Voiding a Marriage

Procedure for Seeking a Voided Marriage

The residency requirements that apply to divorce proceedings in Texas do not extend to suits filed to declare a marriage void. Parties seeking to declare their marriage void may do so if either of them resides in Texas or if they got married in Texas. The suit may be filed in the county where the relevant facts or acts occurred or where either party lived at the time of the marriage. Unlike divorce proceedings, there is no waiting period mandated between filing the suit and the court's declaration of the marriage void, although there may be a slight delay due to the court's schedule. If a party does not meet the criteria for a void marriage, they may still seek annulment or divorce.

Despite having similar outcomes, divorce and void marriage suits have fundamental differences. A divorce brings an end to a valid marriage, whereas a void marriage is deemed invalid from the start. Legally, a void marriage is treated as if it never occurred.

Grounds for Declaring a Marriage Void

Texas law provides four reasons for declaring a marriage void, including bigamy, incest, marriage to a spouse under 18 years who is not legally emancipated, and a stepparent and stepchild relationship between the spouses, which can be declared void through a parent-child relationship lawsuit.

In determining property rights, the court will evaluate whether the party seeking a void marriage acted in good faith, meaning that they were unaware of facts that would make the marriage invalid and considered themselves a putative spouse. However, if they were aware of such facts and still entered into the marriage, their relationship will be considered meretricious. This differentiation is crucial, as putative spouses are generally entitled to similar property rights as divorcing spouses, whereas those in a meretricious relationship are not eligible for spousal maintenance.

6 Reasons for Annulment or Voiding a Marriage

In Texas, there are two categories of marriages which are declared void as they are against the law and marriages that are voidable—meaning that judge may annul those marriages under certain circumstances:

- A spouse is too young
- A spouse was mentally incapacitated
- A spouse is impotent and the other spouse did not know
- Marriage was forced under duress or threat of violence
- Concealed Divorce in a 30 day window
- Married before 72 hour license waiting period