certain circumstances. Annulments are rare, in Atlanta and everywhere else, so it was intriguing to discover that Kris Humphries, celebrity Kim Kardashian's estranged husband, would ask for one. (She filed for divorce -- after 72 days of marriage.)

If the couple lived in Georgia, Humphries would need evidence to support his request. As we discussed, a court will only grant an annulment for cause, such as a defect of consent or an element of fraud.

An annulment wipes the slate clean. The parties leave with the assets and the liabilities they entered the marriage with. If husband owned the house before the wedding, wife would have no claim to it.

Say, however, the couple maxes out their joint credit cards on their honeymoon new furniture. In a divorce, the couple or the court would determine an equitable division of the debt. In an annulment, that wouldn't be the case.

Because the marriage is void, the parties become legal strangers to each other. They are both on the hook for any debts accumulated during the marriage. Each party is liable for the full amount -- if husband disappears, wife is left with 100 percent of the debt. As one financial adviser put it, it would be as if you'd gotten a credit card with your cousin.

In our next post, we'll discuss a couple of different ways couples can handle the joint debt.

Source: CreditCards.com, "Annulment vs. divorce: How it impacts finances," Tamara E. Holmes, Dec. 30, 2011