Can a former wife who remarries and then divorces take back her previous married name?
Question Details: My first wife and I were divorced in Fayette County, WV in 1985, she remarried in approximately 2000 and divorced again in 2006 in Raleigh County, WV. Can she take back her previous married name, my name, as part of the second divorce without my permission? I understand written permission is required, if so, she did so by forging my signature. What actions are available to me either criminal or civil?
If she forged your name on a document required by a court, and that document was a necessary part of the basis for a court order, she committed a fraud on the court. I'd think you could ask the court to undo anything in the order based on the fraudulent document, and I'd hope there would be a way you could get your attorneys' fees on the motion for that.
I'm not a West Virginia attorney, so I can't tell you the exact procedure; I'm sure forgery is a crime everywhere, but I haven't researched just how serious the charge could be in your state.
In Ohio, a divorce or dissolution decree can restore a person to any former name he or she had used, and no permission from the former spouse is required. So if she was born Mary Smith, and became Mary Jones in the first marriage, then became Mary Green in the second marriage, she could be restored to Smith or Jones when divorcing Mr. Green. She could not adopt a new name, just go back to what she had been called at some time in the past.
I agree that if permission was required by the court in your location, and if the permission tendered was a fraudulent representation of your consent, the county prosecutor may be interested in pursuing forgery charges.
