Much has changed since 1976.
The move toward easier and less expensive processes got going in the 1970s, and by mid-decade, was in full swing in many places, but not uniformly so. I remember there were dioceses as late as the 1990s where it was still very difficult to obtain a decree of nullity. I can't speak to costs in 1976, but certainly by the early 1980s, the process, itself, generally cost less than $1000.
I did a survey of dioceses in the US recently and found none that charged much more than a thousand dollars today, most under $1000, many only around $500. And all offered financial help to those in need.
But that's for the Church's process. It's like court costs in a civil court. For annulments that are relatively straightforward, total costs may only be in the range of $500 or $1000. But in a difficult case, or one where one of the parties is uncooperative, costs of private canon lawyers, investigators, costs to obtain required records, can significantly increase the total cost of the process. With these costs, the Church isn't going to help, and I'm not sure why the Church would help. In a civil court, the government doesn't pay each party's lawyers, either.
More importantly, though, is that attitudes, especially among clergy, have changed regarding the process of obtaining a declaration of nullity. Where once it was very much frowned upon, and the likelihood of an invalid marriage in any particular case was thought to be tiny, today, some priests often seem to see annulment almost as chiefly a pastoral aid, rather than as an objective process to determine the original validity of a marriage.
Also, many Catholic laity have come to see annulment as sort of a “loophole” in the prohibition against divorce and remarriage. I've known folks who were really quite upset with the Church for not rubber-stamping their requests for annulments, resenting that the Church would, even denying that the Church had the right to, investigate the putative marriage to come to a conclusion of whether or not the marriage was initially valid.
I think that certainly by the 1970s, the Church was unwittingly performing a lot of weddings that actually did result in invalid marriages. People didn't receive proper formation, by that point, many had mental reservations about having children, about raising their children Catholic, about fidelity, etc. It was good that the Church loosened the discipline associated with the process. But I also think that at times, in some places, some dioceses perhaps may have started handing out declarations of nullity like “get out of jail free” cards.
I'm sorry that you experienced what you experienced way back in 1976. The Church is administered by human beings, and there is no doctrine of impeccability.
sitetest
My understanding, Sitetest (and this is a question to you) is that one of the most straight forward reasons for legit annulments from the Church is if one person was under the influence of substance abuse at the time of marriage, alcoholic or otherwise.
The paperwork I recall reading stated that this was because it was impossible for someone to truly enter into the compacts professed to the other and the Church in that altered and dependent state.
Does that jive with your knowledge?
In the church that Christ FOUNDED??
Why?