divorce california

My wife had filed for divorce in California, w'out my knowledge. I had left, taking my kid with me, still in the dark of her ulterior motives; to another state & invited her to join "us" if she wished. Not in touch w her for 15 yrs now. I asked my family to ask her re: divorce at 3 different times - & ea time she says "she went thru w the divorce". Howevr, she claims she has nvr known my whrabouts.
Now, are we divorced if I was nvr served papers?
If she a petitioner & I was unable to respond[respondent] & if she is legally divorced; am i also legally divorced?
I guess what I'm asking is whnevr thr is divorce isn't it always for both parties whether the 2nd party is aware or not? & if so can I remarry now?
Wht if I remarried on her word & after separated for 5 yrs [physically, nt legally] turns out she was lying, am I in very deep? I know thr are lot of Q's - howevr thy are quite technical in nature, & UR my only HOPE.Thx a bundle & a Merry X'mas to you, too.

aoke said:

My wife had filed for divorce in California, w'out my knowledge. I had left, taking my kid with me, still in the dark of her ulterior motives; to another state & invited her to join "us" if she wished. Not in touch w her for 15 yrs now. I asked my family to ask her re: divorce at 3 different times - & ea time she says "she went thru w the divorce". Howevr, she claims she has nvr known my whrabouts.
Now, are we divorced if I was nvr served papers?
If she a petitioner & I was unable to respond[respondent] & if she is legally divorced; am i also legally divorced?
I guess what I'm asking is whnevr thr is divorce isn't it always for both parties whether the 2nd party is aware or not? & if so can I remarry now?
Wht if I remarried on her word & after separated for 5 yrs [physically, nt legally] turns out she was lying, am I in very deep? I know thr are lot of Q's - howevr thy are quite technical in nature, & UR my only HOPE.Thx a bundle & a Merry X'mas to you, too.

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My response:

Thanks for all of the incomplete words. It may save you time, but I've got to take the time to figure out what you mean and hope I understand you in order to help you. Please use complete words.

If I understand you correctly, she could have filed without you. She could have had the Petition served on you via Publication in a newspaper of General Circulation. And, when you failed to see the legal publication in that newspaper, she then filed for a default and received a divorce.

However, that's only a guess. In order to make sure, you'll need to check with the courthouse nearest to where she lived at the time to see if there was ever a Petition filed. If you find it, you'll need to physically inspect the court file to determine whether there was a "Final Decree" of dissolution signed by the judge.

If there was, then you're divorced. If not, and you re-marry, you could be committing the crime and felony of Bigamy.

IAAL