Annulment in Texas

When you are seeking to dissolve your marriage in Texas, you might consider annulment as being an option if you haven’t been married very long. That being said, despite depictions of annulment in the media, movies and television, there are very specific requirements that the circumstances of your marriage must meet in order to obtain an annulment in Texas. If the grounds for annulment are not met, then the court will not approve it and staying marriage or divorce are your only options.

Petitions for Annulments are brought when there has been some legal impediment to the creation of a valid marriage. The marriage is void. Specifically, this means that some situation existed, prior to the marriage, that caused your marriage to not be effectively created, or void. If one of these circumstances existed, your marriage is considered voidable, meaning that you can choose to dissolve it by filing a Petition for Annulment and proving that you meet a ground for annulment in court, or you can continue to stay married, and your marriage will continue to be recognized as valid.

In order to obtain an annulment in Texas, you must meet one of six grounds:

1. Under Influence of Alcohol or Narcotics: You can obtain an annulment of a marriage under this ground if, at the time of the marriage, you were under the influence of alcoholic beverages or narcotics, and therefore did not have the capacity to consent to the marriage. Further, you must not have voluntarily cohabited with your spouse since the effects of the alcoholic beverages or narcotics ended.

2. Impotency: Under the ground of impotency, you can obtain an annulment of your marriage if (1) your spouse, for physical or mental reasons, was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage, (2) you did not know of the impotency when you were married, and (3) you have not voluntarily cohabited with your spouse since learning of the impotency.

3. Fraud, Duress, or Force: Under this ground, you can obtain an annulment of your marriage if your spouse used fraud, duress, or force to induce you to get married to them, and you have not voluntarily cohabited with your spouse since learning of the fraud or since being released from the duress or force.

4. Mental Incapacity: You (or your guardian or friend, if the court finds it in your best interest to be represented by them) can obtain an annulment of your marriage if, at the time of the marriage, you did not have the mental capacity to consent to marriage or to understand the nature of the marriage ceremony due to mental disease or defect. The court could also appoint an attorney ad litem to represent your interests. Further, under this ground, you must not, since the time of the marriage ceremony, have voluntarily cohabited with your spouse during any time in which you possessed the mental capacity to recognize the marriage relationship.

5. Concealed Divorce: Under this ground, you can obtain an annulment of your marriage if (1) your spouse was divorced from a different person within the 30-days before the date of your marriage ceremony, (2) at the time of your marriage ceremony you did not know, and a reasonable person would not have known, of the divorce, and (3) since discovering the divorce, you have not voluntarily cohabited with your spouse. A Petition for Annulment under this ground must be brought prior to your first wedding anniversary. If later, the Annulment will not be ordered by the court and divorce would be your only option.

6. Marriage Less Than 72 Hours After Issuance of License:  Lastly, you can obtain an annulment if your marriage ceremony took place during the 72-hour waiting period immediately following the issuance of your marriage license. A Petition for Annulment must be brought under this ground within 30 days of the marriage.

If you believe that one of these circumstances may have existed prior to your marriage and wish to speak to an attorney about your options, please reach out to the Surell Law Firm and our office would be happy to set up a free 30 minute consultation to discuss your case.  Whether divorce or annulment is appropriate for your situation, the Surell Law Firm can help you determine what legal strategy will work best for you.  Our office is conveniently located in North Austin, close to Cedar Park, Round Rock, Liberty Hill, Leander, Lakeway and Lago Vista with experience in Travis and Williamson County.