Annulment Lawyer Serving Houston
When people find themselves in an unsatisfactory marriage soon after getting married, they often wonder if they can get an annulment rather than go through the divorce process. If divorce runs counter to your religious beliefs, you may also be curious about obtaining a marriage annulment. In fact, there are only a few specific reasons you may be able to get an annulment in Texas. At the Law Office of Maria Lowry, our Houston annulment lawyer can assess whether you qualify for an annulment and help you prove that you have acceptable grounds for annulment under Texas law.
How Annulment is Different than Divorce
When you get an annulment in Texas, a court effectively rules that you never got married at all and/or your marriage never legally existed, either because an aspect of your union would have stopped you from marrying if you had known about it or because it was against the law in the first place. On the other hand, a divorce acknowledges you were married and ends that marriage.
Circumstances When You Can Get an Annulment in Texas
In Texas, there are specific circumstances that make a marriage void and may allow you to obtain an annulment, including:
- If you got married within 72 hours of taking out a marriage license (Texas law says you should wait), you have 30 days to file for annulment.
- If your spouse divorced and didn’t wait 30 days to remarry (as Texas law requires), you may get your new marriage annulled within one year if this fact was concealed from you.
- If you or your spouse lacked the mental capacity to get married, including being too intoxicated to enter into marriage, you may be able to get an annulment.
- If you were deceived into getting married, you may be able to get an annulment.
- If you find that you and your spouse are related or either of you are still married, you can get an annulment.
- Because minors cannot marry without parental consent or court permission, if they do anyway, it’s not a legal marriage, and a parent or guardian can have the marriage annulled.
Other than when a parent seeks an annulment on behalf of a minor, you can generally get an annulment only if you stopped living with your spouse as soon as you learned about the circumstances causing you to seek an annulment. If you and your spouse acquired property together during the time you were married, it will be treated the same way as if you were getting a divorce.
Talk to a Houston Annulment Lawyer
If you wish to get a marriage annulment, please contact the Law Office of Maria Lowry to speak with an experienced Houston annulment lawyer. We represent individuals and families throughout the greater Houston area, offering smart and compassionate legal advice regarding divorce and all its accompanying issues.