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  1. #1
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    Sep 2017
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    Default Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    My question involves a marriage in the state of: Florida/Texas

    My husband was previously married and filled out divorce paperwork in the state of Florida where he was married to his ex about 7 years ago. He submitted all of the papers to her and she said everything was filed. He moved to Texas where we got married about 3 years ago. Today, his ex, found me on facebook and said he never got divorced. We are trying to obtain a copy of the divorce certificate in order to fix this situation but don't have a copy of it. She is manipulative, so it may be a rush to panic for no reason. However, we don't want to be breaking the law either if she just never filed like she had stated.

    On the one hand, he has been paying for the things agreed to in their "agreement" for the last 5 years. If his ex never actually filed the paperwork (which I think may be the case), what legal risks does he face right now? Is there anything he needs to do to protect himself legally? I know he is going to do the paperwork in person if she, in fact, did not actually file and finalize everything as she stated. We got married in Texas and we still live here - his ex still lives in Florida. They have adult children, no shared property or assets, etc. I know technically our marriage is void if the paperwork has not been completed for the divorce but we are trying to make sure he avoids any criminal responsibility since she lied about the paperwork in the first place. Any suggestions on next steps?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    1,131

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Your "husband" is a fool quite frankly.

    There is no divorce unless there is a decree issued and signed by a judge. Did he REALLY think that giving his manipulative wife some papers would result in her doing it on her own?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    18,340

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Quote Quoting msrmfp
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    Any suggestions on next steps?
    Yes.

    First thing tomorrow you start making phone calls to the family courts in the Florida counties where his ex has lived for the last 5 years and see if there is a divorce case somewhere with his name on it.

    You can google the court locations and phone numbers.

    Shouldn't take you more than a half hour to run through them.

    If there is one, you order a certified copy of the decree mailed to you. You (or he) can use a credit card. It ain't rocket science.

    If there is no record of a divorce the next step is for him to hire a divorce lawyer in your city and file for divorce. Shouldn't be too difficult since there are no custody issues or property issues.

    Please don't say you can't afford a lawyer. You can't afford not to have a lawyer. A divorce lawyer will be a lot cheaper than a criminal defense attorney if he gets prosecuted for bigamy.

    Meantime, he'd better damned well stop paying her for anything any more.

  4. #4
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Your husband needs to verify the status of the divorce case with the court where it was filed.

    If he's not divorced, he should hire a lawyer to complete the divorce. Once divorced, he can remarry you -- as your marriage would be bigamous and thus void.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
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    4

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Thanks for your reply. She messaged him yesterday saying she wanted the divorce. He responded that he thought all of it had been taken care of when he paid for it and completed all of the paperwork about 7 years ago. Again, he is too trusting...I, however, am not. Unfortunately he was married in Jacksonville, FL and their records office is closed because of the storms and flooding there. I agree that there will be no payments until this is resolved. We thought about annulling/ending our marriage until this is resolved to avoid the bigamy situation but I need to get a copy of that record before I do that just in case she is being difficult again and totally lying. Would that be the smart thing to do from a legal standpoint until this is resolved?

    This honestly threw him for a loop because it has been about 7 years and he is just now hearing about it. Given her history, I am not surprised, but that is really beside the point.

    Now, my next question is to question if he can file for divorce in Texas for someone living in Florida? I thought he would have to do it in Jacksonville. If that is not the case, I will look at getting a local lawyer to handle.

    Thank you so much for your helpful advice.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    671

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    I don't think you can throw all the blame on her - there were two in the marriage and your guy was just as responsible for his part in the ball being dropped. Why is he not sorting this out for himself?

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    He apparently has a property settlement that he would want to enforce, and for that it would make sense to work through the courts in a state that has jurisdiction over the marital estate.

    If he simply wants a divorce that doesn't address any other issues, having confirmed that he is not in fact already divorced, he can do that locally. If he's lucky, perhaps his wife will consent to have property issues resolved in Texas.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
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    4

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    He is sorting through it himself...I was just coming here to get clarification and some advice. I agree he should have been more on top of this. She gave him verbal notice 7 years ago that everything was complete. I am not that trusting and would demand documentation, but that is me. They have no property together or anything else except debt that he has been consistently paying his portion of.

    Thanks. They don't have any property together. That was sold about 6 years ago. I will get him to check with a lawyer locally and see what he can do. I was just trying to get some advice here because this came out of nowhere and neither of us have experience with this type of thing. My biggest concern was the bigamy aspect. The divorce can be taken care of. They have been communicating about their grandchild, etc. for years so the fact that she drops this bombshell now was a surprise to everyone.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    16,474

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Quote Quoting msrmfp
    View Post
    He is sorting through it himself...I was just coming here to get clarification and some advice. I agree he should have been more on top of this. She gave him verbal notice 7 years ago that everything was complete. I am not that trusting and would demand documentation, but that is me. They have no property together or anything else except debt that he has been consistently paying his portion of.

    Thanks. They don't have any property together. That was sold about 6 years ago. I will get him to check with a lawyer locally and see what he can do. I was just trying to get some advice here because this came out of nowhere and neither of us have experience with this type of thing. My biggest concern was the bigamy aspect. The divorce can be taken care of. They have been communicating about their grandchild, etc. for years so the fact that she drops this bombshell now was a surprise to everyone.
    The person who files for divorce files where they live. If she were the one filing she would file where she lives. If there are children and property involved there can be practical exceptions to that however. Custody can only be decided in the state where the children live, so someone might file for divorce in their ex's state if that is where their children live, so as not to have to file a separate case for custody.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
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    4

    Default Re: Remarrying After a Divorce That May Not Have Been Completed

    Thank you! That is good to know. This has been a nightmare. I appreciate your help.

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