25. Annulment and Prohibited Marriage
Annulment
Prohibited Marriage
Annulment differs from divorce in that it addresses defects in a marital relationship occurring at the time of the formation of that relationship. Thus, if a marriage is illegally formed, when it is annulled the parties regain their legal rights and responsibilities as they existed before the marriage occurred. By contrast, a divorce deals with problems in a marital relationship arising after the marriage is formed. Traditionally, after a divorce the parties have continuing legal status as ex-spouses involving division of property, custody of children, and alimony.
Annulments are becoming similar to divorces in that with annulments courts may now divide marital property, order the payment of spousal support or alimony, or decree nearly anything that would be common upon a decree of divorce. Unlike with divorce, however, certain rights or entitlements such as worker’s compensation benefits or alimony from a previous marriage that may have ended upon marriage will be restarted upon annulment, because the decree legally makes the marriage nonexistent.
Grounds for annulments and prohibited marriages are varied. Insanity, fraud, force, duress, impotency, being underage, and polygamy are all leading grounds for annulment. There are also a few more creative grounds. Delaware and Colorado, for instance, has an annulment provision considering if the act were done as “Jest or Dare.” A couple of states will also make a marriage void or voidable if a party is found to have AIDS or venereal disease.
Many states prohibit marriage between parties more closely related than second cousins, though in some states first cousins may marry. In three states that prohibit marriages of first cousins, an exception is made for elderly parties: in Arizona and Indiana if parties are over 65 and one is sterile, or in Wisconsin if the woman is over 55 and one party is sterile. Only in Rhode Island do special exceptions exist for a particular religious group: Jews are permitted to marry according to religious law exclusive of state rules.
An issue which has lately caused a great deal of controversy is same-sex marriages. Until 1993, same-sex marriages were specifically banned in only about seven states. However, in that year the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled that the state’s prohibition of same-sex marriages was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution because it discriminated on the basis of sex. The court then sent the case back to the trial court to gather additional evidence regarding the state’s “compelling interest” in banning same-sex marriages. Immediately, fearful that they would be compelled under the constitutional principles of full faith and credit, to honor Hawaiian same-sex marriages, many states reacted by passing legislation specifically banning the practice. However, voters in Hawaii approved a constitutional amendment giving the legislature the authority to limit marriage to persons of the opposite sex. In 2000, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the benefits of marriage.
In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that the state violates the constitutional rights of its citizens by prohibiting same-sex couples from getting married. The court also required the state to pass appropriate laws in response to its ruling or it would mandate official procedures and rules under which the state would allow same-sex couples to marry. The legislature has passed the laws and the first same-sex couples were married in May 2004. At the time of this writing the legislature is considering a state constitutional amendment that will declare that the citizens of Massachusetts do not recognize a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
To date, several dozen states, including Hawaii, have passed laws prohibiting same-sex marriages. There are many states that currently have similar legislation pending. In general, the law in this area remains unsettled, and it is not clear whether other states will be forced to recognize a same-sex union performed in a state like Vermont. Many states have provisions that prohibit recognition of marriage performed in another state to avoid the laws of the home state. See Chapter 28: Defense of Marriage Acts.
| Table 25: Annulment and Prohibited Marriage |
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| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| ALABAMA | 13A-13-1; 30-1-3; 30-1-19 | Bigamy; incest; under age of 14 | | Children of incestuous marriage before annulment is legitimate | Bigamous; incestuous; same sex |
| ALASKA | 25.05.01, et seq. ; 25.20.050, 25.24.030 | Underage; insufficient understanding for consent; consent was obtained by force or fraud; party fails to consummate; either party of unsound mind | Cannot be brought after party freely cohabits with the other after age of consent if underage or coming to reason if of unsound mind or knowledge of fraud if fraud is involved. | Children legitimate if parents subsequently marry; if acknowledged in writing by father and mother, or by adjudication of paternity by court | Either party has living spouse at time; parties related closer than fourth degree of consanguinity; same sex |
| ARIZONA | 25-101, 125, 301-302 | Superior courts may dissolve and adjudge marriage null and void when cause alleged constitutes impediment rendering it void | | | Between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, (half and whole), aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins unless both are over 65 or one is not able to reproduce; same sex |
| ARKANSAS | 9-11-104 through 9-11-109; 9-12-101 through 9-12-102 | Incapable of consent due to age or understanding; incapable for physical causes; if consent obtained by fraud or force; underage; incest | Parents or guardians can annul marriage where consent was not provided or age misrepresented | | Male must be 17 years of age, female must be 16; incestuous marriage, same sex marriages |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| CALIFORNIA | Family 2200, 2201, 2210, 2211 Family 300 prohibits same sex marriage effective Jan 1, 2008 | Party did not have capability to consent; another living spouse; unsound mind, unless party freely cohabitated with spouse after coming to reason; consent obtained by force or fraud, unless party freely cohabitated with spouse afterwards; physically incapable of entering marriage state | Age of consent: Underage party within 4 yrs. of reaching age of consent or by parent before party has reached age;Fraud: Within 4 yrs. of discovery of fraud by injured party; Husband/Wife living: Either party during life or by former spouse; Unsound mind: Any time before death; Consent by force: Within 4 yrs. of marriage by injured party;Physical incapability: Within 4 yrs. by injured party | | Ancestor and descendant of any degree, brother and sister (half-blood included), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; bigamy and polygamy |
| COLORADO | 14-10-111; 14-2-110; 14-2-104 | Consent lacking due to mental incapacity, alcohol, drugs; underage; jest or dare; duress; fraudulent act; physical incapacity to consummate; bigamy | Lacking capacity due to mental infirmity, influence of alcohol, drugs, or fraud duress, jest or dare: six months after knowledge of described condition; lack of physical capacity to consummate the marriage: one year after the knowledge of condition; underage and lacked consent of parents or guardian: 24 months from date of marriage Prohibited marriages: Declaration of invalidity must be brought prior to death of either party or priority settlement or closing of estate | Children of invalid marriage are legitimate | Prior marriage still valid; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, whole or half-blood uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; also whole or half blood except where permitted by aboriginal cultures; marriage void by law of the place where marriage was contracted; same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| CONNECTICUT | 46b-40, 60; 46b-21 | Lack of mutual consent (460 A.2d 945); physical incapacity to consummate (11 Conn. Sup. 361); bigamous marriage is a nullity (18 Conn. Sup. 472) | | Children of void marriage are legitimate | No man may marry his mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt niece, stepmother, or stepdaughter, nor a woman her father, grandfather son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew, stepfather, or stepson. |
| DELAWARE | Tit. 13 §1506, 101, 1301 | Innocent party may demand for unsoundness of mind, influence of alcohol, drugs, etc.; physical incapacity to consummate; underage without consent of parents; fraud; duress; jest; dare; bigamy; polygamy; incestuous | Lack of capacity, fraud, duress, jest or dare: Within 90 days of obtaining knowledge; Inability to consummate: 1 yr. after knowledge obtained; Underage: Within 1 yr. of marriage; Prohibited: Anytime before death of either party or prior to settlement of estate | Children born of annulled marriage are legitimate | Between person and ancestor, descendant, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, first cousin; patient in mental hospital; person of any degree of unsoundness of mind, habitual drunkard, confirmed users of narcotics, one party has communicable disease, not divorced, marriage between paupers; same sex |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 46-401, 403, 405; 16-907, 908; 16-904 | Marriage of an idiot or adjudged lunatic; consent by force or fraud or coercion; matrimonial incapacity; Insanity: unless voluntary cohabitation after discovery of insanity. Underage: unless voluntary cohabitation after attaining age of legal consent; bigamy | | Children born in or out of wedlock are legitimate children of father and mother and their blood and adopted relatives | Marriage to one whose previous marriage has not been terminated by death or divorce (bigamy); with ancestor and descendant, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, brother and sister and corresponding inlaw relationships, marriage in foreign state to avoid law |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| FLORIDA | 741.21, 211, 212; 826.01 | No statutory provisions | | | No marriage between persons related by lineal consanguinity, sister, aunt, niece, brother, uncle, nephew; common law marriages (after 1967); bigamy (felony: 826.01 et seq. ); same sex |
| GEORGIA | 19-3-2,et seq. ; 19-4-1 | Unable, unwilling, or fraudulently induced to contract; unsound, under 16 and no parental consent | no annulment granted where children are born or are to be born of marriage | Issue of void marriage is legitimate, if legitimate children born before annulment | Related by blood or marriage, father and daughter or stepdaughter, mother and son or stepson, brother and sister (whole- or half-blood), grandparent and grandchild, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece (penalty of prison 1-3 yrs.); same sex; bigamous |
| HAWAII | 580-21-29; 572-1, 2 | Underage, unless freely cohabitates after reaching legal age; spouse still living; lacking mental capacity; consent obtained by force, duress, fraud and no subsequent cohabitation; party afflicted with loathsome disease and was unknown to party seeking annulment | For spouse still living: Anytime during either party’s lifetime; Underage: Until they attain legal age and freely cohabit as man and wife;Physical incapacity: Within 2 yrs. of marriage;Lack of mental capacity: Until mental capacity attained and parties freely cohabit as man and wife | Children of annulled or prohibited marriages are legitimate. | Between ancestor and descendant, any degree, brother and sister half or whole-blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew legitimate or illegitimate; bigamous; same sex. Note: Hawaii’s Supreme Court has now ruled that failure of the state to issue marriage licenses to same sex partners is unconstitutional. Baehr v. Miike, 950 P.2d 1234 (Haw. 1997). This ruling has not been overturned as of June 2004, but voters have passed a constitutional amendment that makes it all but ineffective. |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| IDAHO | 32-201-207, 501 to 503 | Underage; former spouse living; unsound mind, unless cohabits after coming to reason; force or fraud, unless cohabits freely afterward; physical incapacity | Underage: By parent, anytime before majority reached; By minor, within 4 yrs. of reaching age of consent Spouse living: Anytime during life; Unsound mind: Anytime before death; Fraud: Within 4 yrs. of discovery; Force: Within 4 yrs. of marriage; Incapacity to consummate: 4 yrs. from marriage | Not affected by annulment unless grounds is fraud, that woman was pregnant with another man’s child, children must be begotten before annulment judgment | Incestuous; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousin; polygamous marriages; same sex |
| ILLINOIS | 750 ILCS 5/212, 5/301, 5/302, 5/303 | Capacity lacking (infirmity, alcohol, drugs, force, duress, fraud); physically incapable of consummating; underage; prohibited marriage | 90 days after knowledge of lack of capacity (either party); 1 year after knowledge of inability to consummate; any time prior to reaching age of consent; all petitions for annulment must be brought before death of either party | Children born or adopted of prohibited or annulled marriage are legitimate | Former marriage undissolved; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister half or whole blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, half or whole first cousins, (unless no chance of reproduction and both parties over 50 yrs.); common law marriages, same sex |
| INDIANA | 31-11-8-1, et seq. 31-13-1-1, 31-13-1-2, 31-13-1-3, 31-13-2-1,31-11-1-1 to 31-11-1-3 | Underage or mentally incompetent to consent; obtained by fraud; unsound mind; married in another state with intent to evade marriage laws of Indiana | | Children of incestuous marriage are legitimate; child conceived before marriage is annulled is legitimate | More closely related than second cousin unless first cousins married after September 1, 1977, and both 65 at marriage; bigamous marriages; common law; same sex |
| IOWA | 595.2, 598.29, 31 | Prohibited; impotency; prior marriage undissolved; lacking capacity to consent; underage | | Children of annulled marriage are legitimate unless court finds otherwise upon proof | Undissolved prior marriage; between descendant and ancestor, brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins; same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| KANSAS | 23-101 to 102; 60-1602 | Induced by fraud; void; mistake of fact; lack of knowledge of a material fact or any other reason justifying rescission of contract of marriage | | | Incestuous (Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins); same sex |
| KENTUCKY | 391.100; 402.010-.030, 070; 403.120; | Capacity lacking (force, fraud, mental incapacity, drugs, alcohol); physical capacity for marriage lacking; underage; prohibited | Underage: Must be annulled before cohabitation after eighteenth birthday;No consent; physical incapacity: Within 90 days of knowledge; Prohibited: No later than 1 yr. after discovery | Children born of unlawful or void marriages are legitimate | Any kin closer than second cousin whole or half blood; with person mentally disabled; living spouse; underage; solemnized before one without authority unless parties believed he had authority; same sex; between more than 2 persons |
| LOUISIANA | C.C. Art. 87-96 | Null without marriage ceremony by procuration or in violation of an impediment; consent not freely given; purported marriage between same sex has no civil effects | | Child of marriage contracted in good faith is legitimate | Same sex; prior undissolved marriage; ancestors and descendants, collaterals within the fourth degree (may marry within fourth degree if related by adoption and judicial authorization contracted by procuration) |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| MAINE | 19-A§701 and 19-A§§751-753 | Mental illness/ retardation of sufficient degree; polygamous marriage; underage | | | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins unless cousins obtain physician’s certificate of genetic counseling prior to marriage; marriage with person suffering from severe mental illness, mental retardation; marriage out of state to evade law, polygamous; same sex |
| MARYLAND | Md. Fam. §2-201, 2-202, 5-202, 2-301 Md. Fam. §2-201 (prohibition of same sex marriage) held unconstitutional by Deane v. Conway, Md. Cir. Ct., Jan. 20, 2006 WL 148145 | | | Children of annulled or void marriages are legitimate. | Those within three degrees of lineal consanguinity or other degrees of affinity; individuals 16 or 17 years old, unless parental consent given or woman to be married is pregnant or has given birth; individuals 15 years old, unless parental consent given and woman to be married is pregnant or has given birth; individuals under 15 years old |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| MASSACHUSETTS | §207:1 to 8; 14 to 17; Ch. 207 §§1-8; 14-17 | Invalid marriage | | Issue of relationship in consanguinity or affinity is illegitimate; issue of marriage void for prior marriage of insanity, or nonage of parties is legitimate | Former spouse living (polygamous); marriage between ancestors or descendants, brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins; these provisions continue even after dissolution, by death or divorce, of marriage by which affinity was created unless divorce was given because original marriage was unlawful or void; individuals under 18, unless parental consent given |
| MICHIGAN | 552.34, et seq.; 551.1 et seq. ; 552.29–.31 | Underage; insanity; idiocy; physical incapacity to consummate; force or fraud | Underage: Unless they freely cohabit upon reaching majority; Incapacity: 2 years from marriage;Lunatic: Unless upon restoration of reason, they freely cohabit; Force or fraud: Unless there is voluntary cohabitation prior to commencement of suit | Issue of marriage void for incapacity to contract or bigamy entered into in good faith are legitimate issue of party capable of contracting | Bigamous; same sex; marriage between ancestors or descendants, brother and sister (blood or affinity), aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| MINNESOTA | 518.01-.02, 517.01, 517.03, 517.05 | Lacking capacity to consent (mental, alcohol, drugs, force, fraud); no physical capacity to consummate; underage, unless cohabits freely after attaining age of consent | Lacking capacity to consent: 90 days after obtaining knowledge of condition;Lacking physical capacity: 1 yr. after obtaining knowledge of condition;Underage: Before reaching proper age | | Previously undissolved marriage; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins all family restrictions for half or whole blood, except for those permitted by established custom of aboriginal cultures; bigamous; same sex; mentally retarded persons committed to guardianship or conservatorship of human services must have permission to marry |
| MISSISSIPPI | 93-1-1; 93-7-1–93-7-5 | Incurable impotency, insanity, or idiocy; incapable of consent from lack of understanding, force, fraud (unless ratified); pregnant by another man and husband did not know (unless ratified) | Insanity, lack of consent, pregnancy: Within 6 months of marriage | Void or annulled marriage’s issue is legitimate, but issue of incestuous marriage is not | Bigamous and incestuous marriages are void (between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins by blood, daughter or son-in-law to father or mother-in-law). Marriage between persons of the same sex is prohibited and void. |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| MISSOURI | 451.020, 030; 451.022 | | | | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins (also applies to those born out of wedlock); between persons lacking capacity to enter into marriage contract; bigamous; common law marriages, same sex |
| MONTANA | 40-1-103, 40-1-401, 402 | Lacking consent (mental, alcohol, duress, fraud, force); no physical capacity to consummate; underage; prohibited | Mental infirmity, alcohol, drugs: Within 1 yr. after knowledge; Force, duress, fraud: 2 yrs. after knowledge; Physical incapacity: Party must not know at time of marriage and must bring within 4 yrs.; Underage: Until age of majority; Prohibited: Anytime prior to death of parties. | Children born of invalid marriages are legitimate | Previous marriage undissolved; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, first cousins (half or whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; same sex |
| NEBRASKA | 42-103, 118, 374, 377 | Underage (if they separate during such nonage and do not cohabitation after); consent obtained by force or fraud and no subsequent cohabitation; impotency at time of marriage; previous marriage undissolved; mental illness or retardation at marriage; force or fraud | | Children born to annulled marriages shall be legitimate unless otherwise decreed by court | Marriage void when previous marriage undissolved; either party at marriage is mentally incompetent to enter marriage relation; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, first cousins (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew (applies to all whether in or out of wedlock); same sex |
| NEVADA | 125.290 to 350, 410; 122.020 | Underage; lack of understanding to consent; insanity; fraud; where grounds to void the contract in equity | Underage: Within 1 yr. after 18;Fraud: May not annul if after discovery parties voluntarily cohabit; insanity: may not annul if freely cohabit after restored to sound mind | Issue of all marriages deemed null are legitimate | Previous marriage undissolved; not nearer in kin than second cousins; common law marriages; same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 457:1,2; 458:1, 23 | Underage until confirming marriage upon reaching age | | Issue of incestuous marriage are treated as children of unwed parents unless while married it was valid in the jurisdiction where contracted, then children are legitimate; legitimacy not affected by decree of nullity | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, cousins; same sex; previous marriage undissolved; proxy marriages |
| NEW JERSEY | 2A:34-1, 20; 37:1-1 | Previous marriage undissolved; incest; impotency; lack of consent due to alcohol, understanding capacity, drugs, duress, fraud; underage; living partner in civil union or living domestic partner | Incestuous: During lifetime of parties | Children of annulled marriage are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew of whole or half blood (also prohibits civil union in these cases) |
| NEW MEXICO | 40-1-9 40-1-7 | Underage; prohibited | Underage: Anytime until age of majority | Children are legitimate if marriage declared void | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, whether whole or half blood, legitimate or illegitimate |
| NEW YORK | Dom. Rel. §5-7, 24, 140 | Undissolved previous marriage; underage; incurable mental illness (for period of 5 yrs. or more); physical incapacity; consent by force, duress or fraud; incapable of consent for want of understanding | Undissolved: Anytime during lifetime of parties;Underage: Until legal age of consent and cohabitation;Mental: Anytime during which illness continues, unless freely cohabits after restored to sound mind;Physical incapacity: Within 5 yrs. of marriage if unknown at marriage;Force, duress, fraud: Within civil statute of limitations unless voluntary cohabitation after discovery | Children of annulled or void marriages are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister whole or half blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, when previous marriage undissolved |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| NORTH CAROLINA | 50-11.1; 51-1.2, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 3 | Underage; previously undissolved marriage; impotent; lack of consent due to lack of will or understanding; belief that female is pregnant | Age: Marriage will not be declared void if girl is pregnant or if cohabitation after 16 | Children born of voidable or bigamous marriage are legitimate | Bigamy; between double first cousins or nearer in kin than first cousin; same sex |
| NORTH DAKOTA | 14-04-01, et seq., 14-03-03, 14-03-06; 14-03-01 | Underage; previous marriage undissolved; unsound mind, fraud, or force (unless ratified); physically incapable; incestuous | Previous marriage undissolved: Anytime during life of parties; Underage: Within 4 yrs. of age of consent or unless voluntary cohabitation;Unsound mind: Anytime;Fraud, 4 yrs. after discovery; force or physically incapable: 4 yrs. of the marriage; Incestuous: Anytime | Issue of annulled or prohibited marriages are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins (half and whole blood, legitimate and illegitimate, bigamous, same sex |
| OHIO | 3105.31-32; 3101.01 | Underage; previous marriage undissolved; mental incompetence; consent obtained by fraud or force; never consummated | Underage: Within 2 yrs. of age of consent unless voluntary cohabitation; Previous marriage undissolved: Anytime during life of parties; Mental: Anytime before death;Fraud: Within 2 yrs. of discovering fraud unless voluntary cohabitation; Force: 2 yrs. after marriage unless voluntary cohabitation; No consummation: 2 yrs. from marriage | Statute assuring legitimacy repealed. (formerly 3105.33) | Between persons nearer in kin than second cousins; previous marriage undissolved, same sex, minor w/o consent |
| OKLAHOMA | Tit. 43 §§2,3, 128, 3.1 | Incapable of contracting due to lack of age or understanding; cohabitation after incapacity ceases is defense | | Issue of annulled marriage are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, stepparent and stepchild, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, brother and sister, first cousins (but will recognize marriage of first cousins married in state where it is legal); same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
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| OREGON | 106.020-030, 190; 107.015; 106.010 | Incapable of consent for age or lack of understanding; consent obtained by force or fraud (not otherwise ratified) | | Issue of prohibited marriage is legitimate | Previous marriage undissolved; between first cousins or any persons nearer in kin; whole or half blood (unless parties are first cousins by adoption only); same sex |
| PENNSYLVANIA | Tit. 23 §§1304, 1702–1704, 3303–3305, 5102, 3309 | Previous marriage undissolved; within consanguinity lines prohibited; lacked capacity by insanity or serious mental disorder or did not intend to consent; underage | Underage or under the influence: Within 60 days of marriage; incestuous: before death; collusion | Pennsylvania no longer recognizes status of being illegitimate (i.e., “all children legitimate irrespective of marital status of parents”) | Between ancestor and descendant, aunt and nephew, brother and sister, uncle and niece, first cousins, bigamous, same sex; one party is weak-minded, unsound mind, or under influence of alcohol or drugs; induced by fraud or duress; impotence |
| RHODE ISLAND | 15-1-1, et. seq. | No statutory provision for annulment | | | Bigamous; marriage where either party is mentally incompetent at time of marriage absolutely void; between ancestor and descendant, stepparent and stepchild, parent-inlaw and son- or daughter-in-law; parent or parent-inlaw and son- or daughter-in-law, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; special exceptions for Jewish marriages allowed by Jewish religious law |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 20-1-10, 90, 530, 15, 80 | Marriage invalid without consummation by cohabitation | | Parties entering bigamous marriage in good faith have legitimate children | Mentally incompetent; between ancestor and descendant, spouse of ancestor or descendant, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; bigamous marriages are void unless former spouse absent and unheard of for 5 yrs.; same sex |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | 25-1-1, 25-3-1, et seq. 25-1-8 | Underage; previous marriage undissolved; either party of unsound mind; consent by fraud or force; physical incapacity | Underage: by parent, until couple cohabits after reaching age of consent; by minor, within 4 yrs. of reaching age of majority; Previous marriage undissolved: Anytime during life of party; Unsound mind: Anytime during life of party; Force or fraud: Within 4 yrs. of discovery unless willful cohabitation; Physical incapacity: 4 yrs. after marriage | Children are legitimate when marriage is annulled for reasons of mental illness or previously undissolved marriage | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, cousins (half and whole blood), stepparent and stepchild; same sex; bigamous, unless former spouse absent and not known to be living for 5 yrs. or believed to be dead |
| TENNESSEE | 36-3-101 102; 36-4-125; 36-3-113 | Previous marriage (unless absent for 5 yrs. and not known to be living) | | Annulment shall not affect the legitimacy of children | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, bigamous, same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| TEXAS | Fam. §1.102; §§6.201, et seq. ; 6.101, et seq. ; §2.001 | Unless ratified: underage; under influence of alcohol and drugs; impotency (mental or physical); fraud; duress, or force; mental incompetence; concealed divorce which occurred within 30 days preceding marriage; marriage took place within 72 hours after marriage license; previous marriage undissolved (most recent marriage presumed valid until valid prior marriage proven) | Underage: Suit to annul must be brought within 90 days of sixteenth birthday of the underage party or 90 days of when petitioner knew or should have known (but not after 18th birthday); Concealed divorce: before 1st anniversary of marriage | | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (by whole, half-blood, or adoption), aunt and nephew, uncle and niece; same sex; bigamous (but becomes valid after dissolution of 1st marriage if parties live together and present themselves as married); either party under 16; either party current or former stepchild of the other party |
| UTAH | 30-1-1 to 3; 17.0–17.4 | When marriage prohibited and grounds existing at common law | Court may refuse annulment based on underage if it determines in best interest of children | Previous undissolved marriage: if contracted in good faith; issue of later marriages are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister (half and whole blood), uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins or if both 65 or older, or 55 or older and one found by court to be unable to reproduce, or between relations within but not including fifth degree of consanguinity; previous marriage undissolved; underage; same sex |
| VERMONT | Tit. 15 §§511, et seq. ; 15 §§1,2,3,4; 15§8 | Under 16; idiocy or lunacy; physically incapable of marriage state; consent had by force or fraud | Underage: Until parties obtain legal age and cohabit;Idiocy: Anytime during their life (unless restored to reason and cohabit); Physical incapacity: 2 yrs. from marriage; Consent by force or fraud: Anytime unless parties before commencement of action voluntarily cohabit | Children of annulled marriage are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece; prohibitions apply even after divorce has dissolved relationship unless marriage was void or unlawful; living husband or wife; same sex |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| VIRGINIA | 20-38.1; 20-43; 20-45.1, 2; 20-89.1; §20-31.1 | Mentally incapacitated; fraud; duress; impotency; if without other’s knowledge: either convicted of felony before marriage; if without other’s knowledge: wife pregnant by another man, husband fathered another child born within 10 months after marriage; either had been a prostitute; no annulment allowed for fraud, duress, mental incapacity, felony, pregnancy or fathering if parties cohabited after knowledge | All actions must be brought within 2 yrs. of marriage | Children of prohibited marriages are legitimate | Previous marriage undissolved; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew (half or whole blood); same sex; bigamous; parties under 18 and have not complied with consent provisions |
| WASHINGTON | 26.04.010, 26.04.020, 130; 26.09.040 | Under 17 without waiver of superior court judge | | Children born during a marriage later voided are born and remain legitimate. | Previous marriage undissolved; between persons of same sex; between persons closer in kin than second cousins (half or whole blood); voidable marriages: underage or without sufficient understanding; consent gained by fraud or duress voidable by party laboring under disability or upon whom force or fraud was imposed |
| State | Code Section | Grounds | Limitation | Legitimacy of Children | Prohibited Marriages |
|---|
| WEST VIRGINIA | 42-1-7; 48-1-101; 48-3-103; 48-2-302; 4-2-603 | Previous marriage undissolved; within line of prohibited consanguinity; party insane; venereal disease; impotency; underage; convicted of infamous offense prior to marriage; wife with child of another man or had been a prostitute; husband had been a licentious person 48-2-302 | | Children of annulled or prohibited marriage are legitimate | Between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, half-brother and half-sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, first cousins, double cousins (unless relationship created solely by adoption); Out of state marriage entered into to avoid State law; same sex marriages in other states not given effect |
| WISCONSIN | 60; 765.001-.31; 767.313; 767.18 | Consent lacking: (underage, mental infirmity, alcohol, drugs, force, duress, fraud); lack capacity to consummate; marriage prohibited by state law | Underage: Within 1 yr. (by parent if party before age 18) of marriage; Mental infirmity, alcohol, drugs, force, duress, fraud, no capacity to consummate: Within 1 yr. of knowledge; where marriage prohibited by law, 10 yrs.; bigamy, no limit | Issue of void marriage is legitimate | Previous marriage undissolved; between person of same sex; between persons no closer in kin than second cousins (unless woman is 55 or one party is sterile and they are first cousins); marriage out of state to avoid state law |
| WYOMING | 20-2-101; 20-1-113, 14-2-504; 20-1-101 | Prohibited marriages; underage; physical incapacity; fraud or duress with no subsequent voluntary cohabitation 20-2-101(c) | Underage: Until couple cohabits upon reaching age of consent; Physical incapacity: Until 2 yrs. after marriage; Mental incapacity: until free cohabitation after restoration of capacity | Legitimacy rebuttably presumed | Previous marriage undissolved; party mentally incompetent; between ancestor and descendant, brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, first cousins (does not apply to relations by affinity); same sex |
