Virginia Husband and Wife separate.
They travel to California to appear on Court TV, intending to get their divorce.
Ex-couple returns to Virginia.
Life goes on.
Several years later, Husband and Fiance obtain marriage license.
Husband and Fiance marry.
Wife finds out.
Next thing Husband knows, the prosecutor is submitting a bigamy charge against Husband to a Virginia grand jury.
According to Wife, Husband and Wife never completed the necessary divorce paperwork for unspecified financial reasons.
It is not clear that Husband is aware that his TV divorce from Wife was not final and complete.
A surprising number of spouses in seemingly uncontested divorces in Florida leave it to the other spouse to “take care of” the details of the divorce.
And then simply assume that all is in fact taken care of.
Only to find out, often at a most inconvenient time and place, that the divorce was never finalized – or may not have been.
Moral: if there was a final divorce, there was a piece of paper, called a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage in Florida, to evidence the divorce. Both spouses (or their respective counsel) should have been furnished copies of it. If it exists, copies should be available from counsel for either spouse or the clerk of court of the appropriate county.
Check on it …
Read more in this Waynesboro [VA] News Virginian article: Attempted TV divorce leads to charge.
