Question re: Annulment Timeline

[jwb153]

Hi all,

New to the site, but had a question regarding the timeline of my annulment. Was married 4 years, no children, and have been going through the annulment process for a little over a year now. I received the message from the Archdiocese stating that they have all of the testimonies, documents, etc., and now I’m just in waiting mode (it’s been nearly 5 months since I received that confirmation that everything was received).

Does anyone have any insights/resources I could utilize on this? I’ve found myself anxiously opening my mailbox on a daily basis hoping for an answer.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MJJean]

I am at the same stage you are at. I was advised that annulments take between 12 and 18 months to complete in my diocese. It’s been almost a year. I got my “We have what we need. Please wait.” letter a month ago and was told it could be “several months” before I hear anything from the Court of First Instance and then “several” more months before I have a final decree.

If you keep anxiously opening your mailbox you will go crazy. Pray about it here and there and then let it go. If you haven’t heard anything within a few more months then contact the tribunal and ask if something is wrong. Otherwise, it’s a waiting game.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Perhaps it would be charitable for the tribunals to be more informative about the timeline.

I would note that how long the marriage lasted and whether or not you have children has nothing at all to do with the validity of the marriage.

 

[1ke]

The best source of information is the tribunal office in your diocese. The timelines are very different, it depends on the number of cases they have, the staff resources they have, and the complexity of the various cases they are reviewing.

I know it’s frustrating having to wait, but you will get a wide variety of answers here based on different people’s experiences in different dioceses. The only one that matters is yours, though.

Why don’t you reach out to your advocate to get a sense of the average timeline?

 

[jwb153]

Very appreciative of the quick responses, I’ve been in very thorough communication with my advocate/sponsor, and was primarily using this site as a supplemental resource : )

I figured that the length of time we were married + no children didn’t have much of a bearing on it, but had conflicting opinions from some other people I spoke with.

Just have to continue to pray over it and be patient…it’s not my timeline that matters : )

 

[Christy_Beth]

Well, when I went through my annulment (3 1/2 years married before becoming Catholic, and 1 child) it took about a year total. But, as has been suggested, there might be different timelines depending on where you’re at. Hopefully it won’t take too much longer. I know the waiting is horrid.