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  • Ex lied about divorce

    Hi, this is my first post. I welcome your inputs because I am not sure what steps are next.

    I married in 1973, separated in 1978, moved to back home Canada from US, had no reason to file for a divorce since I was not interested in getting married again (or so I thought), long story short: I did meet someone in 1980, I then called Ex in USA asked him to file for divorce since the laws in his state were very simple. He called me back and said he took care of it, but I never saw any paperwork. (dumb I know!)

    Now I need a copy of the divorce decree, I have contacted him: he swears the divorce happened, but he cannot produce the paperwork (lost), he has since remarried and so was I until my husband passed away 18 mos ago.
    I have contacted 8 different counties surrounding his place of residence; they all searched and came back negative for a divorce decree.

    Question: Can I go ahead and do a divorce now? Would you recommend a divorce kit and do-it-youself?
    How long does a divorce take in Canada?
    Or is there another solution I haven't considered?

    Thanks so much!

    canuckbos

  • #2
    You should be able to file for divorce just based on the fact that you've been separated for more than 12 months.

    In order for you to have been legally divorced back then you'd have had to sign something unless he filed for an ex-parte divorce but usually that's only in cases where one spouse cannot be located, he would have had to produce documentation of his attempts to locate you to serve divorce papers.

    You could go ahead and file for an uncontested divorce, serve him the papers and hopefully there won't be an issue considering you've been 'divorced' this long anyways and both supposedly remarried.

    Not sure from your post however it's my understanding it was your current husband that passed away? Rather than cnotacting the individual counties, could you not contact the actual state department itself? Just a thought.
    Last edited by blinkandimgone; 08-11-2010, 06:34 PM. Reason: the voices told me to...

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    • #3
      Thanks for your reply. Yes my second husband passed away after 29 years of marriage. My ex is #1 husband. :-)
      You have to contact each individual county where records are stored, there is no central file for these records.

      To get remarried now, I think you need proof of a divorce, but back then it must not have been a requirement because I got remarried without it and I wouldn't have lied on the form because that's not something I would contemplate doing.

      Thanks again.

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      • #4
        If you weren't truly divorced you have committed bigamy and so has your husband. Check out this website Canadian Divorce Laws But you should not use a do-it-yourself divorce kit unless you're a lawyer. The law is way too complicated. For instance you might accidentally cheat yourself out of a share of his estate or savings if you don't file correctly and if you are still married. Also you may be entitled to support payments (or not) if your 2nd marriage was null and voice because you married when you weren't divorced. That means your first husband might well owe you support. Your situation is complicated. Get legal advice.

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