Question: I just found out that my husband went to Vegas and married the woman he was seeing. What are my rights in this situation? Who is the legal wife?
Answer:
Title 25 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) contain the marital and domestic relations (family) laws. A.R.S. Title 13 contains the criminal code. The following is general legal information. To find out how the laws apply to your situation and to find out your rights, you may want to consult with an attorney.
According to A.R.S. § 13-3606, "(A) A person having a spouse living who knowingly marries any other person is guilty of a class 5 felony. (B) Subsection A of this section does not extend to a person whose spouse by the former marriage has been absent for five successive years without being known to such person within that time to be living, nor to any person whose former marriage has been pronounced void, annulled or dissolved by judgment of a competent court." A.R.S. § 13-3607 discusses the crime of knowingly marrying the spouse of another.
Generally, the laws of the state where you and your husband were married determine the legal requirements of the marriage. A.R.S. § 25-111 describes the requirements for a marriage in Arizona. A.R.S. § 25-112 describes the validity of marriages contracted in a state other than Arizona.
If you are concerned of the legal consequences of the second marriage, you may want to contact an attorney practiced in family law. These types of situations can be very complicated, particularly if the second marriage lasted a significant amount of time or the case involves filing papers in another state’s court.
April 22, 2009
Legal Services Corporation