Grounds for Annulment in Texas: Mental Incapacity

A marriage may be annulled due to the mental incapacity of one of the spouses at the time of the marriage.  Either spouse may seek the annulment. 

If the spouse with the mental incapacity seeks an annulment, (s)he must prove that at the time of the marriage (s)he did not have the mental capacity to consent to marriage or understand the nature of the marriage ceremony, and that since the ceremony, they have not lived together during a period in which (s)he possessed the mental capacity to recognize the marriage relationship.  A suit may also be brought by the person’s guardian.

If the other spouse seeks an annulment, (s)he must prove that at the time of the marriage the other party did not have the mental capacity to consent to marriage or understand the nature of the marriage ceremony and that (s)he did not know or have reason to know of the mental incapacity.  Again, they cannot have lived together since the mental incapacity was discovered or should have been discovered.

Article by Sarah F. Berry, Attorney