Processing the Case
- What happens after the application is sent in?
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After reviewing both the application and the questionnaire, and jurisdiction for the case has been verified,
- an acknowledgement letter is sent,
- questionnaires are sent to the witnesses,
- and the respondent is notified for the first time.
A trained member of the Tribunal staff will be named to work on the case. He or she may contact you for more details concerning your marriage, requests for more witnesses, or additional pertinent information.
Trained members of the Tribunal will be assigned as Procurator for the petitioner and the respondent. In addition, another member of the Tribunal will be named Defender of the Bond. The Defender of the Bond has the responsibility for arguing the validity of your marriage. This is to guarantee equal rights for you, your spouse and the Church. An appointed judge from this diocese will formally hear your case.
After receiving both the application and the questionnaire, all the required documents, and the marriage history, the Tribunal will contact witnesses for further information. It is essential that witnesses can provide testimony from the beginning of the relationship in order for the Tribunal to arrive at a decision regarding the validity of the marriage.
- Then what happens?
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The second stage is the formal acceptance of the case for full consideration and completion. The grounds are established and letters are again sent to both the petitioner and respondent.
After the formal acceptance, the case is reviewed and prepared for the Judge and the Defender of the Bond. Once a case is fully prepared, the Judge can prepare his final ruling.
Fairness demands that we handle cases in the order that petitions are received; however, cases will not necessarily be completed in the order received. It can happen that some cases are completed earlier because witnesses in these cases submitted their testimony promptly and no difficulties were met. It can also happen that some cases last much longer because serious difficulties demand longer time to resolve.
Marriage cases average 12 to 18 months to complete. The Tribunal will indicate some approximate time between stages for your case. However, no one can offer any guarantees about the length of time needed for any particular case; any and all indications given are approximate.
Generally, if there is no problem with your case, we will not be contacting you. However, you may call the Tribunal office anytime to check on the status of your case.
- How is the decision made?
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If enough information has been gathered to prove the nullity of the marriage, the judge of the Grand Island Tribunal (the First Instance Court) will issue his decision for the case.
Then both the ruling and the observations of the Defender of the Bond are sent to the Second Instance Court in Omaha for review. (The Second Instance Court is part of the Omaha Archdiocese Tribunal). This review requires approximately thirty to forty-five days.
When the Second Instance Court ratifies the ruling of the Grand Island Tribunal, both the petitioner and the respondent will be notified of the outcome by mail.
If the Grand Island judge denies an application for an annulment, his decision is final. However, in some instances, the petitioner may submit the names of more witnesses and may submit more information, and the case may be reinstated to be judged again using the extra testimonies.
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- Further Questions