I was married to a guy I met while attending college (U of M) in Maryland. We dated for about 7 months and married the next year in June of 1967 in Alabama. We subsequently moved to his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. I first became suspicious that he was married to someone else when his family hinted at him "being married again". They never clarified that description. I became further suspicious when he declined to file Federal taxes with me, but later described himself as "owing past taxes" and did not want to penalize me. I was quite young and naive at the time and he was much older. I gave birth to a son in 1968 and realized that something was amiss with him and around 1971 asked him to move out...he refused.
Long story to say, I traveled back to my hometown in 1972 or 73 to seek counseling for a divorce. By this time it was rather conclusive to me that he had not divorced his first wife. The city was large enough that he could keep us separated, but there were lots of telltale signs. The lawyer in Alabama filed the divorce apparently through another lawyer in Maryland (as the papers were served in Maryland). He refused to acknowledge the papers, but I was told that the divorce would automatically be effective in 30 days.
Now, that I am trying to marry my partner of 36 years, I can't seem to locate the divorce decree. I am not even sure it can be found. I called Alabama, and they do not have it in their files. Tomorrow I will contact Maryland's circuit courts. I thought that this situation might beg the question of the legitimacy of the original marriage and whether a divorce was needed in the first place. So, my questions are: Can I marry my partner in a few weeks given the scenario described above? Or, should I continue to pursue finding the divorce date in order to present this to the clerk when applying for a license?
Thanks for your assistance in advance...
Long story to say, I traveled back to my hometown in 1972 or 73 to seek counseling for a divorce. By this time it was rather conclusive to me that he had not divorced his first wife. The city was large enough that he could keep us separated, but there were lots of telltale signs. The lawyer in Alabama filed the divorce apparently through another lawyer in Maryland (as the papers were served in Maryland). He refused to acknowledge the papers, but I was told that the divorce would automatically be effective in 30 days.
Now, that I am trying to marry my partner of 36 years, I can't seem to locate the divorce decree. I am not even sure it can be found. I called Alabama, and they do not have it in their files. Tomorrow I will contact Maryland's circuit courts. I thought that this situation might beg the question of the legitimacy of the original marriage and whether a divorce was needed in the first place. So, my questions are: Can I marry my partner in a few weeks given the scenario described above? Or, should I continue to pursue finding the divorce date in order to present this to the clerk when applying for a license?
Thanks for your assistance in advance...
Divorce: Want to Marry My Long-Time Partner - Was Married to a Bigamist (Without Knowing)
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