Yes… But the canon immediately adds that the judge must nonetheless take care to ensure that the right of defense always remains intact. If Craig can show that (for example) his own consent at the time of the wedding was defective—a concept that has been discussed numerous times here in this space, in “Contraception and Marriage Validity” and “Canon Law and Fraudulent Marriages,” among many others—then the marriage is invalid regardless of whether his ex-wife submits her own evidence or not. 1 Answers | 30 Views | Asked in Divorce, Marriage, Alimony, If my marriage license was never filed, am I legally married? canonlawmadeeasy@yahoo.com In fact, “publishing the acts” means that the tribunal makes available to the parties and their advocates all the documents pertaining to the case. 21. Post-office efficiency can vary dramatically from one country to another, and the tribunal has to be sure that the letter was not misplaced or lost by the mailman. Can a husband legally deny his wife access to all bank accounts and credit cards? Yes, annulment does not require the other party's consent. Is there any way to hide certain things from him/her during annulment proceedings? Yes, annulment does not require the other party's consent. ), which at first glance might seem to contradict this. So now Craig has his answer. Refusing a Funeral Mass, Because of the Virus, Contributing Financially to the Support of the Parish: A Precept of the Church. Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue! Canon 1507 describes what is supposed to happen in any contentious case, not just those dealing with marriage nullity: when the plaintiff’s petition is admitted, the judge must summon the other party (or parties) to court within 20 days. c. 1443) on a similar sort of case here. This makes an annulment case very different from a divorce or a legal separation. When Can a Pastor be Removed From Office? California. Can my wife get alimony if she has cheated on me? After all, there are two parties to a marriage-nullity case—and if one party doesn’t feel like cooperating, that doesn’t mean justice is automatically going to be denied to the other! His former wife is aware that he intends to seek an annulment of their marriage, and she says she will refuse to cooperate with the tribunal. Sometimes the mailman may ask the respondent to sign for the summons, and when the respondent realizes what it is, will refuse to sign for it. Canon 1592.2 tells us that before issuing a decree declaring the person absent, the tribunal judge must make sure that the summons sent to the person really did arrive. The only possible solution would be to throw the entire case out and start over from the beginning, this time of course involving the other spouse in the process. If both sides want different outcomes, the judge naturally can’t please them both! If the marriage is invalid due to defective consent on the part of the petitioner and he/she can prove it, then the tribunal can find it has all the evidence it needs to render a decision, without any input from the respondent. Helping 20 Million Americans a Year for 20 Years. Additionally, I’m wondering if my ex-wife won’t cooperate, and I manage to get an annulment without her involvement, can she later get the decision overturned? After discussing this with a Catholic clinical psychologist, it may not be the best thing for me unless a request to have my petition sealed so that my ex-husband could not have access to it was granted. I'm currently not in the US. –Craig. The judge’s decree of summons must be conveyed immediately to the respondent (c. 1508.1). The tribunal obviously cannot force her to participate in the annulment process against her will. FREE! Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. But Craig’s … (This is common when the petitioner is Catholic, and the respondent is not.) “Very serious dangers” is a strong term. (See “What if the Other Spouse Doesn’t Want the Annulment?” for an example of this.) And canon 1598.1 notes that to avoid “very serious dangers,” a judge can decide that some part(s) of the documentation are not to be shown to anyone. So the procedure in Susan’s case should now be clear. The point here is, not every marriage-nullity case gets contentious. There is no way a marriage tribunal can declare a marriage null, if one of the spouses was never informed that the other had requested an annulment, and thus was given no opportunity to tell his/her side of the story. Q: I am divorced. Can the Bishop Cancel Our Annual Parish Fundraiser, Because of the Virus? I just don’t know at this point, what I am supposed to do… –Susan. Why Would a Catholic Cleric Desecrate an Altar? Q: I want to try to get an annulment, but my ex-wife has already informed me that if I do, she will not cooperate with the marriage tribunal. you have to file an annulment or nullity case. Canon 1592.1 tells us that if a respondent is summoned but fails to appear, and doesn’t provide the court with a sufficient reason for this failure, the judge is to declare that person absent, and the case is to proceed to the definitive judgment. If the other person does not want an annulment or does not believe there are grounds for one, the judge will hold a hearing. We don’t have worldwide statistics on how often this happens, but rest assured that Craig’s issue is not unique. Can a marriage be annulled without the other party's consent? Therefore either of you should be able to file for annulment. Refusing First Holy Communion to Children Who Are Ill-Prepared, Ecclesia Supplet: Making Invalid Sacraments Valid, Invalid Baptisms and Unaccountable Clergy. But the law contains even more references to the rights of the spouses to be made aware of the information being considered in such a case. Which brings us now to the sort of case which Craig describes. No. Since a marriage cannot be valid if one party is still married (even if in the final stages of divorce) at the time of marriage, those conditions would certainly seem to be met in your case. Like divorces, state law governs annulments, and the rules vary from state to state. One party’s refusal to cooperate certainly may cause a lot of frustration, but it will not necessarily affect the ultimate decision. But just as in contentious cases in all sorts of civil courts around the world, that’s simply the way justice works. I understand that our marriage is automatically void but needed to file for annulment and then remarry again.my question is, can we file an annulled without the other party's consent? Why Would a Catholic Cleric Desecrate an Altar? Depending on the individual circumstances, the respondent’s failure to participate in the process might actually allow the court to issue a decision even faster. What if the Other Spouse Doesn’t Want the Annulment? The marriage had some serious issues…we spent more time living separately than living together. All it requires is that the proper conditions are met. However, you can’t obtain an annulment unless you have “grounds” or legally recognized reasons for one. There is no way to “have [her] petition sealed” as she describes, because it would violate the rights of her ex-husband as a party to the case. To take a wholly fictitious example, let’s say a woman seeks an annulment, and her husband has a demonstrable history of physical violence, toward both her and their children.