Lost Mexican Divorce Papers

A friend who now lives in Florida was divorced in 1968 in Mexico. The divorce papers are believed to have been lost in a fire in New York circa 1975. Contacts with the Mexican authorities have resulted in nothing. The former husband is still living in NY, but there has been no contact between the two people since the divorce, and contact at this time is extremely undesirable.

What can be done to provide legal documentation of the divorce?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Your friend has nothing to worry about. He doesn't need to find the Mexican divorce papers.

You see, while those papers look fancy, with all the ribbons, stamps, and pretty colors, they are not worth anything in the United States. Never have been since 1960.

Mexican divorces were outlawed in the United States in 1960, and are not recognized here. Therefore, he's been married all of this time, even though he thought he was divorced. Somebody fed your friend a lot of junk, and took his money.

So, your friend needs to start all over again, with a divorce that is started in the State where he's living. Even if he can't find the other party, there are procedures that still can be used to obtain a proper, legal, divorce.

IAAL

[JETX]

Wow, I bet that made someone mess their shorts!!!

However, with all due respect to IAAL, I had to do a little checking into the broad statement that Mexican divorces are not valid, and it appears that, at least in some states, they can be.

For example, in March 2001, the Colorado Court of Appeals did waive a validity claim to a Mexican divorce, but it was due to procedural errors, not just location. Here is an excerpt of their ruling:
"Colorado courts recognize a decree from a foreign country as valid and enforceable under the common law principle of comity. Milhoux v. Linder, 902
P.2d 856 (Colo. App. 1995). The resolution of matters adjudicated in the foreign action will be res judicata. Kraudel v. Benner, 148 Colo. 525, 366 P.2d 667 (1961). However, conclusive effect may be given to a foreign judgment only if there has been an opportunity for a full and fair trial before a court of competent jurisdiction and only if the underlying claim for relief is not repugnant to the public policy of the state. Milhoux v. Linder, supra; see also Restatement (Second) Conflict of Laws §104 comment (1971) (a judgment rendered in a foreign nation where there has not been adequate notice or an adequate opportunity to be heard may be effective in the country where rendered, but it will not be recognized or enforced in the United States).
Further, where a party relies upon the judgment of a court of a foreign state as res judicata, such party must allege and prove proper jurisdiction of that court. People v. Madden, 104 Colo. 252, 90 P.2d 621 (1939)."
Source: [url]http://www.cobar.org/coappcts/ca2001/ct03152.htm[/url]

As I read this, if the Mexican divorce included adequate notice and opportunity to be heard, it CAN be recognized and enforced in the U.S. (at least in Colorado).

Here is another interesting turn on this:
[url]http://www.foreigndivorce.com/legal.html[/url]

most states of the mexican union have great web pages (they ar of course in spanish). A copy of the divorce decree can be obtained from them for a $20 processing fee. They just need as much information as possible (date, place, names of people involved) so they can track it down. It takes a week to process for the state of chihuahua, should be similar in other states. This is the web address for the state of chihuahua [url]http://www.chihuahua.gob.mx/[/url]
The others should be equivalent, just swap out the state name.
Hope this helps.