Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Hello. My Dad supposively divorced my mother in Santo Domingo in 1974. He never provided her with a divorce decree but he did remarry 3 times after that in Puerto Rico. My Dad passed away this past September. My Mom as his first wife and as she never remarried is entitled to a portion of my Dads social security like so is his widow. WE have placed a search in Santo Domingo for the divorce decree and to date nothing has been found. Social Security is stating that without this divorce document there is nothing my Mom can do. She will have to file as the widow and she does not want to have to go that route if possible. Is there anyway since they have been seperated for over 30 years and he has remarried on 3 occasions obviously having to have showed some type of proof he had divorced my MOM that she can get a dissolution of marriage based on the fact in Santo Domingo there is a chance nothing will be found. If my Mom files as a widow than his current wife will loose her benefits and we would prefer going another route if possible. Please advise.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You do not need to show any documents when you remarry. So there is nothing that can be found in that course of action. You mother will have to file as the widow. the fact is, he may not have filed a divorce in Santo Domingo but just said that to her to keep from paying her any money. Your mother is entitled to whatever the benefits of her marriage to him were. If he had service time she will be entitled to that as well.
You would have to see if those other divorce files contain a copy of the old divorce decree. We would have to get the files fromn the clerk the records are likely in the clerks warehouse or scanned. Contact my office for free consultation 727-446-7659
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