Annulment of marriage cases are rare in Missouri. One reason is that the legal grounds to obtain an annulment are narrow. Perhaps another reason is that the social stigma of divorce has lessened in recent years.
Despite the rarity of annulment, the procedure is still available if the legal grounds are present. The legal theory underlying annulment is that the marriage was never valid to begin with and therefore a court will declare an annulment upon being presented with proof of the invalidity of the marriage.
One possible reason for seeking an annulment is to avoid being prosecuted for bigamy after marrying another person. In other words, even though an earlier marriage might not have been legally valid, it may have been valid enough to allow a bigamy prosecution. In such a situation, the only safe course of action is to obtain a decree of annulment of the earlier marriage before remarrying.
Following are the grounds for annulment recognized by Missouri law:
Duress. If a person is compelled to marry another under threat of violence sufficient to overcome the mind and will of a person of ordinary firmness, the marriage may be annulled on the theory that marriage is a consensual relationship and that compulsion is inconsistent with consent. Actual threats of serious violence are required, and the mere threat of prosecution or feelings of moral responsibility have been found insufficient duress to annul a marriage.
Mental illness, insanity and retardation. If a person is married while mentally ill, insane or so retarded that the person could not knowingly and understandingly consent to the marriage, the marriage can be annulled, again on the theory that marriage is a consensual relationship and that such a person is legally incapable of consent.
Lack of physical assent to the marriage. Perhaps the best way to explain this ground for annulment is to give an example. In a case decided in 1921, the fact that the husband was unconscious at the time of the marriage ceremony because of a stroke was sufficient to annul the marriage. A valid marriage requires that both parties be able to manifest physical assent to the marriage.
Impotency. To obtain an annulment for impotency, the moving party must prove that the other spouse was permanently and incurably impotent when the marriage was entered into and that the moving party did not discover the fact until after the marriage.
Age. Under Missouri law no one under the age of 15 may marry without court approval, and persons under the age of 18 but older than 15 cannot marry without the consent of their custodial parents or legal guardians. If an under-age person managed to obtain a marriage license without court or parental approval, the marriage would be subject to annulment.
Same-sex marriages. Missouri prohibits marriages other than between a man and a woman. Therefore, a same-sex marriage would be subject to annulment.
Incestuous marriage. Missouri law prohibits all marriages between parents and children, including grandparents and grandchildren of every degree, between brothers and sisters of the half as well as the whole blood, and between uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, and first cousins. Any incestuous marriage would be subject to annulment.
Bigamous marriages. A person who marries while still being married to one or more other spouses commits the criminal offense of bigamy. Bigamous marriages are void in Missouri; thus, they are subject to annulment.
Common-law marriages. Missouri does not recognize common-law marriages contracted in Missouri, so such a marriage would be void and subject to annulment. (Note, however, that Missouri courts do recognize the validity of common-law marriages contracted in jurisdictions which allow such marriages, so such a marriage could not be annulled in Missouri. Jurisdictions in the United States which recognize common-law marriages include Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.)
Fraud. A fraudulent misrepresentation made by one spouse to another before a marriage can provide grounds for annulment on the theory that the fraud affects the validity of consent to the marriage. Missouri cases require that the pre-marriage fraudulent misrepresentation relate to a vital or essential part of the marital relationship and that the spouse seeking annulment have relied on the misrepresentation. For instance, in a 1940 Missouri case, an annulment was granted based on the wife’s false statements to her husband before the marriage that she did not have syphilis. In another Missouri case decided in 1983, the court granted an annulment to the wife and delicately stated the reason as follows: "It is sufficient to say that the defendant lacked the physical or mental capability to engage in a normal sexual relationship with plaintiff and that his only sexual activities with her after the marriage were of the unnatural type. The sexual relationship is an essential element of the marital relationship and defendant’s concealment of his limitation justified annulment."
