A suit to declare a marriage void is a legal process where a marriage is determined to be void from the very beginning because there are facts that prevent a legal marriage from being created. It is as though the marriage never happened. This is regardless of whether a court rules it so, and the spouses cannot otherwise agree that it is a valid marriage. Practically, however, a void marriage can have lasting effects on the spouses to the void marriage in the areas of property and children.
The void marriage statutes can be found in Chapter 6 of the Texas Family Code. If there are children adopted by or born to the parents or during the marriage, a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship must also be included as part of the suit to declare a marriage void petition. Generally, putative spouses will have similar property rights as a divorcing spouse and are eligible for spousal maintenance. In a meretricious relationship, however, those spouses are treated differently although other legal theories can be used in asking for property.
Meretricious spouses are not eligible for spousal maintenance. If your case involves property or children adopted or born during the marriage, you should strongly consider getting help from legal aid or a private attorney at least through limited scope representation. To be a putative spouse a spouse must have had a good faith belief in the validity of the marriage and not have known about facts that would make the marriage void.
To determine if a spouse had this good faith belief, courts in Texas have considered some of the following factors:. Consider looking at the void marriage sections of books like O'Connors Texas Family Law Handbook at your nearest law library for a larger discussion of how a court determines if a spouse is a putative spouse or not. The requirements to file for a divorce in Texas do not apply to suits to declare a marriage void. The petition to declare a marriage void can be filed in the county where all or a large part of the relevant facts or acts leading to the void marriage happened or where the petitioner or the other party lived when the facts, acts, and marriage took place.
For the most part, the courts that can decide divorce cases can also decide suits to declare a marriage void. These lawsuits can also be filed in county courts as well. Call your local district clerk and ask which courts in your county handle void marriage cases. No, there is no waiting period required between the filing and the court granting a suit to declare the marriage void. At the very least, it can be expected to take a few weeks.
A divorce will end a valid marriage. A suit to declare a marriage void will consider the marriage to not be valid from the beginning and therefore to legally never have existed. However, unlike an annulment, a void marriage is automatically not legally a valid marriage from the start whether or not a court decides it so.
The parties cannot agree to it being a legally valid marriage. The Texas Family Code lists specific grounds for void marriages and separate ones for annulments. In Texas, there are several grounds under which a person can file a suit to declare a marriage void:. See Texas Family Code chapters 6. If the parties are related to each other in one of the following ways, either by blood or by adoption, the marriage is void:. They can either accept the annulment, in which case it can proceed straight away, or they can contest the annulment, in which case you will need to go to court to make the case for an annulment before a judge.
If the court accepts your petition, it will issue a decree nisi stating that the court sees no legal reason why your marriage cannot be annulled. Once the decree absolute is issued, your marriage has been legally annulled and you will be free to marry again.
If you need to end your marriage with an annulment, we can help you establish whether this is a viable option for you and guide you through the entire process of having your marriage annulled. What are the grounds for annulment of a marriage? An ecclesiastical annulment, granted through a Church tribunal, is a separate procedure, without which a Catholic cannot get remarried in the Church.
An annulment ends a marriage, but differs from divorce in important ways. The parties, for instance, must prove that the marriage was never valid to begin with. Under Philippine law, reasons can include one or both parties having been younger than age 18 when they got married, either party having an incurable sexually transmitted disease, or cases of polygamy or mistaken identity. Divorce has not always been banned in the Philippines. The Americans, who acquired the nation in following the Spanish-American War, allowed divorce, but only on the grounds of adultery or concubinage.
Following liberation, however, divorce was once again outlawed—except among the Muslim minority—under the Philippine Civil Code of If marriage is essentially a contract, the difference between an annulment and a divorce is the difference between declaring the contract null—because, say, it was signed under conditions of duress or fraud—and terminating it.
In the case of marriage, declaring the contract null is a far more difficult proposition. Infidelity and physical abuse, for example, are not on the list of acceptable reasons for a marriage to be declared invalid under Philippine law.
Filipino TV host Amy Perez is familiar with the difficulties these rules pose. Perez married a rock musician in , and the couple had a son two years later. Perez filed for an annulment in , and was denied. She appealed and lost. In , the Philippine Supreme Court declined to hear her case, declaring:. The most recent statistics OSG provided me, based on a sample of such cases from to , showed that 6 percent of these petitions were dismissed or denied.
Why do they have to make it so hard? 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. Expand Collapse Fill out the Decree of Annulment. When you fill out the Decree of Annulment: Print your answers using blue or black ink. Do not leave blanks. Talk to a lawyer if you have questions or need help. If you need help finding a lawyer, you can: Contact your local lawyer referral service. Step 7: Ask your spouse to sign the Decree of Annulment. Expand Collapse Ask your spouse to: review and sign your completed Decree of Annulment form, and return the signed Decree of Annulment form to you.
You will also: sign the Decree of Annulment form - and - keep the signed Decree of Annulment form until it is time to finish your case. Step 9: Go to court to finish your annulment. Expand Collapse Bring these papers to the courthouse on the day you plan to finish your annulment: A file-stamped copy of your Original Petition to Annul Marriage.
A Waiver of Service or Answer filled out and signed by your spouse. A Decree of Annulment completely filled out and signed by both you and your spouse. Ask the clerk if you need the court file or docket sheet list of what has been filed in your case. Step File turn in the signed Decree of Annulment.
File turn in your Decree of Annulment and any other orders signed by the judge. Your annulment is NOT final until you do so. Get a certified copy of your Decree of Annulment and any other orders signed by the judge from the clerk while you are there. The clerk may charge a fee for the certified copies. Step After your annulment is finished.
Expand Collapse Send a file-stamped copy of your Decree of Annulment and any other orders signed by the judge to your spouse. Use to file annulment of marriage in Texas, if there are no children of the marriage and the parties agree to all terms.
Form not available. Contact Site Administrator. Information sheet that must be attached to civil, family, probate, and mental health petitions. Download Form. Use to ask a court to waive court costs, appeal bonds, or cash deposits; based on your inability to pay. Use to respond to a Texas annulment petition. Use to voluntarily waive the right to be personally served with court paperwork in a Texas annulment of marriage case.
Create final Texas annulment decree that judge can sign. Use this form to provide required information to the opposing party in a divorce, annulment, or suit to void marriage. 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.
Generally, you can file for annulment in the county: where all or a large part of the relevant facts or acts leading to the annulment happened, or where you or the respondent lived when the facts, acts, and marriage took place. When you fill out the Petition: Print your answers using blue or black ink. Talk with a lawyer if you have questions or need help. To file your forms online, go to E-File Texas and follow the instructions. Tell the clerk you want to have your spouse served in person.
This means a sheriff, constable or private process server will deliver the initial annulment papers to your spouse in person. Remember: If your spouse will agree to sign the necessary court forms, you do not need to have your spouse served.
Pay the filing fee and issuance fee or file your completed Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs if you cannot afford the fee. Ask the clerk if there is a local standing order that you need to follow or attach to any of your documents.
Ask the clerk if there are local rules or procedures you need to know about for your annulment—such as standing orders that you have to attach to the petition. Write these numbers at the top of any document you file in your annulment case. The clerk will keep the original and give you back your copies. One copy is for you and one copy is for your spouse.
The citation also tells your spouse that unless he or she files an answer with the court you will be able to finish your annulment case by default without your spouse. The clerk will attach the other copy of your Petition to the citation.
Read Step 5 for instructions. Step 5: Have your spouse served. Expand Collapse You must have your spouse served with the initial annulment papers. To have your spouse served in person : send the initial annulment papers to a constable, sheriff or private process server in the county where your spouse lives or works, include the service fee call first to learn the fee or a file-stamped copy of your Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, also include a self-addressed and stamped envelope.
The constable, sheriff or private process server will: give the initial annulment papers to your spouse, complete a Return of Service form that says when and where your spouse was served, send the completed Return of Service to you or the court.
When you fill out the Decree of Annulment : Print your answers using blue or black ink. If you need help finding a lawyer, you can: Use our Legal Help Directory to search for a lawyer referral service, legal aid office or self-help center in your area. Check our Legal Events and Clinics page for free legal clinics in your area. Use Ask a Question to chat online with a lawyer or law student. Step 7: Wait the required waiting periods. Expand Collapse Wait the waiting periods that apply to your case.
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