Annulment of Divorce

[zyxyellowxyz]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

My husband and I started the divorce process in August of 2011. We both filed separately in different counties. Since he filed first, jurisdiction was given to the county he filed in. We went to court once in that county, over a temporary custody agreement for our children in November of 2011. My husband moved out of state in February of 2012. In October of 2012, jurisdiction was moved to the county I lived in in Arkansas. In November of 2012, I asked my lawyer to stop the divorce decree. (My husband did not pursue the divorce any further after he moved.)

We have reconciled and are back together since August of 2014.

My questions are as follows:

1) I read on another website that there is a statutory deadline in which to stop the divorce. (Quoted below.) Even though I asked my lawyer to stop, is it possible that I "missed" it? Would both, or only one party have to stop the process for this to no longer be a concern?

What If I Miss the Statutory Deadline to Stop the Divorce?

If spouses find themselves in the unfortunate position of having filed for a divorce, missed the statutory deadline in which to stop the divorce proceedings, either spouse will have to file additional motions with the court to overturn the divorce proceeding.

2) I have also read that if we were separated for 18 months that a decree of divorce would be granted, is this a moot point since I asked my lawyer to stop the decree? (We are basically wondering if the decree was granted without either of us knowing about it.)

3) In a discussion of filing taxes, the topic came up on if we should file together or separate. That is when we came across the following:

A.C.A. � 9-12-321 (2014)

9-12-321. Annulment of decree of divorce.

The proceedings for annulling a final judgment for a divorce from the bond of matrimony shall be a joint petition of the parties, verified by both parties in person, filed in the court rendering the judgment, upon which the court may forthwith annul the divorce.

Will I have to contact my lawyer to nullify what was started years ago? How would we go from being legally separated (which is what both of us assumed we were until we got back together) to being recognized as a married couple again?


Yes, we are basically wondering if we are even still legally married at this point.

 

[single317dad]

You need to go to the courthouse and examine your case file to see if there is a judgment or decree of divorce/dissolution of marriage in the file. You can't make any other decisions until you have that answer.

 

[Silverplum]

You need to go to the courthouse and examine your case file to see if there is a judgment or decree of divorce/dissolution of marriage in the file. You can't make any other decisions until you have that answer.

And, while you're there, you could get (re)married.