No matter how long a couple has been together, sometimes ending the partnership is what needs to happen. Plenty of reasons can lead to the decision to separate. It could be due to infidelity, addiction, abuse, incarceration or simply an inability to meet each other’s needs.
When a couple is married and one or both parties agree that the marriage must end, many considerations regarding the division of property and financial accounts as well as child custody agreements may need to be handled in mediation or court. What happens, however, if one party argues that the marriage was never legal in the first place?
Annulments dissolve legally invalid marriages
There are certain situations in which pursuing an annulment may be more appropriate than pursuing a divorce. Although less common than divorce, the state of Texas does allow for annulment under certain circumstances. Some common reasons for obtaining an annulment include:
- Illegal marriage between family members
- One or both spouses were too young to consent to marriage
- One or both spouses were coerced into the marriage
- One or both spouses were not of sound mind when consenting to marriage
- One or both spouses were already legally married to someone else
- One spouse concealed or lied about a significant issue before the marriage took place
In instances such as these, it may be advantageous to dissolve the marriage via annulment versus divorce. If you believe your marriage should never have taken place, you will need to prove its invalidity. This can become a complex and cumbersome process depending on the available evidence, but it could be beneficial to you, in the long run, to have a court proclaim that your marriage never legally took place at all.
