The correct term for an "annulment" is a "declaration of nullity." A declaration of nullity states that the marital union has been thoroughly investigated and found to be lacking in the essential characteristics of a Christian sacramental union from its beginning. 

• The decree of nullity is a statement that a valid sacramental bond did not exist from time of wedding, and never existed, not that it did exist and is now ended.

• If the sacramental bond did not exist, the marriage in question can be declared ecclesiastically non-binding. Natural marriages are marriages where at least one of the parties is not baptized. Since a sacramental marriage is only possible between the baptized, these marriages are natural, not sacramental. They, too, can be declared null using the formal case grounds, or can be handled using a Petrine Favor of the Faith Process.

We don't know, because each case is different. There is simply no way to guarantee that your case will be completed within a certain period of time or that the outcome will be in your favor. However, the general norm is that for formal cases, it takes between 10 to 15 months to complete a case. Other types of documentary cases such as a Lack of Forms or Ligamens can take a few weeks after we receive all of the required documents. 

The time frame for a declaration of nullity depends on many factors. For instance, witnesses may delay sending in their testimony for several weeks. Or a personal interview with one of the parties to the marriage may be required. Your case may also need to be evaluated by a psychological expert, and this also adds to the processing time. We try to handle all cases as professionally and efficiently as possible, but we cannot promise that a case will be completed within a certain time frame.

No. The legitimacy of children is determined by the laws of the state. Just as a divorce does not make children illegitimate, neither does an annulment granted by the Church. The laws of the Church state that children born of a supposedly valid union are legitimate children. Therefore, if the marriage is later shown to have been invalid, the status of the children remains unchanged and they are considered legitimate.

Yes. If a marriage is considered to be valid in civil law, no matter where the wedding was held, the Catholic Church also considers the marriage to be presumed valid until proven otherwise. This holds true for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. So even if you were married by a justice of the peace, or a Protestant minister, or a rabbi, or as in Alabama where you simply submitted the proper paperwork for the state to register you as being in a valid civil marriage, that marriage or marriages will need to be individually examined. 

There are different types of marriage cases, some of which take longer than others. If you are a Catholic that was married outside the Church without having gotten a dispensation from form, or you have married someone who has been previously married, you likely have a documentary case. That means that it can be handled by the tribunal by just providing the appropriate documents. 

However, if this is a first marriage for both parties, it is likely that you will need to file a formal case, which generally is more involved and takes the tribunal 10-15 months to complete. Your pastor or advocate can review your situation and help you to determine what kind of case to file. Here is also a helpful chart to help you narrow down what type of case you need to file. 

Yes. We are required by Church law to let your former spouse know that the process has begun and to offer them the opportunity to respond, as well as to submit the names of witnesses. Your former spouse will be sent a letter explaining the process that was initiated.

It is very helpful to have the participation of the former spouse. However, we obviously cannot require the former spouse to take part in the process. Your former spouse does not have to agree to the annulment. Nor does the former spouse have to agree to participate. But we must let the former spouse know the process has begun and what the eventual result of it is.

Sometimes, it happens that the current address of the former spouse is not known. In such a situation, we will ask you to do a reasonable search to try to find a current address.  

Getting through the formal case process can sometimes feel daunting. However, you are able to have someone called an "advocate" help you though the process. Sometimes that is your pastor or parish deacon. Sometimes this can be a lay person who has been trained to assist you with the paperwork, as well as to answer any question you may have. We suggest that you first contact your pastor and let him know that you want to start the annulment process. However, we also have a list of trained advocates, if you would prefer to work with a specific person. 

Advocate List 

We ask that you contact at least three people who would be willing to testify on your behalf. These should be people who know something about the marriage in question, especially the periods of your courtship, engagment, and right after your wedding. The people that make the best witnesses are friends, parents, siblings, other family members, and sometimes co-workers. Generally, the children of the marriage do not make good witnesses, and having them as witnesses can put them in an awkward or uncomfortable position. 

Your witnesses will be sent a questionnaire that they will be asked to complete. You should tell all the witnesses that they have your permission to speak freely because the more information they can provide, the more they assist the tribunal in making the correct decision. 

The Diocese of Birmingham charges $200 to hear a formal case. However, no person will ever be refused for an inability to cover the costs of an annulment. 

The marriage tribunal is subsidized by the faithful of the Diocese of Birmingham. The tribunal is staffed by both professional and support personnel who are committed to  investigating formal declarations of invalidity. To help lower the amount of the subsidy, court costs are assessed in order to pay for the operation of the tribunal office (c. 1649). As a matter of fairness, fully in keeping with canon law, it is only fair and right that those persons benefiting from tribunal services should be asked to make a contribution toward tribunal expenses. In actuality, such payments collected from Petitioners only cover a fraction of what it costs to process the case. As for the outcome of a case, it is in no way helped or hindered by the Petitioner's ability or inability to pay. Lastly, with respect to the outcome, if a Respondent decides to appeal a decision, the financial responsibility for processing the appeal will be the Respondent’s.

Yes. Some cases are given a negative decision; that is, the judge(s) decides that the marriage is a valid and binding union. If this should happen, you will be notified of that decision by the Tribunal. You would then have the option of appealing the decision to either our Appellate Court in Mobile, Alabama or the Roman Rota. The Roman Rota is the Supreme Court of the Church for marriage cases (among other things).

No, however, the tribunal is required to inform the other spouse that a case has been initiated. The tribunal then offers that person the opportunity to participate if they desire. This is required by canon law. A reasonable time is given the former spouse to reply. However, if the former spouse declines to cooperate or fails to respond to the summons of the Tribunal, the Tribunal is not bound to wait indefinitely for a response before proceeding with the case.

In the event that you have multiple marriages, each marriage must be examined on its own merits to determine its validity. No marriage is exempt from being examined, regardless of its circumstances. The appropriate petition should be filed for each marriage depending on the applicable type of case, and all documentation must be obtained for each marriage. In the event that it is a formal case, the background sections for the Petitioner need only be written once; however, the background of the Respondent along with each courtship, marriage and divorce section must be written independently.

A civil divorce is the breaking of an existing legal and civil bond. It does not declare that there was no contract to begin with. A civil annulment does declare that the civil contract is invalid, but we use a different standard for nullity in the Church.

As far as the process goes, you will be asked to submit written testimony and have witnesses submit written testimony. You will have an advocate to help you navigate the process, much like having a civil lawyer for a divorce proceeding. It is possible that you might be asked to participate in an in-person interview. But you will not be in a courtroom, you will not be cross-examined, and you will never have to be in the same room with your ex-spouse.