Informal Cases |
Informal Cases: Documentary Cases
There are two types of Cases that meet the criteria of Documentary Cases. The First is Lack of Form Cases and the Second is Ligamen Cases.
Lack of Form
A Lack of Form Case can only be invoked when one of the parties of the union was Catholic at the time of the marriage. By Church Law, a Catholic party is required to follow a "form" of marriage. This "form" of marriage requires a Catholic to have the marriage witnessed by a Catholic priest or deacon. Without the proper dispensation, a marriage of a Catholic by a civil official can be classified as Lack of Form. If the exchange of vows takes place and is witnessed by a minister of another Church, it must be shown there was no dispensation given for the non-Catholic minister to officiate in this case. It is the policy in the Archdiocese of Atlanta that this investigation be conducted by Tribunal personnel.
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To submit a Lack of Form case, there is a special questionnaire that can be provided by the Case Sponsor in the parish. Included with the questionnaire should be a copy of the marriage certificate, of the divorce decree, and the original copy of a recent updated baptismal certificate (within 6 mos.) for the Catholic party(ies). Upon receipt, the Tribunal will write to all dioceses that serve the area(s) of where the parties lived during the marriage.
Prior Bond
Prior Bond is a process to show the marriage in question was invalid because the ex- spouse is bound by a prior valid bond. For the Petitioner, this means the Respondent's previous spouse had been validly married before this subsequent union. The application for marriage license, the marriage certificate and divorce decree for the Petitioner and Respondent must be provided. In addition, the same documents (i.e. the application for marriage license, the marriage certificate and divorce decree) for the union of the Respondent and the previous spouse must be provided.
The Tribunal may subsequently request the testimony of witnesses for the Respondent's previous marriage. If it is shown this PRIOR marriage is NOT VALID, then the marriage between the Petitioner and the Respondent is presumed to be valid and the Tribunal investigation will need to be a formal process.
On the other hand, if the Respondent's PRIOR union can be held to be a VALID marriage, then the marriage between the Petitioner and the Respondent is rendered INVALID because of the previous valid marriage of the Respondent.
Whatever the circumstances, the Case Sponsor and subsequently the Tribunal staff will assist the Petitioner in identifying the specific documentation and testimony required.
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Informal Cases: Privilege Cases