File turn in your completed Petition and additional starting forms with the court. Find out if your county has standing orders. If it does, attach a copy of the standing orders to your petition. The completed Return of Service is proof your spouse was served. Your spouse will NOT have to sign anything. The Return of Service must be on file for at least 10 days before you can finish your case, not counting the day it is filed or the day you go to court to finish your case.
NOTE: Getting your spouse served in person is best. However, there are other ways to get someone served. If you have questions, you can use Ask a Question to chat with a lawyer or law student online. Fill out the Decree of Annulment form: Decree of Annulment.
When you fill out the Decree of Annulment :. If you CAN finish your annulment by default, fill out these additional forms and make 1 copy of each form:. Common Topics. Family, Divorce, and Children. All Topics. Court Basics. Individual Rights. Name Change. Protection from Violence or Abuse. Self Help. Featured Self-Help.
Self-Help Guides. Ask a Question. Guided Forms. Informative Articles. More Resources. Court Information. Helpful Non-Legal Organizations. Types of Legal Help. Legal Assistance. Find Help. Legal Help Directory. Qualifying for Legal Aid. Working with Private Attorneys. Professional Use Only Forms. Search Search. Research Tips The legal system is complex. Expand Collapse An annulment is a type of lawsuit where a judge states that a marriage is invalid due to reasons that existed at the start of the marriage.
What is the difference between an annulment and a suit to declare a marriage void? What is the difference between a divorce and a suit to declare a marriage void? Expand Collapse A divorce will end a valid marriage. Jurisdiction and Venue - Where can I file an annulment? Expand Collapse For the most part, the courts that can decide divorce cases can also decide annulments. What if there are children involved in the annulment?
Residency - How long do I have to live in Texas to file for an annulment? Expand Collapse To be able to file for an annulment in Texas, either One of the spouses must live in Texas or The spouses were married in Texas.
What are the requirements for annulling a marriage on the grounds there was fraud, duress, or force involved? Expand Collapse A judge can annul a marriage if a spouse made an important misrepresentation intending to persuade or influence the other spouse into marrying them. Use these instructions if: you and your spouse do not have any children together and no child is expected, and you and your spouse agree about all the issues and will both sign the necessary court forms.
Do NOT use these instructions if: your spouse does not agree to the annulment, or your case involves a lot of property to be divided. Checklist Steps Step 1: Meet the legal requirements. Expand Collapse You can ask the Court to annul your marriage if: A spouse of the marriage was under age 18, or Note: If a person is between 16 and 18 years of age and married without parental consent or a court order, the marriage may be annulled.
Talk with a lawyer if this is the reason you are asking the court for an annulment. A spouse was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, or Note : The spouse asking for the annulment the petitioner was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics to the point that they lacked the capacity to consent to the marriage.
In addition, the petitioner must not have voluntarily lived with the other spouse once the alcohol or drugs had worn off. Either spouse is permanently impotent, or Note : If either party is permanently impotent unable to have sexual intercourse at the time of the marriage and the petitioner was unaware of the impotency at the time of the marriage, a judge may grant an annulment.
In addition, the petitioner must not have voluntarily lived with the other spouse since becoming aware of the impotency. A spouse was convinced to marry the other spouse by fraud, duress, or force, or Note : A marriage may be annulled if a spouse made an important misrepresentation intending to persuade or influence the other spouse into marrying them.
In addition, the petitioner must not have voluntarily lived with the other spouse since becoming aware of the fraud or being released from the duress or force. A spouse lacked the mental capacity to enter into the marriage, or Note : A court may order the marriage annulled if either spouse did not have the mental capacity to consent to the marriage or the marriage ceremony.
If the petitioner is asking for annulment because the other spouse lacked mental capacity, the petitioner must also show that he or she did not know or could not reasonably have known that the other spouse lacked capacity.
A spouse concealed hid a prior divorce, or Note : The petitioner must show that the other spouse was divorced from a third-party within the 30 day window before the marriage and that the petitioner did not know or a reasonably prudent person could not have known of the divorce.
In addition, the petitioner did not voluntarily live with the other spouse after discovering or should have discovered the divorce. The annulment case must be filed within 1 year of the marriage. The spouses were married within 72 hours of the marriage license being issued. Note: To qualify under these facts, the petitioner must file the annulment case within 30 days of the date of the marriage.
Step 2: Determine where to file for annulment. Step 3: Fill out the starting forms. Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship Fill out this additional starting form if you cannot afford to pay the filing fee for your case.
Make 2 copies of the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Courts if you are asking the court to waive court costs. Step 4: File turn in your starting forms. Expand Collapse File turn in your completed Petition and additional starting forms with the court. You need to find out if your county has standing orders. If it does, you will need to attach a copy of the standing orders to your petition.
Step 5: Ask your spouse to sign an Answer or Waiver of Service. Your spouse can fill out and sign either form. The Waiver of Service Only form must be signed in front of a notary. If your spouse plans to sign the Waiver of Service Only form, tell your spouse to sign it in front of a notary at least one day after you filed the Petition. Otherwise, your spouse will have to redo it.
Tip: If your annulment is agreed, your spouse must also sign a completed Decree of Annulment form. It may save you time to fill out the Decree of Annulment form now and send it to your spouse with the Answer or Waiver of Service.
Read Step 6 for information about filling out the Decree. You can also wait until later in the process to fill out the Decree of Annulment form. Step 6: Fill out the Decree of Annulment.
Related content Get a divorce Money and property when you divorce or separate Making child arrangements if you divorce or separate. Explore the topic Marriage, civil partnership and divorce. Is this page useful? Maybe Yes this page is useful No this page is not useful. Thank you for your feedback. Report a problem with this page. What were you doing? What went wrong? Each of these reasons has important details you have to prove to get a court to give you an annulment.
To get an annulment, you must be able to prove to the judge that 1 of these reasons is true in your case. This makes an annulment case very different from a divorce or a legal separation. Getting an annulment does not depend on how long you have been married or in a domestic partnership. Proving that there is a legally valid reason to get an annulment can be very difficult.
Talk to a lawyer for help understanding exactly what you need to show to a judge before he or she will agree to give you an annulment. Click for help finding a lawyer. The statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Divorces and legal separations do not have a deadline. You can file for divorce or legal separation at any time. BUT annulments DO have a deadline. The period of time within which you can file for an annulment varies depending on the reason why you want the annulment.
Here are the statutes of limitations for the reasons to ask for an annulment:. Since an annulment means your marriage or domestic partnership was never valid, you may not have other rights and obligations that couples who file for divorce or legal separation do. If you and your spouse or domestic partner have children together and you get an annulment, the legal presumption that children born during a marriage or domestic partnership are children of the couple also does not exist.
This means that, if you get an annulment, you must also ask the judge to establish parentage paternity for any children you have in common with the other party.
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