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  #1  
Old 01-18-2006, 11:06 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4
Unhappy

Abandoned for 10+ years!

New York State

My fiance married a woman in 1995. She disappeared soon after (turns out she just wanted her green card!) and he has not seen or heard from her since and does not know where she is (he does have her SS#). Because she has been gone for over 10 years, does this classify the marriage as invalid?? If we get married (I am Canadian) will my marriage to him be void because of this??
  #2  
Old 01-19-2006, 08:18 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 31,761
Quote:
Originally Posted by karamac
New York State

My fiance married a woman in 1995. She disappeared soon after (turns out she just wanted her green card!) and he has not seen or heard from her since and does not know where she is (he does have her SS#). Because she has been gone for over 10 years, does this classify the marriage as invalid?? If we get married (I am Canadian) will my marriage to him be void because of this??
He NEEDS a divorce. And you cannot marry him until he obtains one.
  #3  
Old 01-19-2006, 09:21 AM
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 41,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogal
He NEEDS a divorce. And you cannot marry him until he obtains one.
However, with an attorney he can easily divorce her even if she can't be located.
  #4  
Old 01-19-2006, 11:04 AM
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If we find her using her SS# it should not be hard for him to get a divorce from her...

However, getting a divorce using the claim of abandonment, is it POSSIBLE for him to do this without a lawyer?? Neither he nor I (I am a student) have the money to hire a lawyer for a divorce. Can this not be done by simply following the steps (ie: doing a search for her, posting the supbena in the paper, etc. etc. at the instruction of ajudge) necessary??
  #5  
Old 01-19-2006, 01:38 PM
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 41,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by karamac
If we find her using her SS# it should not be hard for him to get a divorce from her...

However, getting a divorce using the claim of abandonment, is it POSSIBLE for him to do this without a lawyer?? Neither he nor I (I am a student) have the money to hire a lawyer for a divorce. Can this not be done by simply following the steps (ie: doing a search for her, posting the supbena in the paper, etc. etc. at the instruction of ajudge) necessary??
Its very difficult to do without an attorney. It can even be difficult to get the permission to serve someone by publication without an attorney.

He should at least go get a consult with one.
  #6  
Old 01-19-2006, 03:45 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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How much should he expect this to cost if he does get a lawyer??
Also, how do we go about finding a lawyer just to consult with?
  #7  
Old 01-19-2006, 03:54 PM
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 41,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by karamac
How much should he expect this to cost if he does get a lawyer??
Also, how do we go about finding a lawyer just to consult with?
Open the yellow pages and look for divorce lawyers. Some may even say "free consults" in their ads. You don't need the best lawyer in town to accomplish this. Its going to be a matter of paperwork only.

The lawyer will tell you how much it is going to cost.
  #8  
Old 01-19-2006, 10:03 PM
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So, just for the sake of conversation...

What would happen if he didn't get a divorce and we got married??
  #9  
Old 01-19-2006, 10:57 PM
AHA AHA is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karamac
So, just for the sake of conversation...

What would happen if he didn't get a divorce and we got married??
Then your marriage would not be valid and you would have wasted time and money on a wedding that in theory will never count. He would also have committed bigamy knowing full well that he is still married to someone else.
Why would you want to do such a stupid thing?
  #10  
Old 01-20-2006, 12:13 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,148
OMG! He stayed married all these years she was missing?

Does he realize that any child she may have created during this time is legally HIS? That if she was collecting welfare for any or all of the children she had, the states can come after HIM to pay them back? That she can file for, and be granted, a child support order? HE could suddenly find himself in debt for tens of thousands of dollars in back CS?

Did he file any legal seperation? Did he do ANYTHING?
__________________
Adoptive parents ARE "real" parents. Sharing genes is not what makes you a "parent"!
  #11  
Old 01-20-2006, 06:17 AM
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 41,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by karamac
So, just for the sake of conversation...

What would happen if he didn't get a divorce and we got married??
Then your marriage would be illegal and he would be guilty of the crime of bigamy. It would be a really dumb move.
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