Cecily Zamora
In Texas, a common-law marriage is a legal union between two people who live together and present themselves as married, without a marriage certificate. To annul such a marriage, one must file a petition in district court, citing specific grounds such as bigamy, fraud, impotence, or mental incapacity. The process can be straightforward once the grounds are proven, but it may become more complicated if, for example, the couple bought property together. Texas law also requires that one of the spouses be a resident of the state at the time of filing, or that the marriage took place in Texas.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition of annulment | A legal end to a marriage that was never valid |
| Difference between annulment and divorce | Divorce ends a valid marriage, annulment ends a marriage that was not legally valid |
| Difference between annulment and void marriage | Void marriages were never valid under Texas law and can never be valid; annulments are court rulings that erase the marriage legally |
| Grounds for annulment | Fraud, duress, or force; bigamy; impotence; mental incapacity at the time of marriage; underage marriage; if one party was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of marriage; blood relatives; spouse is in another marriage that was never terminated |
| Time limits | Within one year if your spouse divorced someone else less than 30 days before the wedding; within 30 days if you married less than 72 hours after getting your marriage license; before the underage spouse turns 18; within 90 days of the marriage if the spouse was between 16 and 18 years old and married without parental consent |
| Filing requirements | File a petition for annulment in the district court for the county you reside in Texas; must have lived in Texas for more than six months; at least one spouse lives in Texas or the marriage took place in Texas |
| Cost | Ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands, depending on whether spouses are in agreement and whether attorneys are used |
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Grounds for annulment
An annulment in Texas is a legal declaration by a court that a marriage was not valid from the beginning and was never a legal union. It is different from a divorce, which ends a marriage that was legally valid. Annulments are only available in certain cases, and Texas law allows annulments in the following situations:
- Underage Marriage: If a spouse is under the age of 18, the court may annul the marriage. In Texas, people under 18 usually cannot legally marry. A parent, guardian, or friend must file for annulment before their 18th birthday.
- Influence of Substances: If a spouse was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, rendering them incapable of consenting to the marriage, this may be grounds for annulment. However, if the couple lived together after both partners were sober, it is not a valid ground.
- Impotency: If either spouse was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage and the other spouse was unaware, annulment may be granted.
- Concealed Divorce: If a spouse hid a recent divorce from the other spouse, annulment may be granted. However, this ground is only valid until the first anniversary of the marriage.
- Marriage Soon After License Issued: Texas law requires a 72-hour waiting period after obtaining a marriage license. If the marriage ceremony took place during this period, either spouse may petition for annulment within 30 days of the wedding.
- Bigamy: If a spouse was legally married to someone else at the time of the marriage, the marriage may be voided.
- Blood or Adoption Relation: If the spouses are related by blood or adoption, annulment may be granted.
- Fraud, Duress, or Force: If a spouse was misled, coerced, or forced into the marriage, it may be annulled.
- Mental Incapacity: If a spouse was not mentally capable of consenting to the marriage, it may be annulled.
It is important to note that there is no specific time limit for filing an annulment in Texas, but it is recommended to apply as soon as grounds for annulment are discovered. Additionally, only one spouse needs to live in Texas, or the marriage must have taken place in Texas, to meet the residency requirements for filing an annulment in the state.
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Filing a petition
To annul a common-law marriage in Texas, you must file a petition for annulment in a district court in the county where you reside in Texas. You must have lived in that county for more than six months. The suit is called "A Suit to Declare Void the Marriage or Petitioner and Respondent". The petitioner is the person filing for annulment, while the other spouse is the respondent.
If you have children together, a suit to set up custody of the children will be joined with the annulment. This suit is also referred to as a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR). The court joins the suit with the annulment so that it can make orders for custody, visitation, and child support concerning the children.
You can file a petition for annulment in the county where you or your spouse lived when you got married. If you got married in Houston, for example, you can file the petition in Harris County. The local district clerk can tell you which courts handle annulment cases. In most counties, the courts that handle divorces also handle annulments.
Unlike divorce, Texas law does not require you to wait any specific amount of time after filing an annulment petition. However, there are specific time limits for annulments in Texas:
- Within one year if your spouse divorced someone else less than 30 days before your wedding
- Within 30 days if you married less than 72 hours after getting your marriage license
- Before the underage spouse turns 18
Additionally, if one of the spouses is deceased, a case for annulment cannot be brought.
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Void vs. voidable marriages
In Texas, there are two categories of marriages that may be declared void: marriages that are voidable—meaning that a judge may annul those marriages under certain circumstances—and marriages that are automatically void because they are illegal in Texas.
Void marriages are those that were not legal from the start. Bigamy is an example of a void marriage. In such cases, one spouse was already married to someone else, and the prior marriage was not dissolved by divorce or death. A void marriage is not valid under Texas law. The spouses cannot agree to make it a valid marriage. After a court declares a void marriage, it will be like the marriage never happened, at least in a legal sense. However, the spouses might still have to deal with issues like property and children.
Voidable marriages are considered valid until a court declares them otherwise. Several grounds for annulment exist, depending on the laws of the specific jurisdiction. Fraud, duress, mental incapacity, impotence, and underage marriage are some of the common grounds for seeking an annulment in Texas. For voidable marriages, there are steps that need to be undertaken by the unknowing spouse once they discover the issue to be eligible for an annulment.
Annulment is a legal process that declares a marriage voidable. It recognizes the existence of a marriage but deems it invalid based on specific grounds. Annulment can have similar legal consequences to divorce, addressing matters such as property division and support. A suit to declare a marriage void, on the other hand, asserts that the marriage is invalid from its inception.
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Time limits
Texas law does not require you to wait for any specific amount of time before filing for an annulment. However, there are some specific time limits for certain situations.
If a marriage ceremony took place during the 72-hour waiting period after receiving a marriage license, and neither spouse belongs to any group that is exempt from this waiting period, either spouse may petition for an annulment within 30 days of the marriage.
If a marriage violates the 30-day waiting period for remarriage after divorce, the annulment must be filed within one year of the marriage.
In the case of an underage spouse, a petition for annulment can be filed within 90 days of the marriage. If the underage spouse turns 18 within this 90-day period, they may file the petition themselves. After 90 days, a judge may still decide to grant an annulment, but the marriage is not automatically invalid under Texas law.
To file for an annulment in Texas, at least one spouse must live in Texas at the time of filing, or the marriage must have taken place in Texas. There is no requirement to have lived in Texas for any specific amount of time before filing.
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Cost
The cost of annulling a common-law marriage in Texas depends on a few factors. The filing fee varies from county to county, and there may be added fees stemming from lawyers and long court cases if your spouse does not agree to the annulment. If you are eligible for a fee waiver, the annulment will cost nothing.
The State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral Information Service may be able to connect you with a private lawyer who accepts alternate fee structures, such as reduced-fee arrangements or limited scope representation (also known as "unbundling"). Legal aid services also provide free help to people with low incomes, and you can get legal advice at walk-in legal clinics.
The cost of annulment ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands. If your spouse agrees to work with you, you may not have added fees stemming from lawyers and long court cases.
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Frequently asked questions
An annulment is a legal declaration that a marriage was never valid and never happened, whereas a divorce ends a legally valid marriage.
Texas law allows annulments in certain situations, such as when a spouse was underage, mentally unable to consent, or pressured into the marriage. Other grounds include bigamy, fraud, impotence, or if one party was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of marriage.
You must file a petition for annulment in the district court of the county you reside in, in Texas. You can file a petition if at least one of you lives in Texas or if you got married in Texas.
The cost of an annulment depends on whether the spouses are in agreement and whether attorneys are used, ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. There is no specific time limit on when you can file for an annulment, but some grounds for annulment have strict time limits, such as within one year if your spouse was previously divorced within 30 days before the wedding.
If there are biological or adopted children involved, a suit to set up custody of the children will be joined with the annulment. The court will make orders for custody, visitation, and child support.
