the answer is... | @OneToMany(mappedBy="remittancePackage", cascade=CascadeType.ALL) | @Cascade(org.hibernate.annotations.CascadeType.DELETE_ORPHAN) | where @Cascade os a hibernate Cascade object. Would be nice if these hints were in the documention. It really helps those of use who are not experienced with hibernate. Thanks Eric Ray View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=3962937#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...