Legal Question in Family Law in Nevada

Marriage before divorce

I was married to my husband in Las Vegas in January 2006, however, I found out that my husband did not obtain his final divorce decree until May 24th 2006. Is my marriage legal? Can I get it annulled because of the circumstances? Please respond to my email address and thank you very much.


Asked on 6/02/06, 6:58 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Marriage before divorce

In Virginia, if your were fraudulently induced into the Vegas marriage by your husband who at the time knew full well(or had reason to know) that his previous marriage had not yet been legally dissolved, you would be eligible to file for an annulment.

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Answered on 6/02/06, 7:06 am
James Wilson James H. Wilson, Jr., Attorney & Counsellor at Law

Re: Marriage before divorce

You should consult with a Virginia lawyer to determine the applicability of the law to the facts of your particular case. The following is general legal information concerning annulments in Virginia.

An annulment establishes that a marriage never existed, whereas a divorce terminates the legal status of husband and wife. In both cases the parties may remarry, but there may be important consequences to determining that a marriage never existed, such as avoiding the rights to spousal support and property distribution that flow from the marital status.

There are two types of marriages subject to annulment: void and voidable. A void marriage does not require an action of annulment while a voidable marriage may be annulled by one of the parties. Marriages that are void from the start or void ab initio because they seriously offend the strong public policy of Virginia include the following: bigamous or polygamous marriages, incestuous marriages, same-sex marriages, and underage marriages. Marriages that are merely voidable include the following: marriage based on fraud or duress; lack of capacity to consent by either party; a natural or incurable impotency existing at the time of marriage; conviction of a felony without knowledge of the other; where the wife is pregnant by another at the time of the marriage, without the knowledge of the husband; where the husband has fathered a child born to another within 10 months of the marriage, without the knowledge of the wife; or when either had been a prostitute, without the knowledge of the other.

There is a two year time limit for a party seeking an annulment on the grounds of lack of capacity, fraud or duress, impotency, prior felony conviction, prior conception with another, or prostitution. In addition, the party applying for annulment on such grounds must not have cohabited with the other after knowledge of the facts giving rise to such grounds.

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Answered on 6/02/06, 7:43 am
Jeffrey Cogan Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Cogan, Chartered

Re: Marriage before divorce

Your marriage is void because he did not get a divorce. You can get an annulment in either where you live or in Las Vegas as Nevada has jurisdiction to annul the marriage.

My office can do the annulment start to finish, including mailing in about two weeks. You could remarry after the annulment is filed with the Court.

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Answered on 6/02/06, 10:40 am


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