Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

My husband recently passed away in July. We had been separated for almost 22 years, but we were never legally divorced. Several years ago he was seeing another woman, and here within this past year found out he supposedly had been re-married, however I do not see how this is possible seeing how there were never any divorce papers filed against our marriage. I went to the courthouse to look into it, and the county clerk verified that there were no papers filed against me. The woman he was living with has 4 children from a previous marriage that were not his own, other than one son that we had together before we had separated. My question is, am I responsible for any debts my husband may have had, or is my son entitled to any awards (money) that he may have had even though he was living with another woman considering the fact that we were still legally married and there was never a divorce filed against our marriage?


Asked on 9/24/09, 2:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Dunn Mark D. Dunn

You are not responsible for his debts (generally speaking - there are a few exceptions, for instance, if he incurred a debt for "necessaries" such as surgery, doctors, hospitalization).

The fact that he didn't file for divorce in ONE county doesn't mean that he never filed for divorce. You need to check with the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Austin (they have a website). Texas has 254 counties.

If he had significant property when he died, half of it could belong to you. You'll want to check with the county clerk's office in the county where he died (from time to time) to see if an estate is ever opened up.

You'll also want to read the case of Davis vs. Davis, 521 SW2d 603 (1975).

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Answered on 10/08/09, 6:21 pm


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