Does the Declaration of Invalidity have any civil effect?
The Declaration of Invalidity does not have any civil effect in the United States on anyone, the parties or their offspring. It does not in any way affect the legitimacy of children. Rather it frees both parties to marry other people, so far as that particular marriage is concerned, in the Catholic Church. In the eyes of the Catholic Church the union has been recognized, that, while it existed civilly, it was canonically (by Catholic Church law) invalid from its beginning.
