Michigan Annulment Laws: Grounds, Deadlines and How to File (2026)

In Michigan, an annulment is a circuit court action for a "decree or sentence of nullity" under MCL 552.3, filed in the county where you or your spouse live. Some marriages are void under the statutes, such as close-relative and bigamous marriages and, for marriages entered into in Michigan on or after September 19, 2023, any marriage involving someone under 18. Other grounds carry conditions, such as the 2-year deadline for physical incapacity in MCL 552.39.

Information last verified on 2026-10-08. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers civil annulment under Michigan law: the void-marriage and annulment sections of the Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL 552.1 to 552.4 and 552.29 to 552.39), the marriage-age rules in MCL 551.51 and 551.103, the property and child provisions in MCL 552.16 and 552.19, and the inheritance rule in MCL 700.2801. It does not cover divorce grounds, religious annulment, or the law of other states.

What Michigan Calls an Annulment

Michigan law calls it an action for annulling a marriage, ending in a decree or sentence of nullity. MCL 552.3 lets either party file a petition in circuit court:

"either party ... may file a petition or bill in the circuit court of the county where the parties, or 1 of them, reside, or in the court of chancery, for annulling the same ... upon due proof of the nullity of the marriage, it shall be declared void by a decree or sentence of nullity." (MCL 552.3)

Michigan also has a related action to affirm a marriage, MCL 552.4, for when the question is whether a marriage is valid rather than how to end it.

Michigan Annulment Grounds

Michigan's statutes sort annulment grounds in two ways. Some marriages are void by statute. Others can be annulled only if conditions are met, such as who files, when, and whether the spouses lived together afterward.

The statutes do not keep the words "void" and "voidable" cleanly apart. MCL 552.2 says a marriage involving nonage, force or fraud is "deemed void, without any decree" in certain circumstances, while MCL 552.34, 552.36 and 552.37 treat the same grounds as annulment actions with limits. This page does not resolve how Michigan courts reconcile those sections, so the tables below follow the statute text.

Marriages the statutes declare void

MCL 552.1 also lists a party who "was not capable in law of contracting" among the void categories. Because MCL 552.35 and 552.36 set out an annulment action for that same ground, with a cohabitation bar, it appears in the next table as well.

Grounds with filing rules, deadlines or bars

"Not stated" means the section itself names no deadline. It does not mean no other time rule could apply. A lawyer licensed in Michigan can tell you whether a delay affects your case.

Physical Incapacity: the 2-Year Deadline

Physical incapacity carries a fixed filing deadline. MCL 552.39 says the suit "shall only be maintained by the injured party, against the party whose incapacity is alleged; and shall, in all cases, be brought within 2 years from the solemnization of the marriage."

The statute measures the 2 years from the wedding itself. The spouse whose incapacity is alleged cannot bring this claim.

Force, Fraud and Living Together Afterward

MCL 552.37 bars a force or fraud annulment "if it shall appear that, at any time before the commencement of the suit, there was a voluntary cohabitation of the parties as husband and wife." Under that section, voluntary cohabitation before filing ends the claim.

MCL 552.2 makes the same point from the other side: where consent was obtained by force or fraud and there was no later voluntary cohabitation, the marriage "shall be deemed void, without any decree of divorce or other legal process."

Mental Incapacity

A party who was "not capable in law of contracting" at the wedding and later becomes capable may sue to annul under MCL 552.36. The court may not annul the marriage if the spouses cohabited as husband and wife after that party became capable. MCL 552.35 also lets a next friend admitted by the court bring the action.

The sections this page relies on do not define "not capable in law of contracting," and this page does not cover the court decisions that apply the phrase.

Underage Marriage After the 2023 Reform

Michigan now sets 18 as the marriage age. MCL 551.51 provides:

"A marriage in this state shall not be contracted by an individual who is under 18 years of age. A marriage, if entered into in this state by an individual under 18 years of age, is void." (MCL 551.51(1))

MCL 551.103(1) adds: "An individual who is 18 years of age or older may contract marriage." The compiled-law history lines show MCL 551.51 amended by 2023 PA 71, effective September 19, 2023, and MCL 551.103 amended by 2023 PA 121, with immediate effect on September 19, 2023.

The void rule in MCL 551.51(2) applies to marriages entered into on or after that effective date. A marriage that took place earlier is governed by the older nonage rules, including MCL 552.34, which lets the minor's parent, guardian or next friend sue to annul. If a guide you read gives a lower age with parental consent, check it against the current statute.

How to File for an Annulment in Michigan

You file in the circuit court of the county where you, your spouse, or both of you live (MCL 552.3). Under the same section, the petition is filed and the case proceeds "as in the case of a petition or bill filed in said court for a divorce."

Michigan Legal Help, the state's court-supported self-help site, says there are no standard court forms for filing for annulment (Michigan Legal Help: Separate Maintenance and Annulment). Its page explains the alternatives to divorce in plain language.

Residency: this page does not state a residency period for annulment. Michigan's 180-day residency rule in MCL 552.9 is worded for a judgment of divorce, and this page does not say whether it applies to an annulment. Ask the circuit court clerk or a Michigan family lawyer before you file.

Children After an Annulment

An annulment does not make children illegitimate under the Michigan statutes this page covers:

• Void marriages. MCL 552.1 states: "The issue of such a marriage are legitimate."
• Nonage or incapacity. When a marriage is dissolved on those grounds, the children are "in all respects the legitimate issue of the parent who, at the time of the marriage, was capable of contracting" (MCL 552.30).
• Presumption. The legitimacy of all children begotten before the action begins "shall be presumed until the contrary be shown" (MCL 552.29).
• Force or fraud. The court "shall decree their custody to the innocent parent," and may order support for their education and maintenance out of the guilty party's estate and property (MCL 552.38).

More generally, MCL 552.16(1) lets the court, upon annulling a marriage, "enter the orders it considers just and proper concerning the care, custody, and ... support of a minor child of the parties." For how Michigan decides custody, see Michigan child custody laws.

Property, Support and Inheritance

Property. On an annulment, MCL 552.19 lets the court restore to either party "the whole, or such parts as it shall deem just and reasonable, of the real and personal estate that shall have come to either party by reason of the marriage," or award its value in money.

Spousal support. The alimony provisions this page's research opened, MCL 552.13 and 552.23, are written for divorce and separate maintenance. No section it read authorizes spousal support in an annulment. That is a gap in this page, not a statement that support is unavailable; a Michigan family lawyer can tell you what the court may order.

Inheritance. Under MCL 700.2801(1), a person "whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse" unless a later marriage to the decedent was in place at death.

Name change. MCL 552.391 lets the circuit court restore a prior surname when a divorce decree is granted, and it does not mention annulment. This page does not cover whether a Michigan court restores a name in an annulment.

Good-Faith Second Marriages

This page does not identify a Michigan putative-spouse statute and does not cover the case law on the subject. The closest statute cited here is MCL 552.31, which deals with a second marriage contracted in good faith and with the full belief of the parties that the former spouse was dead. In that situation, that fact "shall be stated in the decree of divorce or nullity," and the children of the second marriage born or begotten before the suit "shall be deemed to be the legitimate issue of the parent who, at the time of the marriage, was capable of contracting."

Annulment vs Divorce in Michigan

A divorce ends a valid marriage. An annulment declares that a marriage was void or that a statutory annulment ground applies. If no annulment ground fits, divorce is the other way to end a marriage; see Michigan divorce laws.

If the question is whether you were ever legally married, read Michigan common-law marriage. A church annulment and a court annulment are separate processes, and one does not produce the other.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about annulment under Michigan law, chiefly MCL 552.1 to 552.39 and MCL 551.51, verified against the Michigan Legislature's compiled-law text on 2026-10-08. It is not legal advice. For advice about your situation, consult a lawyer licensed in Michigan or use the self-help resources at Michigan Legal Help.

Related

• Annulment laws in every state
• Michigan divorce laws
• Michigan common-law marriage
• Michigan child custody laws
• Michigan marriage and divorce records

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you have to get an annulment in Michigan?

A suit for physical incapacity must be brought within 2 years from the wedding, by the injured spouse (MCL 552.39). Force or fraud claims end if the spouses voluntarily lived together before filing (MCL 552.37).

Can you get an annulment in Michigan if you married your cousin?

MCL 551.3 and 551.4 bar marriage to a first cousin, and MCL 552.1 declares a marriage prohibited by consanguinity or affinity absolutely void if it was solemnized in Michigan.

Is a marriage under 18 legal in Michigan?

No, for marriages entered into in Michigan on or after September 19, 2023. MCL 551.51 says such a marriage is void. Earlier marriages are governed by the older nonage rules in MCL 552.34.

Can I annul my marriage in Michigan if my spouse lied to me?

Fraud is an annulment ground, but MCL 552.37 bars it if the spouses voluntarily lived together as husband and wife at any time before the suit began.

Are children legitimate after an annulment in Michigan?

Yes under the statutes covered here. MCL 552.1 makes the children of a void marriage legitimate, and MCL 552.29 presumes legitimacy of children begotten before the action.

Are there court forms for an annulment in Michigan?

Michigan Legal Help says there are no standard court forms for filing for annulment. The case is filed in circuit court and proceeds as a divorce case does (MCL 552.3).

Does my ex inherit from me after an annulment in Michigan?

A person whose marriage to the decedent was annulled is not a surviving spouse under MCL 700.2801(1), unless they later remarried the decedent and were married at death.