“My mother in law has not seen her husband in about 20 years and wants to know if he has divorced her in that time…She lived in MA. and now lives in FL. How would she find out that info? Thank you very much in advance.”

There are services that can be engaged to search every Court in every jurisdiction to see if the parties (the name of your mother in law and her husband) have ever been involved in a legal action. If a country-wide search does not turn up anything, that may either be because there was no divorce filed or the divorce occurred prior to the widespread use of computer reporting. If a search does not uncover anything, she might consider filing it herself to be sure. Two marriages is bigamy. A second divorce where she had no actual knowledge of the first would not be a crime.

The other thing she might do is hire someone to find him - do a skip trace - and ask him. If there are relatives he may have stayed in touch with who she might know, that information would be helpful to an investigator. Sometimes schools he attended might keep records of alumni whereabouts.

If she can’t or does not want to find him, and wants to be sure she is divorced, she is within her rights to file for one.


Michael Durgavich is an accomplished attorney and mediator. Maintaining a general practice in the San Jose, California area, Mr. Durgavich specializes in family law, bankruptcy, and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Durgavich can be reached through his website at http://www.MichaelDurgavich.com. Contact This Author

State laws vary, and the above is intended as general advice, and not direct legal advice regarding any one particular situation in any one state. For direct personal legal advice related to your own situation you should consult an attorney familiar with the laws of your state and with your situation.