The grounds for annulment are subject to state law and therefore vary. General principles, however, pervade all annulment laws. Unlike divorce, annulment is not simply termination of your marriage. It is the rendering of you and your spouse to your condition before the marriage as if it never occurred. The grounds for annulment are rooted in the legal reasons why a marriage might be void for its beginning. Some states also impose statutes of limitations on certain annulment grounds.
Bigamy
It is illegal in all 50 states to be married to more than one person at a time. Thus, it is a generally grounds for annulment in all states if one spouse or the other was in a pre-existing marriage with a living person at the time the second marriage was entered into.
Cosanguinity And Affinity
Most states also have laws against allowing persons of close relation marrying. Consanguinity means sharing the same blood. The general rule is that persons who are first cousins or closer cannot marry. This also precludes aunts and uncles marrying nieces or nephews. If a marriage is determined to be between two persons with consanguinity, the marriage can usually be annulled. In some states, a marriage between two people related only by another marriage, such as step brother and sister, are also voidable do to affinity.
Incapacity
Incapacity refers to the lack of mental ability to enter into a legally binding arrangement. A person can be incapable of being legally wed if he is below the age of majority, is mentally ill or intoxicated at the time of the legal marriage. Marriages where an individual lacked capacity are usually voidable within a certain limitations period. Lack of capacity also exists when a person is forced into a marriage by means of physical force, threat or duress.
Failure to Consummate
Another common ground for divorce is failure to consummate. While some states require actual inability to consummate, such as impotence, others simply allow a marriage to be annulled on the basis of failure for you and your wife to have sex.
Fraud
One of the more contentious grounds for annulment is fraud in the inducement. This simply means that you or your spouse agreed to be married based on a fraudulent representation by the other. To qualify for annulment, the fraud had to have been to a material fact, such as impotence or infection with a sexually transmitted disease. Generally, misrepresentation of financial condition or habits does not invalidate a marriage.
