Not Divorced Before Third Marriage

What is the name of your state? TEXAS **********************************************************************.
My Father is 81 years old. He married a woman about 15 years younger, about nine years ago, a non citizen of the USA. She was married previously in MEXICO, did not get a divorce from that marriage.
QUESTION : Is this marriage to my Father legal in the USA, if she did not get a divorce beforehand ? If not, is her new found citizenship in the USA in jeopardy ? Can the marriage be annulled after 9 years of marriage ?
I am trying to save my Father from her, she has been spending up all of his monthly retirement monies, he placed her on his checking/savings accounts about 3 years ago when his health started to fail. We are trying to convince him to divorce her but we feel that possibly by providing proof of her non divorce in the second marriage in Mexico, that he can have this current marriage to her annulled ******************************************.. Please advise !
Thank You ************************************************************************************..

tennesseeflyboy said:

What is the name of your state? TEXAS **********************************************************************.
My Father is 81 years old. He married a woman about 15 years younger, about nine years ago, a non citizen of the USA. She was married previously in MEXICO, did not get a divorce from that marriage.
QUESTION : Is this marriage to my Father legal in the USA, if she did not get a divorce beforehand ? If not, is her new found citizenship in the USA in jeopardy ? Can the marriage be annulled after 9 years of marriage ?
I am trying to save my Father from her, she has been spending up all of his monthly retirement monies, he placed her on his checking/savings accounts about 3 years ago when his health started to fail. We are trying to convince him to divorce her but we feel that possibly by providing proof of her non divorce in the second marriage in Mexico, that he can have this current marriage to her annulled ******************************************.. Please advise !
Thank You ************************************************************************************..

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The marriage to you father is not legal if she really did not divorce her previous husband. However, that is assuming of course, that she was actually married to the other guy.

If she has become a US citizen its unlikely that it would effect her citizenship however.

Your father might qualify for an annulment, but in general, divorces are quicker, easier and less expensive.

To clarify what LD stated (she wasn't wrong but i don't want YOU OP to misunderstand):
Legally your father is married. His marriage is voidable but NOT void. So yes he is married to her.
The fact that you want to "save" your father from her -- is your father happy? Is your main concern that the wife is spending your inheritance?

I am trying to save my Father from her, she has been spending up all of his monthly retirement monies, he placed her on his checking/savings accounts about 3 years ago when his health started to fail.

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Is your father mentally incompetent? Was he mentally incompetent (under the legal definition in which that you can prove that 9 years ago he was incompetent at the MOMENT of marriage) at the time of the marriage? Because if not, you cannot force the divorce. YOu might badger your dad into it but the choice is his. Are your dad's bills being paid? Is he happy with his marriage?

THANK YOU for those replies ********************************************************. To be clear, what we realize is that my Dad needs to be legally divorced or marriage annulled, in order to keep her from spending up all of his monies, that he needs to pay for his Health Care Facilities stay !!!
She has been systematically taking the monies out of his CHECKING/SAVINGS accounts and then transfers those funds to her own CHECKING account. YES, she has been paying the monthly housing bills with it and we are sure that she has also kept the rest of the monies to herself and sent off a lot of it to her other Family members, this has been going on for almost 3 years that I know of ********************************************************************** I also recently learned this morning from my Uncle, that my Father had mentioned of her pushing him around when she is mad or upset with him about anything ******************************************.... she has a bad temper and we feel that she is capable of harming him ******************************************.. this is WHY I am suggesting that I have to SAVE him from her !!! I don't need his money, I have no ulterior motives here, but only to help my Father. This is a very bad situation, we are trying to get some guidance on how to approach this. We are prepared to work it out in amicable fashion, if possible **********************************************************************..... but we feel that she is not going to return the act in kind.
Thank You

If she is pushing him around and abusing him you need to find an attorney that can help you elder abuse and such. HOW does she have access to HIS checking accounts -- or are they joint accounts?

To continue the discussion here ********************************************************...... He allowed her to sign onto his checking account/savings accounts about 3 years ago when his health started to fail him.
The whole thing is messed up, she might be an abusive spouse and having access to all of his monies **********************************************************************. not good. That is why I decided to step in with Power of Attorney. I plan to consult with Attorney as soon as I can get back to Texas.
Thank You **********************************************************************....

I am going to throw a few things out here for you to consider. I am in no way defending your father's wife, but if there is any chance that your father is suffering some form of dementia, its best to consider these things.

My father has Alzheimers. When it first started, before we were certain that was the problem, dad got very problematic. One of the first things to go with Alzheimers is the ability to recognize/understand numbers. He spent money like there was no tommorrow, and didn't even understand what he was doing.

My parents always kept their finances separate, as some married couples do, but one of the first things that my mother had to do was get herself put on his accounts, to make sure that his bills got paid and that things were under control.

My dad went out to lunch everyday before the Alzheimers got bad. He was a very social person. He was literally giving 30.00 or 80.00 tips for 20.00 lunches, because he would hand the server a bill and say keep the change. He never had anything but 50's or 100's in his wallet, because he would go to the bank and ask the teller to give him half of whatever was in his checking account at the time, in cash, have the teller fill out the slip, and he would sign it.

He also got just a little bit physically abusive with my mother, because he was confused and frustated and she had to stand up to him. He also claimed constantly that she was abusing him and stealing from him etc, etc., because she was controlling the money...and yes, she DID move alot of money into accounts he didn't know about (but his name was always on them) to protect the money from HIM. He complained about this constantly to our youngest brother, and our youngest brother believed him and had very ugly things to say about our mother for quite a while....until HE accepted that dad had Alzheimers.

So...you may be totally correct that your father's wife is playing games with his money, and/or is abusive to him. However there is also a chance that your father is suffering from some form of dementia, early onset, and you may be unfairly judging her.

Once you get back to TX, observe your father carefully and observe his inteaction with his wife, try to talk to her. Make sure that you have a clear handle on the situation before you go in with all guns blazing.

I have been doing my parents taxes for a while (I am a tax professional) and I was the one who made my mother realize that she had to take some control. My parents have been retired for 12 years now, and since mom took control their net worth has actually increased, whereas before that, their net worth was decreasing at a scary rate.

Again, I am in no way defending his wife or making an assumption that their situation is anything like my parent's. I am simply stating that the possibility exists, and that you need to have a clear handle on what is happening before you go in with all guns blazing.

I thank god daily that my mother never knew how ugly my youngest's brother's thoughts were about her. It would have devistated her.

Hello, I fully understand the last post **********************************************************************.. and I do appreciate that you make the point of not rushing to judgement.
I was able to spend 3 weeks with my Dad during the last visit ******************************************. and I have made numerous visits in the past, but not that long, typically for one week.
From discussions with his Wife, and the way his health has been degrading ****************************.. I feel quite comfortable in my assessment of what has been happening there.
Actually, have just found out that the way she has moved the monies out of his accounts in large sums, and taken more than what was required ******************************************... plus the very real possibility of her abusive nature towards him ********************************************************. is placing her in very precarious position.
We are quite certain of the fact that she did not get a Divorce from second marriage, although it was down in Mexico, and we are at this time working to get the records up here so we can use them, if necessary.
What my Father needs from this woman, is a clean cut ********************************************************. uncontested divorce. He needs his retirement monies now, to survive ******************************************.... to pay for his skilled nursing care and a roof over his head. He is broke, the accounts are basically empty except for very little money at this time.
Thank You