My husband was married in 1974, his ex just passed away almost 4 yrs. Ago He's trying to get his va benefits but on his ex's death certificate it says that she was still married, we got married in 1998. He told me that he signed divorce papers but if we were able to get married in 1998 wouldn't that have come up when we went to city hall?

It may not have come up on the records they count on your information that you give them from what I understand. Your husband should check into this. Maybe it was a fault on the part of a lawyer or someone not following up on the paperwork.