Hi, Vicky —

For an annulment to be granted, there must be some pre-existing impediment or reason which would grant a declaration of nullity. Two such reasons are:

• Emotional immaturity, the most common, and
• failure to understand the nature of marriage.

The reason you keep getting different answers online is because every single case is different and no one can give you an answer until a tribunal investigates whether or not an annulment can be granted.

What you need to do is go your parish priest and have your fiancé start the process. In the meantime, your "partner" is still married in the eyes of God and the Church, so he should not be "dating" until such time as an annulment is granted. Dating should remain appropriately chaste for a single person.

John

Vicky —

I would suggest that you go to your local Catholic parish in Britain, and talk to the pastor. If your fiancé was Catholic when he married, then it would be relatively easy to say that the marriage was not valid.

One more thing: annulments are not really "granted" although we speak like that. There is a finding of nullity or invalidity. In any case, a Catholic who marries at a registry office is presumably not married, but the Church needs to say that, so do see the local pastor.

Mary Ann

Vicky —

It's not for any individual to decide what whether or not a marriage is a valid. A marriage is always presumed valid unless declared otherwise by a competent tribunal of the Church.

I'm also a bit concerned about the use of the word "partner." You're British, so perhaps it means something else "across the pond". Here, it means you are cohabitating. This is something that the Church teaches is serious sin, whether or not his prior marriage is valid. If his marriage is valid, cohabitation constitutes adultery and fornication. If it's not valid, then it's simply fornication.
Either way, both are grave matter and require you go to Confession and strive to remain chaste. If you did not know or understand this, then your guilt is mitigated because you received poor teaching.

I don't, by any means, wish to condemn you; I'm simply giving you the information someone should have taught you.

The best thing you can do is find a good priest and start the annulment process. Since your "partner" was that young, the probability that he was emotionally immature at the time and not ready to enter in to marriage, will be proven in the tribunal process. While annulments are not a sure thing, they granted fairly easily and this sounds like a reasonable simple case.

Nevertheless, none of us at AskACatholic are Canon lawyers.

God Bless. Let us know if we can be of further help.

John