Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
Finding out I was not legally divorced when I remarried
I believed my first marriage at age 19 to be annulled in 1987 and I remarried in 1990. I am now 36 and I have lived for the past 13 years as the wife of another man and we have a child. I recently discovered that the court document I received in 1987 was not a final dissoulution of marriage and that I was only legally divorced in 1994. I am heartsick at the idea that my current marriage which took place in Virginia may not be legal. How is a situation like this best handled?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Finding out I was not legally divorced when I remarried
Without doing any research into Texas law or even Virginia law, my sense is that you handle this by having a very quiet civil ceremony by which you (re)marry your husband. That should make everything legal, and preserve your rights as a wife.
No need to tell anyone, unless you want to.
Re: Finding out I was not legally divorced when I remarried
Paul Ward gives safe counsel. I would agree. If you are in Texas, you are probably in pretty decent shape and if you and your husband are still a couple, I think courts would say that you are married. Don't be heartsick! Congratulations. Still, a civil ceremony will probably get you over any lingering questions (whether it is a common law marriage with a statute of limitations from the time you and your husband separate if ever, or whether the prior marriage can be attacked though the family code says that it shouldn't) Read the family code (ther first part of it) linked from my website.
A civil ceremony will give you additional protection if you move to another state that does not have the legal protection afforded by Texas
http://www.reasonable-doubt.com
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