If you married someone who was already married but they later divorced their first spouse, is your marriage then valid?
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If you married someone who was already married but they later divorced their first spouse, is your marriage then valid?
Asked on July 6, 2015 under Family Law, Illinois
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
When someone gets married but already has a spouse, they have committed the crime of bigamy. Although state laws vary on the subject of these marriages, they all hold that a bigamous marriage is not a valid one. This is true even if both parties entered into the marriage in good faith and believed that a previous marriage had been ended by divorce. Additionally, if the first marriage is later legally dissolved, the second marriage does not retroactively become valid.
Note: There is no need for an anullment/divorce of the second marriage, since the it was legally invalid from the start.
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