If a party to a marriage is under 18 at the time of marriage and did not have a court order from Texas or another state removing that person’s disabilities of minority for general purposes.  Under the Texas Family Code Section 6.206, this type of marriage can be declared void.

 

To meet the requirements for a Texas Annulment, it’s not enough to just claim “I was drunk.”  A court can annul a marriage if (1) a party was under the influence of Drugs or Alcohol at the time of marriage, (2) as a result of the influence, the party lacked capacity to consent to the marriage, and (3) has not voluntarily cohabited with the other person since the effects of the alcoholic beverages or narcotics ended.  A Texas Court has held that the level of intoxication must be such that the party seeking an annulment must have been so drunk “as to have dethroned reason, memory, and judgment, and impaired his mental faculties to an extent that would render him no oppose mantis (not of sound mind) for the time being.”  To qualify for this ground for annulment, it is very fact intensive and will likely require a witness.

 

One would think that impotency would be pretty clear cut, and it may be in certain cases.  However, it depends on whether the other party will contest this ground.  Not too many spouses will voluntarily agree or stand idly by while a public record is being made of this ailment.  Additionally, much like with intoxication, filing for a Texas Annulment on this ground is time sensitive.  A Texas court must find that a party to the marriage is (1) Permanently Impotent at the time of marriage (2) the party seeking the annulment did not know of the impotency at the time of marriage and (3) the party seeking the annulment did not voluntarily cohabit with the impotent party after learning of the ailment.

The experienced Annulment Lawyers at Nick Davis Law can help prepare your case in a manner that will increase the chances of successfully proving your Annulment case before a judge.  To Learn how we can help with your annulment case in Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington & Surrounding Counties contact our experienced Annulment Lawyers in The Woodlands, TX and Bryan | College Station at (936) 262-7474.

This is often the ground that a party will cite in seeking a Texas Annulment.  However. as with the other grounds for annulment this requires the party to cease living with the perpetrator after they obtain knowledge of the fraud or after they have escaped the force or duress.  The statutory requirements for this ground are as follows:  The court can annul a marriage if (1) a party used fraud, duress, or force to induce the other party into the marriage, and (2) the party seeking the annulment did not voluntarily cohabit with the perpetrator after learning of the fraud or escaping the duress or force.  To prove fraud, a party must present evidence to the court to show that the party was induced into the marriage by misrepresentations made by the perpetrator that were designed to coax the other party into marriage.  Duress or force requires the showing that the perpetrator threatened to do something that they didn’t have a legal right to do, the treat was of such a character that it destroyed the other party’s free agency and caused her to do what she otherwise would not have done, or that the restraint on the person’s free agency is imminent and the person had no ability to protect against it.  This all is very broad and a variety of circumstances may trigger the ability to receive an annulment on this ground, but it requires the skill and expertise of someone knowledgeable in Annulment laws to successfully present the evidence in court.

So, does this mean that anyone that feels their spouse is crazy can claim this reason?  It seems pretty broad but it is not quite that simple.   In an annulment, it requires that a party not have the mental capacity to consent to the marriage or understand the nature of the marriage ceremony because of some sort of mental disease or defect.  And, once again, the parties could not voluntarily live together once the mental disease or defect was discovered.

Maybe.  This seems unfair that this ground is extremely time sensitive, but a concealed divorce will not apply to a divorce that happened many years in the past even though the innocent spouse is just discovering the divorce.  The law for an Annulment on this ground requires that (1) a party divorced someone else within 30 days before the date of marriage to the party seeking the annulment (2) at the time of marriage ceremony, the party seeking the annulment, did not know, and a reasonably prudent person in similar circumstances, would not have known, (3) since the party seeking the annulment discovered the divorce, they did not cohabit with the other party, and (4) the suit for annulment was filed before the 1st anniversary of the marriage.

Generally, a couple must wait 72 hours after obtaining a marriage license to have a ceremonial marriage.  However, in a limited number of circumstances, this 72 hour waiting period can be waived.  In these limited circumstances, parties can seek an annulment.