Helpful Articles
Divorce Vs. Annulment In Texas: Let A Houston Divorce Attorney Help Get Your Marriage Annulled
As per Texas family law, the validity of the marriage is what differentiates a divorce from an annulment. The two bring about issues of termination and invalidation, with a divorce is a legal termination of a valid marriage while an annulment legally invalidates a marriage (to mean the marriage was non-existent, a matter that requires proof for such statutory grounds. Given such complexities, it is often wise to consider hiring a Houston divorce attorney to help make heads or tails of everything.
According to the Texas family law, couples filing for a divorce may plead “no fault” thus will not have to prove why they seek to divorce. Such requirements are not applicable when seeking to have a marriage annulled; for this, you will have to face the judge and have facts support the statutory requirements of the case.
How To Know If You Qualify For An Annulment When Dealing With A Divorce In Houston?
For an annulment to be granted, the following statutory grounds must be met:
Underage
The court may grant an annulment if the marriage of a person under the age of 18 but not younger than 16 years was without the approval of the parents or the court. Read Tex. Fam. Code §6.102 to know more about this. The law considers any marriage to an underage person (below 16 years) as nail and void unless a court order is obtained. Read Tex. Fam. Code §6.205 to know more about this.
Intoxication
The court may grant an annulment if the petitioner claims to have been married while intoxicated (given alcohol or drugs) thus lacking the capacity to reject or agree to the marriage and did not willingly live together with the other person after sobering up. The statutory grounds for granting an annulment will not apply if they cohabitate or tried to make the marriage work. Read Tex. Fam. Code §6.105 to know more about this.
Mental Incapacity
The validity of the annulment on the basis of mental incapacity will depend on the mental state of the petitioner. An annulment may be granted if the complainant is the one with the incapacity and lacked the mental aptitude to comprehend and agree to the marriage or did not willingly cohabitate with the other person while they were still of a sound mental capacity to know they are in a marriage.
In the event that the petitioner is of sound mental capacity, the court may grant an annulment if they were not aware of the other party’s mental incapacities before the marriage and did not continue living together after discovering the mental inadequacies of the other party. You can read Tex. Fam. Code §6.108 to know more about this.
Fraud, Duress, or Force
An annulment may be granted if the petition got married without the knowledge that the other used fraudulent means to get married. You Houston divorce attorney will have to give proof of the fraud, duress, or force and show the petitioners unwillingness to continue living with the other person after learning of the same. You can know more about his by reading Tex. Fam. Code §6.107.
Consanguinity
If it is proven that the parties are closely related by blood (closer than cousins), then the court may void the marriage as per Tex. Fam. Code §6.201.
Impotency
An annulment may be granted if either party was permanently impotent before getting married and the complainant was unaware of this and did not continue living together with the other after learning of the impotency. You can know more about his by reading Tex. Fam. Code §6.106.
Concealed Divorce
An annulment may be granted if the petitioner, at the time of the marriage, was not aware of the other party’s divorce within a period of 30 days before getting married and did not willingly live together with the other party after learning of the divorce after they got married. Read Tex. Fam. Code §6.109 to know more about this.
Marriage That’s 72 Hours Or Less After Issuance Of License
Based on the grounds that the marriage took place less than 72 hours after the issuance of a marriage license, an annulment may be granted if the petitioner files the cases within 30 days after the wedding ceremony. It is a unique instance that exemplifies the disparity between a divorce and annulment in Texas. You can know more about this by reading Tex. Fam. Code §6.110.
Preexisting Marriage
If both parties of the marriage were married at the time of their marriage ceremony, then the court will declare the marriage void and only if both sides did not continue to voluntarily cohabitate and make their marriage know to their families and peers. See Tex. Fam. Code §6.202 to find out more.
The above are the general grounds reorganized in Texas that your Houston divorce attorney may use to get your marriage annulled. Matters regarding a divorce or annulment in Texas can be confusing hence the need to hire an experienced lawyer in Texas who’s vastly conversant with family law.
Source: https://www.johnkgrubb.com/divorce-vs-annulment-in-texas
