after 40 years of no contact are they still married?

[ccliffgale]

What is the name of your state?Maryland
My father abandoned family without trace or contact in 1962, saw kids again in late 90's, never saw or talked to wife again, she never remarried, he did, in California, and supposedly was divorced by wife; first wife died still with his name and insurance com says he gets money! she left unsigned will and instructions. Common law abandonment/ divorce? He never paid child support or had anything to do with family for over 30 years.

 

[nextwife]

Who was named beneficiary on the policy?

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Your facts are not clear.
Was you mother the first wife?
When did she die?
When did he remarry in California?
What facts do you know about this relationship?
Have you checked to see if there is a record of the divorce?
Where were they married?
Maryland does not recognize common law marriages.
There is no such thing as abandonment.
Consult with a probate attorney ASAP.
Have you applied to probate her estate?

 

[ccliffgale]

I am having much trouble figuring how to navigate this website. Hope this is correct to reply to the person who has attempted to help me with those questions I will try to answer here, though the ? are not now visible on comp! Father married and 3 children with first wife, vanished 1962 and no contact with wife ever again,visited grown children in late 90's. told us he had been remarried and living in Pasadena for years and had one child there and that second wife divorced him. His last known address in England. Mother died of car accident in 2002, estate already closed, no assets. She had accident insurance policy with no named beneficiary, so auto. to husband. Children alwasy assumed divorce but no papers. proof, and she died still with his name. Left will and note designating what she wanted done with monies but did not sign either of them! Was mentally ill, poor, lived on disabilty most of adult life, but functioned fairly well. I took care of all funeral/estate related matters, finished over a year ago, no claims by anyone. Insurance company says without proof otherwise Texas law requires money to husband. Since he is incommunicado over two years we do not even know if he knows of her death or any related matters. Since he abandoned family, never paid child support, allegedly remarried, etc, we think/hope he would in good faith not lay claim to the money which he knows was not intended for him, but we have not been able to get a response from him at last known address, so it all hangs in the air. Hope i answered the questions and clarified the tangle a bit. Thank You for your time.

 

[ccliffgale]

Who was named beneficiary on the policy?

Apparently no one, so according to agency Texas law sends to husband first, which is normal, then children, then estate. There is no estate. Mother left note for me designating her will but she did not even sign it or date the year. She also wrote a will back in 1989 signed by two witnesses but did not sign that either, so we have papers but they are not "legal." Thank you for trying to help us.

 

[ccliffgale]

Your facts are not clear.
Was you mother the first wife? Yes.
When did she die? Oct 31, 2002
When did he remarry in California? supposedly early 70's
What facts do you know about this relationship? supposedly one child
Have you checked to see if there is a record of the divorce? dont know how
Where were they married? maybe Pasadena
Maryland does not recognize common law marriages. okay
There is no such thing as abandonment. maybe there should be.
Consult with a probate attorney ASAP. There is no estate; small estate under 2000 with 18000 debt to credit cards settled over year ago, no claims left.
thank you very much for taking time to read and ask these questions.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Here is a webpage for the Superior court of Los Angeles, that should provide links to divorce records in LA county where Pasadena
http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/
If you can prove he was married & divorced that may help

If she wasn't competent, perhaps the wills wouldn't be valid anyway.
Did they live together in TX?

 

[ccliffgale]

Here is a webpage for the Superior court of Los Angeles, that should provide links to divorce records in LA county where Pasadena
http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/
If you can prove he was married & divorced that may help

If she wasn't competent, perhaps the wills wouldn't be valid anyway.
Did they live together in TX?

Thank You for the information so far. No, they never saw each other again since 1962/3. far as I know he never lived in Texas and she certainly never did, the office of the insurance policy holder is in Texas.
Again, thanks for your time and thoughts.

 

[LdiJ]

Thank You for the information so far. No, they never saw each other again since 1962/3. far as I know he never lived in Texas and she certainly never did, the office of the insurance policy holder is in Texas.
Again, thanks for your time and thoughts.

Where did your mother live in 1962/63?...and where did she live right after dad left? The courthouse there might be a place to start searching for records of a divorce. Do you have any family living that were around then and might have information regarding when/where a divorce might have taken place? If you can pinpoint where a divorce might have happened it could narrow down your search.

Also, paying one of the services that does background checks, to do a background check on your mother AND father might produce some useful information.