Estranged Spouse need help...

My "ex" and I were married in L.A. county in Ca, I am a native he was an established resident, two years later I left him in his home state of IL only to hear from him shortly after then never again. This past October marked our 10th year of marriage, 8 long years ago I started a trek to seperate from this "man" but never had the gumption or the wit to begin to find out how to get our marriage legally ended. Note: we have no children together, no property, and have not accrued major debt together.
My first question is, Can I still have my marriage dissolved even after being legally married for 10 years?

Is there a way to find out if he had the gumption to get a divorce claiming he couldn't find me?

Also, I am a candidate to become Catholic, I am trying to avoid divorce. Are there any ideas? Plus I will have to do this on my own, I will find him if I must but as of now I have no idea where he is living.

Thank you in advance for your answers, and have a great weekend!

MsV907 said:

My "ex" and I were married in L.A. county in Ca, I am a native he was an established resident, two years later I left him in his home state of IL only to hear from him shortly after then never again. This past October marked our 10th year of marriage, 8 long years ago I started a trek to seperate from this "man" but never had the gumption or the wit to begin to find out how to get our marriage legally ended. Note: we have no children together, no property, and have not accrued major debt together.
My first question is, Can I still have my marriage dissolved even after being legally married for 10 years?

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Sure you can, just file for divorce

MsV907 said:

Is there a way to find out if he had the gumption to get a divorce claiming he couldn't find me?

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You can do a search of the county records where he is living and find the information.

MsV907 said:

Also, I am a candidate to become Catholic, I am trying to avoid divorce.

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You have been legally married fro 10 years and even if you can show that you have not been together for the last 8 years that stll leaves 2 years where you were together. From what you have stated you probably do not qualify for an annulment.

MsV907 said:

Are there any ideas? Plus I will have to do this on my own, I will find him if I must but as of now I have no idea where he is living.

Thank you in advance for your answers, and have a great weekend!

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I am not sure on CA. but one of the other members here could probably answer this question for you to see if you can do a service by newspaper advertisement.

MsV907 said:

Also, I am a candidate to become Catholic, I am trying to avoid divorce. Are there any ideas? Plus I will have to do this on my own, I will find him if I must but as of now I have no idea where he is living.

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You will need to either track him down or get a divorce by publication (which will probably require an attorney).

The Catholic Church has funny rules about divorce. While you can't get a divorce, they grant annulments quite freely. This is very different from a LEGAL annulment. The typical process is that the couple gets a legal divorce and then an annulment through the Church. The Church's annulment has no legal meaning, but it makes the Church happy.

The complexity in your case is that you're not divorced yet. There are two possibilities:

1. You go ahead and join the Church as a married person (there is no rule that your spouse needs to be there) and THEN get the legal divorce and church annulment.

2. You get a divorce now and then join the church. They might or might not require the Church annulment if you are divorced before you become Catholic. Ask your priest about it.