Can you confess while in civil marriage only?

[Gorgias]

Anointing of an unconscious dying does not always leave the option…and i know my beloved mother was welcomed into heaven after her anointing, some 6 hours before her death…thankfully God’s concept of mercy and forgiveness is so glorious!

That’s correct. If it’s not possible for the recipient of absolution to approach the sacrament, it’s not as if it becomes invalid retroactively. However, if the possibility arises, the penitent should go to confession in the normative manner.

 

[Constantin]

I fully agree with that. It is really the notion of a “lack of form” that is at the core of the problem here.
As a Catholic, you are bound to the CIC which requires you to marry in the church.
Civil marriage is different from fornication or second marriages in this regard.