Legal Question in Family Law in New York

An 81 yr old man, beginning stages of dementia, wants to be married to an illegal alien, so that she is bound to take care of him. The "bride" of course, wants to marry the man so that she can get her citizenship.

The family is wary of the future "spouse", as the 81 yr old man has been previously married to an illegal alien 10 yrs ago. His ex-wife, after staying with him for 2 months, accused him of domestic abuse, and had him arrested. She did not press charges (because he never harmed her), but based on the arrest, was able to get a speedy divorce, and was granted citizenship. During their sham marriage, she stole his identity.

The family is now afraid that the new "bride" is going to do the same thing. As the man in question is mentally and physically unstable, is there anything that the family can do to prevent the marriage from taking place?

Best Regards,

A.


Asked on 10/23/09, 8:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Markowitz Michael A. Markowitz, PC

There are different stages of dementia. If the father has capactiy there is nothing you can do to prevent the marriage. If the father has little cognitive ability, you may want to file an Article 81 petition for guardianship.

If you father generally has mental capacity, you may want to try to convince your father to sign a pre-marital agreement to protect his assets. You may also want power of attorney to handle his affairs and/or place all of his assets into joint name with trusted members of the family.

Mike.

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Answered on 10/29/09, 7:49 am


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