QUESTION

Is my current marriage valid if my divorce was never finalized?

Asked on Jul 29th, 2012 on Divorce - California
More details to this question:
I thought my divorce from my first husband was final 16 years ago. I have remarried 5 years ago. Does this make my current marrige invalid? What can I do?
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7 ANSWERS

You will have to request a nunc pro tunc court order from the court where you filed. That will work if you have finalized the division of property and or have a court order for child or spousal support. Otherwise you are technically in a bigamous marriage.
Answered on Aug 19th, 2012 at 9:56 PM

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Criminal Defense Attorney serving Calabasas, CA at Law Office of Bernal P. Ojeda
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No it is not valid because your first marriage was not finalized. There is a motion to enter judgment nunc pro tunc that you can file to get first case dissolved prior to second marriage, that way your second marriage will be valid.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:56 PM

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No. You are a bigamist. The good news is that the law has a magic wand, if you can get the judge to use it, and if you could have received your dissolution before you "remarried". Return to the court in which the dissolution is pending. File a motion to enter the dissolution and deal with other issues, like property and kids, later. Explain to the judge what happened and why you haven't taken care of this before and ask for a judgment nunc pro tunc, which is Latin for "now for then", basically a retroactive divorce. You have another problem. Your divorce case has been filed for more than 5 years. In most cases you have only 5 years to take care of this. If the judge wants to be difficult, unless you have the cooperation of the former spouse or unless your dissolution has some temporary orders in it, you may be out of luck. You can always start over with the divorce and get really married before your sixth anniversary.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:43 PM

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If you find that the dissolution was not properly finalized you should ask the court to do so immediately and make its effective date prior to your remarriage date. This is an order nunc pro tunc. You should consult a family law attorney about how to do this.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:42 PM

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Thomas Daniel Nares
Your current marriage is known as a void marriage. You can divorce your first husband and remarry your current husband after the first divorce is final. Then there are issues as to whether what was acquired during your second marriage but prior to remarriage is community property. These are known as issues having to do with "putative spouse" status. An experienced family law attorney can help you with this.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:42 PM

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Family Attorney serving Sacramento, CA at Peyton & Associates
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No. But you can petition the divorce court to have your divorce judgment entered "now for then" (nunc pro tunc) for good cause.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:41 PM

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Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorney serving Ventura, CA at Zahn Law Office
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It invalidates your subsequent marriage on the grounds of bigamy. Finish the first divorce, annul your current marriage, and then remarry after the divorce is finalized. That is the appropriate way to address these issues.
Answered on Aug 15th, 2012 at 3:41 PM

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