Legal Question in Family Law in Utah
A man thought he was divorced before remarrying. After his death, it turns out he was never divorced from his first wife. Is the second marriage legal? Are children from that marriage legitimate?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If he was never legally divorced from his first wife, then his second marriage was void. However, at to the legitimacy of his children from his second marriage, I suspect the court would consider them to be legitimate in light of what would probably be a good faith belief that he was divorced. In any event, it should not affect the rights of his subsequent children to his estate. It may, however, have an impact on what claim his second wife may have in his estate. It certainly poses an interesting issue which the court may have to sort out from both a family and probate law perspective.