It would be very well to inquire again, you can go through your current diocese, diocese where either partner resided or worked at time of marriage, is worthwhile because there very well be differences in how much time it takes–some tribunals are much busier or less well staffed. It would only be an extremely complex investigation way out of the norm that could come anywhere near this cost. I also would ask the horse’s mouth, the tribunal itself, not just the parish priest or a secretary.
no it is not rare. All annulment decisions have an automatic appeal, and either party may appeal to Rome. The Kennedy annulment was granted, we do not know the grounds because those proceedings are completely confidential, and do not pertain to anything that happened after the marriage, but to circumstances that existed at the time of the marriage.
Last year I re-started the annulment process paperwork. Contacted my ex, after not speaking with her in 25 years, turns out she married a Catholic several years after we divorced. Our previous marriage was then deemed, by her parish, as non-canonical form. Nobody ever contacted me on this, so my wife & I spent 20 years not knowing we could have had our union convalidated at any time.
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