Ask Me Help Desk - Is my divorce legal?

I live in California. My husband filed for divorce a few years ago, but on the papers I was served, the date we were married was wrong.7 months off. Also, the date of separation was wrong and we were only separated a few months, only married four months. We have since reconciled and are living together again as husband and wife. He tells me that he put the wrong dates on the papers on purpose because he knew it would make our divorce void, and that we are still married. I want us to get to remarried, but if we are still married, that would be even better. Does anyone know if it is possible that our divorce was invalid? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

-Amber

Was it a divorce or a annulment ? Was it made final by the courts ? If it were made final then you should seek remarriage. Otherwise the whole process is messed up. With him lying on the documents that in itself is a crime. Very stupid. If you bring that to the courts attention then he may very well serve jail time as the courts don't like to be played for fools.

It was a divorce. The paperwork said we had been married eleven months. We never went in front of a judge. I was just under the assumption that 6 months from the date he filed we would be divorced if I didn't contest. (which I didn't) How would I find out if it was made final by a judge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybil187

It was a divorce. The paperwork said we had been married eleven months. We never went in front of a judge. I was just under the assumption that 6 months from the date he filed we would be divorced if I didn't contest. (which I didn't) How would I find out if it was made final by a judge?

You will need to call the courts and ask. When you call have your case number ready.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybil187

It was a divorce. The paperwork said we had been married eleven months. We never went in front of a judge. I was just under the assumption that 6 months from the date he filed we would be divorced if I didn't contest. (which I didn't) How would I find out if it was made final by a judge?

I don't think you are divorced. This comes up occasionally (it's actually good for a laugh amongst family law attorneys and the court clerks) where people believe that if they simply file a petition for divorce, serve it and wait 6 months they are automatically divorced-- in other words some people think the system works on autopilot. NO. NO. NO. You are only divorced if you have a document entitled "Judgment of Dissolution" in your court file, with a judge's signature on it, that says you are divorced and gives a specific date your marital status terminated. You have to make this happen. If you simply file a petition for divorce and do nothing it will sit in the court's file, in the filing cabinet and gather dust and NOTHING will happen. You will not be divorced, nothing, NADA, until you make it happen (which requires you jump through a lot of hoops).

So, if you think you're divorced, what does your Judgment say? What date was the Judgment (NOT the petition) filed and what does it say next to the box, "Date Marital or Domestic Partnership Status Ends.................."?

Just as a quick follow up, I've had several people in my office think they were divorced because they file a petition and waited 6 months only to find out that it doesn't work this way and that they are still married. Some of these people even remarried thinking they were divorced and thereby committed the crime of bigamy (which I don't think should be a crime anyway. But that's another matter). All these people were self-represented of course.

So, watch out. I have a feeling you are just like these other folks I've run into before which means you are still married!