HOW TO MAKE A CASE HISTORY

Address to: THE REVEREND JUDICIAL VICAR

CONTENTS: (IN ESSAY FORM)
1.

Family background of both parties.

a. Parents:

What kind of work did they do?

How did they relate to family and friends?
How did they practice their religion?
How did they get along together?
Were there any problems in their marriage?
Discuss how you related to each parent?
How did they raise their children?
Did they both raise you?
Did they allow you to become independent?
Did they take an interest in you and your development?
Were they overprotective?
Did they set realistic goals for you?
Which parent was dominant as far as you were concerned?
Did you feel rejected by either?
Did you feel deprived of anything while growing up?
Did you overcome this later?
Did you dislike any household member? (Why?)
Did either of your parents have psychiatric case?
Were there unusual burdens the family faced while you grew up?
Was there any history of divorced, emotional problems in your family?
Are your parents still living?
b. Your brothers and sisters:
List names and dates of birth in chronological order, including yourself.
How did you relate to each of them?
How were they raised in comparison to you?
How did they influence your attitudes on life, marriage, etc?
Are you still in regular contact with them?
c. Your education:
Where did you attend school?
What type of student were you?
Did you fail any grades or quit school early? If so give the reasons
Explain any problems in school either with studies or friends.
What grade level of school did you complete?

d. Adolescence:
Were these happy times? Why or why not?
Did any special experience have a great effect on you?
How did you relate to boys and girls?
What was your parents attitude towards sex ad marriage?
How did you react to sex?
When did you first start to date?
Were there any serious relationships or other engagements?
Tell when and how any other serious relationships ended?
Were you ever in love with someone other than your former spouse?
Had you experienced any sexual relationships before marriage?
Did you have any serious illness while growing up?
How much contact did you have with your former spouses family prior to
the
marriage?
What was your impression of his/her family?
Did you feel comfortable with the attitudes and values of your former
spouses
family?
Were these above or below your expectations?
How did your former spouse treat his/her parents, brothers and sisters?
e. Your former spouses family:
Answer sections (a) through (d) [parents, brothers and sisters, education
and adolescence] regarding your former spouse. (Indicate all that you know
about him/her in these areas)
2.

Character description of both parties:

Discuss moods and temperaments, positive and negative traits, hobbies,

etc.
3.

Courtship:

When and how did you meet?

How old were you both?
What was your first impression of your former spouse?
How long and how often did you date before engagement?
How did your family react?
Did you get along with your in-laws?
Was the engagement broken? (Why?)
What made you decide on the engagement?
Was the marriage date advanced? (Why?)
How did you show your affection?
Did your life change in any significant way or were there any significant
events
during courtship?
Did either of you have serious doubts about the marriage? (Why or what?)
Did anyone counsel you about them?
How did you and/or your former spouse deal with these doubts?
Were you able to make a sensible, mature and balanced decision to
marry?
How much pre-marriage preparation did you have?
Did anyone caution either of you about this marriage?
Briefly describe each of your responsibilities at the time of your courtship.
How did he/she get along with your family?
What was your familys feeling about your former spouse during the
courtship?

Did both families encourage the relations to continue?

4.

Civil wedding, if any; Church wedding:

Did any unusual happen during the wedding and/or reception? (If the
marriage was a church validation of a civil marriage, why did you have the
marriage validated?)
Describe fully the attitudes of each of you had about this.
Were there difficulties or pressures at that time?
What prompted you to have the marriage in church?
How was your common life at that time?
How long and where was the honeymoon?
Did anything unusual happen during the honeymoon? If so, please
explain.
Was there any physical or emotional distress as a result of the honeymoon
or early days of your common life?
Was the marriage consummated?
If the marriage was not consummated, please explain why it was not.
Was birth control used or not? If used, how long?
How did you feel about the quality of your sexual life?
How did your former spouse feel about it?
Explain any difficulties in your sexual life.
Did either refuse the other? Why?

5.

Married life:
How each of you adjust to make the marriage work?
How long was it happy for both?
Who was the dominant spouse and how did the other react?
Were you equals?
Could you discuss problems as partners?
How well did each of you fulfill the needs of the other?
Explain any difficulties in your sexual life.
Did either refuse the other? Why?
What were the major dissensions in the marriage?
When did they arise?
What caused them?
How did each of you respond?
How would you portray your arguments?
Was there ever abuse?

How did you communicate your differences, problems and conflicts?

Any moral or character problems (lying, cheating, stealing, arrest,
imprisonment,
trouble with the civil authorities?)
Was there any use of drugs or alcohol? Did these cause problems?
6.

Children:

Did the presence of children hurt your relationships? Why?

How did you deal with this?
How did each of you relate with your children?
Who was more responsible for their material needs, their upbringing, and
their guidance? Why?
Where both of you interested in them?
Was either party abusive (physically, emotionally or verbally?)
7.

Separation:

What brought about the separation?

Please describe the first separation in detail.
What was the cause of the subsequent separations?
How many times did you separate before the final separation?
How much effort did either of you make toward reconciliation?
Did either seek counseling? Explain.
What was the actual date when you ceased living together?
What caused this?
8.

Work History:
Did you both work?
Did either of you change jobs frequently? Why?
Any problems with co-workers or superiors?
Did either partys job cause marital problems? Why?

9.

Conclusion:
From your point of view, explain why the marriage failed.
How have the lives of each of you been since the separation? (Divorced)
Has anything significant happened since then?

10.

List of witnesses:

Please list persons who have knowledge of your family background,

childhood or marital situation and who would provide us information. You must
contact them before presenting them.
We suggest you include relatives,
common friends, helpers. Please make an effort to include witnesses from your
side and from your former spouses side (a total of 6 to 8). You must give their
complete names, current addresses and telephone numbers. We will contact
them initially by mail, or if the parties so desire, they may hand-carry the

communications to them. Also, list all counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists

either of you saw before, during or after the marriage. If either of you was
hospitalized for any nervous/mental difficulty before, during or after marriage,
please list name and address of hospital and which party.

Signature:

Date of Submission:

N O T E:

1. The Case History should be typewritten, in triplicate and either handcarried or sent by mail.
2. The evaluation of the merits of the petition will depend largely on the
completeness of the Case History.
3. The Case History should be submitted together with a General
Information Sheet and the Petition (duly filled up and signed by
Petitioner).
4. Documents required (triplicate): ID pictures of both parties, baptismal
certificates of both parties, marriage contract and other documents
pertinent to the case, i.e., civil annulment/declaration of nullity papers if
any, psychological test reports, etc.