What Makes an Annulment Different From a Divorce in Texas?

While Hollywood has made the idea of the surprise Vegas wedding followed by a quick annulment a thing of humor, Texas divorce attorneys do advise on annulments from time to time.

Yet many people do not understand what an annulment actually is and how it is used in contrast to a regular divorce.

Depending on the situation, divorce lawyers may find that a situation demands an annulment over a standard divorce.

What Is An Annulment?

An annulment is a legal ruling that declares a marriage never took place based on certain specific legal grounds that existed when the couple was married.

Once granted by a judge, an annulment means that the marriage that was annulled never existed.

Anyone questioning the validity of their marriage should speak with a family divorce attorney about it, as the conditions vary from state to state.

How Do Annulments Differ From Divorces?

Divorces involve negotiations done with the assistance of experienced divorce attorneys and are the legal ending of an existing marriage.

The spouses must divide up marital property as stated within the Texas community property law plus other important decisions must be made when a couple decides to no longer be a part of a legal marriage.

On the other hand, annulments involve no such negotiations or division of property, with each person entitled to ownership of their own property since they were never legally married.

Divorce lawyers find that this can create problems as far as property ownership is concerned if conditions for an annulment are met later on in a relationship.

Under What Circumstances Is An Annulment Applicable?

Annulments might seem like an easy way out of a marriage after having second thoughts or a person otherwise deciding after the fact that they no longer wish to be married, but family divorce lawyers warn that this is not the case.

Texas divorce attorneys see annulments granted only under certain circumstances and just changing one's mind without other associated factors does not typically qualify.

As such, the stereotypical story of getting drunk and marrying on a whim is only considered valid if the annulment is filed hastily without ever assuming life as a couple.

In Texas, the legal grounds for annulment include:

Underage Marriage - Marrying under the age of 18 without parental consent or court order.
Intoxication - Marrying while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Fraud - One party used fraud or duress to convince the other to marry.
Impotence - Either person was impotent when the marriage happened.
Mental Incompetence - One party did not have the mental clarity due to mental illness or defect to agree to marry or understand the significance of the ceremony.
Undisclosed Divorce - One party was recently divorced and never disclosed it to the other.
Violation of the Texas 72-Hour Waiting Period - Texas requires couples to wait 72 hours after the issuance of a marriage license before legally marrying.

In any of these cases, a person can contact a divorce attorney and discuss the appropriateness of an annulment and whether their situation qualifies for one.

Call a Divorce Lawyer On Issues of Questionable Marriage Validity

A legal marriage is one that happens in accordance with state law and involves two consenting adults who decide to enter into one together.

When situations arise to suggest this was not the case, an experienced Texas divorce lawyer can interpret whether conditions exist that make annulment possible.

Attorneys find that while getting an annulment might be difficult in Texas, when the circumstances do qualify, it is possible to cancel an invalid marriage.

Due to the challenges presented should this legal determination affect things like property ownership, it is best to research this topic with a ivorce-lawyers/">divorce lawyer experienced with annulments and dealing with the aftermath when couples choose to dissolve their relationship.