Do church annulments affect a child's legitimacy in church law?

No. When the Church declares a marriage of parents null many people are often confused about its legal impact upon the legitimacy of the children in church law.

The legal term "legitimacy" means that the child's father is known. He is the "husband" of the child's mother at the time of the child's birth. Before there was such a thing as DNA testing, this was the only way society could legally assume who was the father of the child.

An annulment does not "retroactively" affect the child's paternity. At the time of the child’s birth, the parents were known. It was at that moment that the legitimacy of the child was established.

Any statement or belief to the contrary–that an annulment renders a child illegitimate–is simply wrong!