In Illinois, there are a just few grounds to declare a marriage invalid: 1) One of the parties lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time of the marriage ceremony because of mental incapacity or if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol that inhibited their ability to consent; or a party was induced to enter into the marriage by force, duress or fraud involving the essentials of the marriage; 2) A party lacks the capacity to consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse, and the other party did not know of the incapacity; 3)A party was under the age of 18 and did not have parental/guardian consent or judicial approval; or 4)The marriage is prohibited. The time limit to obtain an annulment depends upon the grounds: Lack of capacity to consent to the marriage: either party may petition, but the petition must be filed no later than 90 days after the petitioner obtained knowledge of the grounds; Inability to consummate the marriage: either party may petition, but the petition must be filed within one year after the petitioner obtained knowledge of the grounds; Underage party: that party or guardian, may petition for annulment prior to the time that underage party reaches the age at which marriage is permitted.
Answered on Nov 04th, 2013 at 1:19 PM