Bucks County Register of Wills Barbara Reilly urged couples to get remarried if their officiant did not regularly serve a congregation, and she asked some officiants to submit affidavits attesting to their qualifications.

Reached at her office yesterday, Reilly said she had not yet been served with the court papers and could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.

In the three lawsuits, two of the couples were married by officiants ordained by the Universal Life Church.

The Bucks County suit concerns Jason and Jennifer O’Neill, married in 2005 by Jason’s uncle, a Universal Life minister. According to the suit, the couple wanted a religious ceremony but did not want to choose between the different religious traditions of their families. They said they had found that the Universal Life Church’s principles reflected their beliefs.

The Montgomery County filing concerns Ryan and Melanie Hancock, who were married in 2005 by a friend ordained in the Universal Life Church. The Hancocks stated that they had grown up in different religious traditions and did not want to favor one over the other.

The third lawsuit concerns a 1976 ceremony conducted by a Jesuit priest who was clerking for the U.S. District Court. According to the suit, Peter Goldberger and Anna Durbin wanted a Catholic ceremony in accordance with the wishes of Durbin’s family, but chose to marry in Philadelphia instead of her home parish in the state of Washington for the convenience of many East Coast friends and relatives. Goldberger and Durbin are lawyers who live in Ardmore and have raised three children.

Contact staff writer Dianna Marder at 215-854-4211 or dmarderphillynews.com.