An annulment in Wisconsin is a court order declaring that a marriage was never legally valid. It is available only on four statutory grounds listed in Section 767.313, each with its own filing deadline, and it requires a circuit court proceeding. If the petition fails, or if the deadline has passed, the marriage stays intact and divorce becomes the only exit.
Annulment is uncommon for a reason: the bar is high, the proof is specific, and most unhappy marriages don’t fit any of the grounds. Reading the statute honestly before you file saves time and filing fees.
The Four Grounds
Section 767.313 groups annulment grounds into four categories.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 767.313 – Annulment One subsection sweeps in several distinct problems, which trips people up.
Lack of Capacity, Fraud, Force, or Duress
Under Section 767.313(1)(a), a court can annul a marriage if, at the time of the ceremony, one party could not meaningfully consent because of age, mental illness or cognitive impairment, or intoxication from alcohol or drugs. The same subsection covers marriages entered through force, threats, or serious psychological coercion, and marriages induced by fraud “involving the essentials of marriage.”
That last phrase does a lot of work. Not every lie qualifies. The fraud must go to something fundamental about the marriage itself. Courts have recognized claims based on concealing an inability to have children, hiding an existing marriage, or lying about the intent to live together as spouses. A spouse who exaggerated their income or hid a gambling habit faces a much harder path, because those deceptions, however serious, don’t strike at the core of what marriage is.
For duress, the question is whether one party was truly deprived of the ability to make a free choice. Threats of physical violence, blackmail, and extreme emotional manipulation can qualify. Ordinary family pressure or cultural expectations usually do not.
The deadline on this subsection is one year from the date the petitioner learned of the condition. If the fraud surfaced six months after the wedding, the clock starts at discovery. Continuing to live with your spouse after learning the truth will likely be treated as acceptance of the marriage, and the petition will be denied even if you file inside the year.
Inability to Consummate the Marriage
Section 767.313(1)(b) allows annulment when one spouse physically cannot consummate the marriage through sexual intercourse, and the other spouse did not know about the incapacity at the time of the wedding. Either spouse can file within one year of learning of the incapacity. The ground is rarely used but remains in the statute.
Underage Marriage
Wisconsin requires a person to be at least 18 to marry without parental consent. A 16- or 17-year-old can marry with written consent from a parent, guardian, or custodian, given under oath or verified by affidavit before the county clerk.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 765.02 – Marriageable Age; Who May Contract If a 16- or 17-year-old married without that consent, or if either party was under 16, the marriage can be annulled under Section 767.313(1)(c).
The underage spouse, or a parent or guardian, can bring the petition at any time before the minor turns 18. A parent or guardian has one year from learning about the marriage. If the couple keeps living together after the underage spouse turns 18, the window closes and the marriage is treated as ratified.
Prohibited Marriages
Wisconsin prohibits marriages between close relatives (nearer than second cousins, with a narrow exception for first cousins), marriages where one party already has a living spouse, and marriages entered before the six-month waiting period after a divorce judgment has elapsed.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 765.03 – Prohibited Marriages Under Section 767.313(1)(d), either spouse can file within 10 years of the wedding. The 10-year cap does not apply to bigamy as long as the prior marriage remains in effect.
Filing Deadlines at a Glance
Missing the deadline is the fastest way to lose the right to annul.
- Lack of capacity, fraud, force, or duress: one year after the petitioner learned of the problem.
- Inability to consummate: one year after the petitioner learned of the incapacity.
- Underage marriage: any time before the minor turns 18. A parent or guardian must file within one year of discovering the marriage.
- Prohibited marriage: 10 years from the date of the marriage, with no limit for bigamy while the prior spouse is still living.
Every annulment requires a court proceeding, and no marriage can be annulled after one of the parties has died.
Who Can File and Where
At least one spouse must have lived in the Wisconsin county where the case is filed for at least 30 days before filing. Alternatively, if the marriage took place in Wisconsin within the past year, the case can be brought in the state regardless of current residence.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 767.301 – Residence Requirements
This is shorter than the six-month state residency Wisconsin requires for divorce, but it still has to be met. Keep proof handy: a driver’s license, voter registration, lease, or utility bills will do. If neither spouse currently lives in Wisconsin and the marriage did not happen in the state within the past year, Wisconsin courts have no jurisdiction.
How to File and Serve
An annulment begins with a petition in the circuit court of the qualifying county. The petition names both spouses, states the date and location of the marriage, and lays out the specific statutory ground. It must be signed under oath.
The filing fee is $184.50 when no support or maintenance is requested, or $194.50 when it is.5Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Circuit Court Fee, Forfeiture, Fine and Surcharge Tables If you can’t afford the fee, file a Petition for Waiver of Fees and Costs (Form CV-410A) with a sworn statement of financial hardship.6Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Court System Form CV-410A – Petition for Waiver of Fees and Costs
After filing, you must serve your spouse. Wisconsin allows personal service by someone other than you. If personal service fails after reasonable effort, the statute permits leaving a copy with a competent household member at least 14 years old, and, as a last resort, service by publication in a newspaper.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 801.11 – Personal Jurisdiction, Manner of Serving Summons For A private process server or a sheriff’s deputy is the usual choice.
Once served, the respondent has 40 days to file a written answer. If none comes in, the petitioner can request a default judgment. If the respondent contests, their answer may argue against the annulment or raise counterclaims.
What the Court Will Want to See
Annulments are not granted on paperwork alone. You must appear before a judge and prove the ground with evidence, and the burden sits entirely on you.
The right evidence depends on the ground. Medical records and expert testimony can establish mental incapacity or inability to consummate. Sworn statements from witnesses, police reports, and threatening messages support a duress claim. Fraud cases usually turn on communications that show what the other spouse represented before the marriage versus the truth. Timing matters in every case. Filing promptly after discovering the problem strengthens your position. Staying in the household after you knew will cut against you.
What an Annulment Still Decides
A common assumption is that annulment sends each spouse away with whatever they came in with. Wisconsin does not work that way.
Section 767.61 requires the court to divide the parties’ property on a judgment of annulment, using the same framework used in divorce.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 767.61 – Property Division The court starts from a presumption of equal division, then weighs the length of the marriage, each party’s contributions (including homemaking and child care), earning capacity, and age and health. Gifts from third parties, inheritances, and certain other assets are generally excluded unless refusing to divide them would cause hardship.
Maintenance is also on the table. Under Section 767.56, a court can order one spouse to pay maintenance to the other for a limited or indefinite period, weighing factors like the length of the marriage, each party’s earning capacity, and the time and training needed for the receiving spouse to become self-supporting.9Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 767.56 – Maintenance Many petitioners expect annulment to erase every financial tie. It doesn’t.
Children are handled the same way as in divorce. Wisconsin courts decide custody and physical placement using the best-interests analysis in Section 767.41, and the statute applies that framework to annulment cases explicitly.10Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 767.41 – Custody and Physical Placement Joint legal custody is presumed to serve the child’s best interest. Child support follows the percentage-of-income standard set by the Department of Children and Families.11Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 767.511 – Child Support A court can deviate from that standard when strict application would be unfair, considering factors such as extraordinary medical needs, child care costs, and each parent’s finances.
Effects People Often Miss
Taxes
The IRS treats an annulled marriage as though it never existed. Any joint returns filed during the marriage no longer stand. You must file amended returns on Form 1040-X for every affected year still open under the statute of limitations, which is generally three years from the original filing date or two years after the tax was paid, whichever is later.12Internal Revenue Service. Filing Taxes After Divorce or Separation Filing status changes to single, or head of household if you qualify. That can shift your bracket, change credits and deductions, and leave you owing or receiving a refund. For the year the annulment is finalized, you file as single (or head of household) for the whole year.
Health Insurance
Annulment is a qualifying event that ends coverage for a spouse enrolled on the other’s employer plan. Federal law treats this the same as divorce for COBRA continuation purposes.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1163 – Qualifying Event The former spouse can elect up to 36 months of continuation but pays the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. You have 60 days from the annulment to notify the plan administrator.
Social Security
Because annulment retroactively erases the marriage, any spousal or survivor benefits tied to it disappear. If you were receiving benefits before the marriage that stopped when you married (for example, survivor benefits from a prior spouse), those can be reinstated as of the month of the annulment decree, provided you file a timely application with the Social Security Administration.14Social Security Administration. Reinstatement of Benefits When Marriage Terminates
Immigration
If a spouse obtained conditional permanent resident status through the marriage, annulment creates a serious complication. Removing conditions on the green card normally requires a joint petition with the sponsoring spouse, which is no longer possible after annulment. The conditional resident can file Form I-751 individually with a waiver request, but must show strong evidence that the marriage was entered in good faith even though it was later annulled. This is one area where retaining an immigration attorney is usually worth the cost.
Civil and Religious Annulment Are Separate
A civil annulment granted by a Wisconsin circuit court and a religious annulment granted by a church have no legal overlap. A religious annulment changes your status within your faith community but does nothing to your legal rights, property, taxes, or custody obligations. A civil annulment carries no weight within a religious institution. If both matter to you, each has to be pursued separately.