What are the implications of a voidable marriage under the law?

A voidable marriage is one that is valid until one of the parties chooses to annul it. This means that the marriage has legal standing and is considered legitimate until a legal action, typically an annulment, is taken to invalidate it. The grounds for voiding a marriage can include issues like fraud, coercion, or mental incapacity, among others.

By requiring annulment to be invalidated, the law acknowledges that the parties involved entered the marriage freely and it can be dissolved if a valid reason is presented. In other words, until one party initiates annulment proceedings, the marriage is treated as valid in the eyes of the law, which has important implications for matters like property rights, spousal support, and parental responsibilities.

This contrasts with a marriage that is automatically invalid (as suggested in another choice), which suggests that it never had legal standing from the beginning, while a voidable marriage has the potential to be recognized until an annulment is sought. Thus, the necessity of annulment to change the status of the marriage is a key feature of voidable marriages.