Q: Is a marriage legal if a previous spouse has not been served divorce papers? What should the previous spouse do?
My daughter married in Pennsylvania in 2012, moved to North Carolina, filed for legal separation in 2014. Her husband moved back to Texas in 2014 and she moved back to Pennsylvania in 2017. It was discovered that he was recently remarried on 4/18/18. She has not been served divorce papers. Is his marriage legal? I have been unsuccessful finding vitals on divorce filings in North Carolina or Texas. What should my daughter do?
A: She should have been served divorce papers although, even now, there are probably ways to circumvent the process. I don't practice in either Texas or North Carolina and so can't give you advice about the laws and procedures in either state. What I would generally suggest is that you check the court dockets for every county in both states where he resided to see if either your daughter's or his name comes up. If neither does, then see if there's any way to acquire a copy of his marriage license application. That asks the applicants if they've been previously married and if so, how did the marriage end. I believe a copy of the divorce decree must be submitted. If you can't obtain access to this information then perhaps discuss the issue with a private investigator.
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