Do You Qualify for an Annulment in Texas

You May Qualify for a Marriage Annulment If:

• You were married in Texas even if both spouses reside in other states or
• You or your spouse have resided in Texas for at least 6 weeks or move to Texas to Establish Texas Residency; or
• You are in the military, and your military state of record is Texas. In this case, we would need a copy of your LES. You may wish to check with your command officer to verify the correct state is listed on your LES.

To file an annulment in Texas, you must use what is known as a petition of an annulment. This is specific to each state, and while this is so, the information required is the same. For this reason, we have provided a copy of a petition for annulment for the state of Texas.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR ANNULMENT

A Texas annulment dissolves the marriage as though it never occurred in the first place, and both spouses are returned to their prior marital status. You will need a copy of your marriage certificate for the process.

• Unsound Mind - Intoxication/Substance Abuse, Medication/Sedation At Wedding Ceremony
• Unsound Mind - Insanity At Time of Marriage
• Consanguinity - Related by Blood
• Lack of Consent of Parent Under 18, file within 1 year of marriage
• Bigamy - Another Spouse Still Living

FRAUD

• Explain why the conduct affected the “essential ingredients” of the marriage.

MARITAL - SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP

• Did Not Reside Together after Marriage
• Adultery Before & After Marriage
• Spouse’s Prior Divorce Was Based on Adultery
• Impotence - Unable to Engage in Sexual Relations Due to Mental or Physical Incapacity
• Sterility or Infertility
• Concealed Pregnancy By Another Man
• Claimed Pregnant But Not Pregnant
• Homosexual
• Refusal to engage in Sexual Relations or Consummate Marriage
• Abnormal Sexual Relationship With Spouse or Another Person
• Spouse Previously or Currently Works as Prostitute
• Refusal to Conceive Children - Required Use of Condoms

CITIZENSHIP - GREEN CARD - DEPORTATION

• Spouse Only Married for Green Card
  Spouse is Illegal Alien Subject to Deportation
  Breach of Prenuptial Promise to Become U.S. Citizen - Must Explain Motive

CHARACTER - DISHONESTY

• Spouse of Poor Moral Character or Disreputable Occupation
• Physically Abused Spouse
• Concealed Child(ren) Born of Prior Relationship
• Criminal History Depends on the crime, if sentenced after marriage, fines imposed.
• Duress, Threats, Intimidation

FINANCIAL

• Secure Access to Spouse’s Wealth While Engaging in Sexual Relations with Another
• Married solely to gain access to wealth

RELIGION

• Breach of Prenuptial Agreement to perform Religious Ceremony
• Misrepresentations of Present Religious Conviction
• Misrepresentation of Intention to Embrace Spouse’s Religion
• Religion - Roman Catholic, spouse divorced

HEALTH

• Undisclosed Health or Disease - Prove doctor bills, statement
• Mental Illness or Institutionalized - Prove doctor bills, hospital bills/statement
• Alcohol or Drug Addiction
• Gambling Addiction - Amount of Loss

Typically, the fundamental issue is that you will not necessarily have the right to obtain an annulment. It is possible to submit to get your marriage annulled in some places, pay a significant amount of funds, proceed with the complete court procedure, correctly stick to current annulment legislations, and then reach the final stages, and a judge could refuse the annulment. When this occurs you will be back to where you started. The widespread result is that they proceed with filing for a divorce.

In general, the people who usually want to get an annulment of marriage will have identical issues but rarely succeed in their attempt to get this procedure done. Some reasons for wanting an annulment include being married over six months, the consummation of the marriage, living mutually as a couple for over a month, owning assets jointly, or starting to have problems as soon as the decision is made to conclude the marriage. If any of those factors relate to your situation, then the annulment law will not be on your side.

But, there can be uncommon circumstances that might qualify your situation to get an annulment, such as if you are too young, would like to have children, and your spouse withheld the information about impotency, or it might even be a case where your husband had a sex change to become a woman.

So, as highlighted above, it is easy for you to understand why the grounds to get an annulment seem overwhelming and challenging for you to fulfill. In addition, your attempt to get an annulment for marriage might consume a lot of money. However, if your circumstance is categorized within one of the uncommon groups mentioned earlier, there might be no cause why you should not try to get your marriage annulled. Moreover, obtaining an annulment as an alternative to divorce should be essential to you based on the possible disadvantages.

In several locations, the division of assets for an annulment will be identical to the divorce. Although presently, there are very few annulment laws in many locations, the legal courts tend to utilize comparable guidelines as the procedure.

The actual procedure for the annulment will be submitted like the regular lawsuit, and the fundamental procedure is likely to be comparable to the proceedings. There is a request for annulment, a summons, and the prerequisite for a procedure server. Most times, the spouse can respond to the annulment request and counter-claim intended to get an end to the marriage.

When this happens, the development of the case might turn out to be practically similar to that of a divorce. Information on the Internet is an excellent guideline to help with the process of annulment of marriage, as it describes the basic steps needed for the proceedings.

Annulment or Divorce and the Midlife Crisis

One of the most common reasons people get a divorce or annulment is a midlife crisis. In marriage, this will occur between the ages of 40 and 60. It has been found to be a normal part of the growing up and maturing process. Many people will experience some form of emotional transition at some point in their lives.

It is not clear to many what the exact reasons for these are, but for emotionally developed persons, this is not just a thing to be shrugged off. One should find out the cause of why these things happen to make the necessary adjustments to save the marriage.

Transitions enable one to make adjustments or engage in a paradigm shift when things aren’t going as they should. Sometimes, what one has been planning all along is not the way it is supposed to be. These transitions are needed to change how things are happening and affect how life is lived.

Some can adjust smoothly, but sometimes, they can’t adjust to most situations. It can become uncomfortable experiencing such, and this can lead to depression and the need for psychotherapy.

People who have difficulty doing a paradigm shift experience many different feelings. They may find unhappiness in life, and there are lifestyle changes provided that gave them happiness before and are no longer applicable. People, even family members, feel bored, and interesting things are no longer exciting.

They feel a need for adventure and change all the time. They often find themselves questioning the choices and decisions they have made in their lives. Oftentimes, confusion about who they are and where they are going is felt. They find themselves angry at their spouse, blame them for the marriage, and that separation is oncoming. The desire for an intimate relationship with another person is a strong urge and can lead to bigger problems during the marriage.

Midlife Crisis: External Causes

Most midlife crises are believed to be caused by external factors that make adjustment difficult. These factors can contribute to stress in life and, if unresolved, will often lead to divorce and separation. Transition is hardly possible, especially for most people who have unresolved issues in their childhood that were not dealt with before and have come to the surface at this period.

One factor that makes a midlife crisis hard to pass through is debt. If you want a stress-free life, try to cut off expenses, limiting only to things that are necessary or a priority.

Most people nowadays, especially those with big families, incur expenses that are beyond their means to pay, leading to insurmountable debts due to unpaid credit card balances. Financial problems are one of the major reasons for couples' split-ups.

If you are in midlife and finding it the most stressful time, finding yourself in the middle of so many debts will make you lose confidence. These debts will cause arguments between husbands and wives and often lead to their separation.

Death of a loved one is also a cause of stress, especially when it involves a family member, particularly a parent. People often find themselves losing someone of authority, and they feel they have no one to turn to and talk to in case of big problems they encounter in life.

Because of this, those afflicted by a loss in the family are often in doubt and question themselves why these things are happening to them. These can lead to depression when unresolved and can affect personal relationships between and among family members.

Transitions in midlife that cannot be accomplished will lead to avoidance of the situation or facing the situation. When someone tends to avoid a situation, he distorts from others and may feel inadequate.

For someone who bravely faces conflict, it will be a healthy sign. But for those who cannot, processing must be done, like being open to communication to resolve the issues. Otherwise, this may lead to deeper problems and, most likely, divorce or annulment.

Tips on Hiring a Divorce Lawyer for an Annulment

Before putting yourself on the grilling table for that much-contested divorce proceeding, balance first the decision to hire a divorce lawyer. If you will do the representation yourself, well and good. But if a lawyer represents the other party, think twice. You might find yourself in a situation where you might be laughed at for having insufficient knowledge of divorce and matrimonial laws. You don’t need a second opinion when the going gets rough, before you contest your partner in a battle of wills in front of a divorce court, be prepared, hire a lawyer.

Avoid lawyers who accommodate too many clients at the same time. When overloaded, lawyers cannot fully attend to your needs when needed. Lawyers are badly needed to address critical issues and questions from clients, but if this is not properly attended to, the client may lose demands or benefits in court.

Look for lawyers who can manage the case well. Filing a divorce case is not simple but would demand most of your time. It also entails a lot of expenses going back and forth to attend to requirements for accomplishment. Not to mention the time it takes for a case to be closed and done, so find one who can properly handle and manage your case without missing deadlines and always be prepared.

Hire a lawyer who answers your calls promptly. Divorce proceedings will require you to be able to answer critical issues that need to be studied and reviewed. If your lawyer is unavailable for discussion, he must be open to phone communication.

Interview your lawyers on what to do before the procedure and during the court battles. They were hired for this to answer questions you are in doubt to answer. You need to know the hows and whys of divorce, so go on and ask those questions from them.

Employ your lawyer when your partner also has one. You do not want to engage yourself in battle with your partner, whom a lawyer represents. They are the most trusted ones in issues about custody, parenting, support, and division of properties and assets. You’ll find comfort and reassurance knowing a qualified, competent, and efficient lawyer represents you.

Children and Annulment

Child Support

Child support after the dissolution of marriage is followed as an order from the court. After the separation has been deemed final, a decision has to be made as to which child should go with whom and should be based on how much both of the parents are earning monthly. The expenses of the child is compared to the earnings of a parent, whoever has the capacity in terms of earning will give support to the child until he is 16-19 years old. After this period, they start living independently and earning their livelihood.

Child Custody and Visitation

Most often, married couples make a dispute about which child should go to which parent even before the proceedings have even started. During the divorce proceedings, couples are still in a quandary on who will be given custody of the two. The court will decide whether child custody is physical or rendered. With physical custody, a child is separated from one of his parents and goes to the other, whereas in rendered custody, both parents take care of them. Child visitation will be agreed upon regarding the time of visits and how often the visits will be.

Guardianship

A guardian is a person who takes care of a child until he reaches 18 years of age. This person is in charge of making sure the child does not join bad activities or engage in any activity that is against the rules of the school where he is studying, the community where he lives, and the state where he belongs.

Paternity

When a woman gives birth, someone or a man should be designated as the father of the child. If the child has no known father, then the court will decide about the paternity of the child. This will involve some legality, and tests like DNA are carried out to determine who the actual father of the child is.