I filed for divorce last year due to extreme abuse from my spouse. I am very religious so bear with me here,

At any rate during my legal separation which lasted over 6 months, I became very close to a male friend. We kept our relationship appropriate (never and kind of sexually contact) etc. My divorce hearing was March 19 2007 and the judge decreed our divorce final.

My attorney is terrible and there has been a lot of beating around the bush- it has been 45 days since the divorce was finalized and I STILL have not received a signed copy of our decree. So am I legally divorced since the judge said so? Or do I have to have sealed and signed paperwork for it to be legal?

The reason I am asking is- my male friend and I have fallen very much in love and we want to get married (int total I have known him nearly 2 years so this isn't a rebound thing) But I am a Christian and refuse to have sexual relations until I am legally married.

My sweetheart and I are ready to take our relationship to the next step and get married but to get a marriage license I am told I need a signed copy of my divorce decree from the court. BUT the judge has let it sit on his desk for weeks now! So am I divorced or not?

It is getting difficult to wait and I do not want to be in "sin". Where can I get married without having to provide a divorce decree on paper? The judge granted me a divorce, so is his judgment from the 19th of March? Or will it be from the time he signs it?

If we get married before papers are signed am I committing bigamy?

You are divorced. I just went through the same, a divorce. Mine was final at our final court hearing Jan 30 and I still have not received my court order from my lawyer. You can actually obtain one yourself by going to the court filing and make a copy yourself. It is usually at most a couple of dollars. As long as the judge ordered the dissolution of your marriage and you have no further court dates... it is done. Paperwork in hand or not.

p.s. you may remarry at any time and should not need your paperwork to do it. You will state all previous marriages on your license and the date of the divorce. That's it.

Whew! Makes me feel better, because me and my sweetie wanted to get married this coming Monday when we went out of state to visit his family.

When I had called the county recorder in that city, I was told that I needed a signed copy of my decree along with 2 forms of ID. So if I run to the court house before leaving town I can obtain proof of my divorce from the local clerks office?

I am sorry I must recant that a bit. Those are the rules for my state which is California. I spoke too quickly. You should check with the laws of your state. There may be a bit of a waiting period until you can remarry. You may be able to find this information by googling your local county superior court website.

But yes you should be able to obtain your own copy by going to the county court office in which it was filed. That is true.

As I stated in your other post in many places you are not divorced, in many states it is final on the day the judge signs it, in other states it is 30 days after the judge signs it.

Also many states will require you to have a copy of your divorce decree with you when you go to get a marriage license.

And if your divorce is not final by that states law, no new marriage would be valid.

Can I ask, what state are you in?

Arkansas

Besides the legal end of it, what is the rush in getting married? What I have never really understood is in what ways does the legal system coincide with what God says in the Bible? I kindof went through this line of right and wrong questioning when I was divorced also. It is very confusing still to me. I have never gotten the answers to these questions.

This is what I found
Arkansas

Prior to 7/1/79, a divorce decree was effective from the date it was announced in "open court".

After 6/30/79, a divorce decree is final only after both a docket entry and a final decree have been entered. A divorce decree rendered during vacation of court does not become effective until entered on record.

There are no restrictions against remarriage following a divorce decree.

And where I found it... Divorce Interactive: Summary of State Laws on Divorce and Remarriage (http://www.divorceinteractive.com/consumer/Article~ID~140.asp#cooliris)

Also this... Applying for a Marriage License in Arkansas (http://marriage.about.com/cs/marriagelicenses/p/arkansas.htm)

Geez I am not with it tonight... I meant to sent this link last post... U.S. Waiting Times After A Divorce (http://marriage.about.com/od/us/a/waitdivorce.htm)