Legal Question in Family Law in California

Hi

This is a tricky one to challenge you dealing with bigamous activity.

Facts:

Married a American girl in Jamaica January 2008, and signed all the legal paperwork, supplied by the vicar.

We were living in California at the time.

She had a "marriage of convenience" in place that took place in NYC, that was not annulled until May of 2008.

I never registered the Jamaican marriage certificate at the Orange County Courthouse in CA.

We both live in NJ now, and an unrelated case is being tried there.

Question: Is this still a bigamous issue?

A friend who has some legal knowledge stated.

"I am not so concerned about the possible bigamous marriage situation. The statute of limitations in California for bigamy is 1 year from the date of the second marriage and if a bigamous marriage did occur, the second marriage is considered null and void."

Does any of this above statement statement ring true?

Thank you...have a blessed day.


Asked on 3/21/11, 12:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Some of it rings true. Bigamy can be charged against the bigamous spouse as a misdemeanor or a felony in California. I am not a criminal law expert but if I read the statutes correctly, absent a special rule for a particular crime (which I did not find for bigamy) the limitations is one year for misdemeanor charges and three years for felony charges. Interestingly, if the other spouse, the one who is not already married, knowingly enters into the bigamous marriage, it is always a felony. So it sounds like you are both clear of the criminal aspects of the matter. Your friend is right, however, that the second marriage is null and void, because there is no statute of limitiations on the civil law aspects of bigamy. You two are not legally married in any state.

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Answered on 3/21/11, 9:51 am


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