# Remarriage after putative death of spouse (Canon law) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remarriage-after-putative-death-of-spouse-canon-law/408316 "2007-06-17T01:44:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remarriage-after-putative-death-of-spouse-canon-law/408316/1 "2007-06-17T01:44:23Z")
I have a question about how Catholic canon law would treat an unusual (but not unheard-of) marriage situation. Say that two Catholics are married to each other, and the husband is involved in an incident during which he is believed to have died. For example, say the husband is an air force pilot who is shot down in a war, or maybe he becomes suicidal and is last seen jumping off a bridge. Even though no body is recovered, the available evidence is such that both the secular and ecclesiastical authorities pronounce the husband dead. Fast-forward ten years. The widow has remarried. But suddenly the dead husband shows up very much alive. It turns out he survived the plane crash and was captured by the enemy, or that he faked his own death. I have no doubt that the secular authorities wouldn’t be interested in pursuing bigamy charges, since there was no criminal intent or negligence on the part of the wife. There might be some paperwork to fill out as a formality, but they would let the second marriage stand. But what would the church’s view be? I can imagine that the wife might be obliged to have her second marriage ecclesiastically anulled, as the church considers marriage to be “till death do us part”, and it was later proven that there was no death. Is this correct? If she refused to accept the anullment, wouldn’t the remarried couple be considered living in sin, and barred from communion? Would any children they have be canon-legally bastards? (I know that children they had _before_ discovering the husband survived are OK, as children in putative marriages are legitimate even if the marriage is later discovered to be invalid.) ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remarriage-after-putative-death-of-spouse-canon-law/408316/2 "2007-06-17T13:18:35Z")
my reading as a lay person is that you are correct in all your assertions. Her only chance is to get the first marrage annulled on some grounds. for those interested a FAQ on catholic annulment can be found here > **[StJohnOfTheCross.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=stjohnofthecross.com)** > > Great domain names provide SEO, branding, and a memorable experience for your users. Get a premium domain today. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remarriage-after-putative-death-of-spouse-canon-law/408316/3 "2007-06-18T04:46:14Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] I have a question about how Catholic canon law would treat an unusual (but not unheard-of) marriage situation. Say that two Catholics are married to each other, and the husband is involved in an incident during which he is believed to have died. For example, say the husband is an air force pilot who is shot down in a war, or maybe he becomes suicidal and is last seen jumping off a bridge. Even though no body is recovered, the available evidence is such that both the secular and ecclesiastical authorities pronounce the husband dead. Fast-forward ten years. The widow has remarried. But suddenly the dead husband shows up very much alive. It turns out he survived the plane crash and was captured by the enemy, or that he faked his own death. I have no doubt that the secular authorities wouldn’t be interested in pursuing bigamy charges, since there was no criminal intent or negligence on the part of the wife. There might be some paperwork to fill out as a formality, but they would let the second marriage stand. But what would the church’s view be? I can imagine that the wife might be obliged to have her second marriage ecclesiastically anulled, as the church considers marriage to be “till death do us part”, and it was later proven that there was no death. Is this correct? If she refused to accept the anullment, wouldn’t the remarried couple be considered living in sin, and barred from communion? Would any children they have be canon-legally bastards? (I know that children they had _before_ discovering the husband survived are OK, as children in putative marriages are legitimate even if the marriage is later discovered to be invalid.) [/QUOTE] From _NULLITY of MARRIAGE_, F. J. Sheed, 1959: > [@](#): > > In Church law absence alone, even long absence, does not give > rise to a presumption of death: there must be some evidence > that the missing partner has died. But it need not be > absolutely conclusive–it will suffice if the accounts of > witnesses, for example, or the circumstances in which the > missing person was last heard of, convince the appropriate > Church authorities. If the party presumed dead is not dead, > then the original marriage still stands and the second union > is not marriage: for the man and woman to cohabit after the > discovery that the first partner was alive after all would be > the sin of adultery. So, yes to everything; any children born after that would be illegitimate (technically not _bastardi_, but _nothi_, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia) and possibly not legitimable. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remarriage-after-putative-death-of-spouse-canon-law/408316/4 "2007-06-18T05:39:50Z")
Extract from the current Code that deals with the process in the case of the presumed death of a spouse (Canon 1707): > [@](#): > > §1. Whenever the death of a spouse cannot be proven by an authentic ecclesiastical or civil document, the other spouse is not regarded as free from the bond of marriage until the diocesan Bishop has issued a declaration that death is presumed. > > §2. The diocesan Bishop can give the declaration mentioned in §1 only if, after making suitable investigations, he has reached moral certainty concerning the death of the spouse from the depositions of witnesses, from hearsay and from other indications. The mere absence of the spouse, no matter for how long a period, is not sufficient. > > §3. In uncertain and involved cases, the Bishop is to consult the Apostolic See.