Application for decree of nullity

Mary wood Center 2811 East Villa Real Drive Post Office Box 14195 Orange, California 92863-1595 Phone: (714) 282-3080 Fax: (714) 828-3087

The Catholic Church understands marriage as a "covenant by which a man and woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, and is by its nature directed toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring" (c. 1055). Furthermore, "marriage is brought about through the consent of the parties, legitimately manifested between persons who are capable according to the law of giving consent" (c. 1057). An annulment is a declaration by the Catholic Church that the consent required for a valid marriage was defective from the beginning. This declaration is made by the Diocesan Tribunal, the judicial office for the Bishop of the diocese. A decision in a marriage nullity case can be made only after a thorough process of obtaining information concerning the family background of each of the parties, the quality and length of their courtship, the history of the marriage, and the remote and immediate causes of the separation and divorce. It is only through a careful examination of the history of the individuals involved and the nature of the relationship together from the beginning of their courtship that the Tribunal can come to a decision in a marriage nullity case.

An application for marriage nullity may be accepted in the Tribunal of Orange if: a) the marriage took place in Orange County; b) the Respondent lives in Orange County; c) the Petitioner lives in Orange County and the Respondent lives in the United States. If none of these conditions apply, please call the Tribunal.

The procedure begins with you, the petitioner, completing the accompanying form and questionnaire regarding the marriage. You return this to the parish priest, who then forwards it to the Tribunal. From that point on, the Tribunal will deal directly with you. When the case is received in the Tribunal, you are sent formal Petition and Mandate forms, to be completed and returned to the Tribunal.

Church law requires that once the Tribunal has received and accepted the petitioner's application, the Tribunal is to contact the respondent and invite the respondent to participate in the proceedings. Should the respondent choose not to participate, the case will nonetheless continue, and the respondent will be notified of the final decision. If the respondent's whereabouts are unknown, the petitioner must explain what efforts have been made to locate the respondent.