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Married Twice?

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Q

quirozdaniel

Guest
I married my wife while she was still married(her marriage took place in Texas). I married her March 2000 in the state of Nevada, her divorce to her first marriage was finalized in October 2000. My question/s are:

1. Was the second marriage ever valid?

1a. Would we have to annul/divorce the second marriage and
remarry?

2. Is the second marriage valid now that she is divorced?

3. What are the legal ramifications of our actions?

4. What do we have to do to undo the wrong that we caused?
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
quirozdaniel said:
I married my wife while she was still married(her marriage took place in Texas). I married her March 2000 in the state of Nevada, her divorce to her first marriage was finalized in October 2000. My question/s are:

1. Was the second marriage ever valid?

1a. Would we have to annul/divorce the second marriage and
remarry?

2. Is the second marriage valid now that she is divorced?

3. What are the legal ramifications of our actions?

4. What do we have to do to undo the wrong that we caused?

My response:

Well, I have bad news, and more bad news.

1. Your marriage is void (You're not married);

2. Your wife comitted a felony;

3. If you knew your wife was not divorced, you've also comitted a felony.


Nevada Revised Statutes:

NRS 125.290 Void marriages. All marriages which are prohibited by law because of:

1. . . .

2. Either of the parties having a former husband or wife then living, if solemnized within this state, are void without any decree of divorce or annulment or other legal proceedings. A marriage void under this section shall not bar prosecution for the crime of bigamy pursuant to NRS 201.160.
[18:33:1861; B § 211; BH § 487; C § 498; RL § 2354; NCL § 4066]-(NRS A 1959, 195; 1967, 531; 1973, 201)


NRS 201.160 Bigamy : Definition; penalty.

1. Bigamy consists in the having of two wives or two husbands at one time, knowing that the former husband or wife is still alive.

2. If a married person marries any other person while the former husband or wife is alive, the person so offending is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

3. It is not necessary to prove either of the marriages by the register and certificate thereof, or other record evidence, but those marriages may be proved by such evidence as is admissible to prove a marriage in other cases, and when the second marriage has taken place without this state, cohabitation in this state after the second marriage constitutes the commission of the crime of bigamy.

4. This section does not extend:
(a) To a person whose husband or wife has been continually absent from that person for the space of 5 years before the second marriage, if he or she did not know the husband or wife to be living within that time.
(b) To a person who is, at the time of the second marriage, divorced by lawful authority from the bonds of the former marriage, or to a person where the former marriage has been by lawful authority declared void.
[1911 C&P § 191; RL § 6456; NCL § 10138]-(NRS A 1967, 475; 1979, 1428; 1995, 1197)

NRS 201.170 Marrying a married person. If a person, being unmarried, knowingly marries the husband or wife of another, that person is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
[1911 C&P § 192; RL § 6457; NCL § 10139]-(NRS A 1967, 475; 1979, 1429; 1995, 1198)

IAAL
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Renodan said:
A friend of mine, also in Nevada, is looking for an annulment based on the fact his wife was married to another guy when they got married in Tucson Az last year.

I see that NRS 201.160 Bigamy : Definition; penalty. states:

...when the second marriage has taken place without this state, cohabitation in this state after the second marriage constitutes the commission of the crime of bigamy...

Does this is fact mean the simple act of living together as a married couple, while in this bigamous situation is punishable as having actually been married in Nevada? Can she be guilty of Bigamy in multiple states for the same Bigamous action?

Also, he's confident she is going to assert that she thought it was "taken care of" and that he knew about it. He maintains he was told that her previous marriage had been properly terminated. And, although he intially discovered that she was Bigamous after he was married, he was led to believe that she was going to get it taken care of. He just recently learned that the divorce action was terminated without prejudice, due to non action, less than a month ago. While she might claim this is a putative situation, her lack of due dilligence in not following through with the termination of the previous marriage alledgely discovered after the fact, voids both the marriage and her putative claim. Does it not? Could she even proceed with divorce proceedings for the first marriage, without annuling the second?

She is also now asserting that her previous marriage was also void as a result of a bigamous act of her previous husband. If this in fact true, would not her preivious marriage be more correctly labeled as voidable, thus imposing upon her the duty to terminate that previous marriage, before getting remarried?

Sorry for the long-winded question.
Delete this post here and start your own thread. I realize that the situations are very similar...but the advice will get very confused if we try to respond to two different poster's situations on the same thread.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
quirozdaniel said:
I married my wife while she was still married(her marriage took place in Texas). I married her March 2000 in the state of Nevada, her divorce to her first marriage was finalized in October 2000. My question/s are:

1. Was the second marriage ever valid?

1a. Would we have to annul/divorce the second marriage and
remarry?

2. Is the second marriage valid now that she is divorced?

3. What are the legal ramifications of our actions?

4. What do we have to do to undo the wrong that we caused?
Based on what IAAL quoted your marriage is void. Therefore you shouldn't have to annul it or divorce....and you should be able to simply get married again.

However....its probably in your best interest to get a consult with a local attorney to make sure that you are taking the correct steps.
 

diggems10

Junior Member
bigomy

I recently found out my husband is still married to two other women. Am I legally married? Do I have to get a divorce? He is incoserated. I live in Texas. What do I need to do? I have been told the marriage would be void since he was already married. Do I need to file
Bigomy charges?
 
Last edited:

mistoffolees

Senior Member
Based on what IAAL quoted your marriage is void. Therefore you shouldn't have to annul it or divorce....and you should be able to simply get married again.
That is not correct. By staying married to her after she dissolved the first marriage, the second marriage becomes valid.

Texas Annulment
"However . . . if you stay married to the person and they dissolve their first marriage, then you automatically become married to them when the first marriage ends. Now let's talk about voidable marriages."

Not to mention, of course, that TX has common law marriage. By acting as though they were married for the past 9 years after the first marriage was dissolved, they are probably married:
Common Law Marriage Fact Sheet

OP really needs to see an attorney, but it looks to me like he needs a divorce.

As for the bigamy, it is no longer relevant for both of the reasons given above. If he wanted to make an issue of it, he should have done it ages ago. TX was trying this year to increase the Statute of Limitations on Bigamy and I don't know if they succeeded, but even the proposal was for only 7 years, so it's too late to make a formal charge.

Even if he DID try to make a formal charge, all it would accomplish is to create an acrimonious divorce.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
That is not correct. By staying married to her after she dissolved the first marriage, the second marriage becomes valid.

Texas Annulment
"However . . . if you stay married to the person and they dissolve their first marriage, then you automatically become married to them when the first marriage ends. Now let's talk about voidable marriages."

Not to mention, of course, that TX has common law marriage. By acting as though they were married for the past 9 years after the first marriage was dissolved, they are probably married:
Common Law Marriage Fact Sheet

OP really needs to see an attorney, but it looks to me like he needs a divorce.

As for the bigamy, it is no longer relevant for both of the reasons given above. If he wanted to make an issue of it, he should have done it ages ago. TX was trying this year to increase the Statute of Limitations on Bigamy and I don't know if they succeeded, but even the proposal was for only 7 years, so it's too late to make a formal charge.

Even if he DID try to make a formal charge, all it would accomplish is to create an acrimonious divorce.
This thread is originally 9 years old, with a necropost 4 years ago and now another necropost again.
 

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