Has someone suddenly showed up on your doorstep claiming to be your spouse’s former – or current – spouse?  How do you find out the truth of the matter?  One of the ways is to locate copies of the marriage license.

Online Searches for Divorce Papers

Marriages, like divorces and births, are public records.  Some much more public than others.  However, if your spouse is secretly married to someone else or even secretly married to you, this information may be harder to dig up.

Which marriage is valid depends almost exclusively on one thing.  Which one took place first?  If you can locate a legally filed of one or both certificates, this will answer all of your questions that don’t deal with what to do next.

Divorce Filed or Not Filed?

However, the date of the marriage can become secondary if the marriage license was never filed.  This may be because the marriage took place in country where the US does not recognize the ceremony, if the person performing it was bogus, or if your “spouse” simply did not file the certificate – possibly out of fear of being caught in bigamy.

Using an online retrieval system that has access to worldwide data can give you much more concrete answers and help you move forward.  We have looked around a lot, and the best and most straightforward way to find the divorce records were on this sight.  Find copies of a marriage license to make sure the papers were filed correctly.  Good luck in your search!

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When you end a marriage, no matter how amicable the divorce, there is a strong desire to put things behind you.  Even so, you need a copy of your state divorce records to be in your files, just in case.

Things that start out well between divorced spouses can turn ugly over time.  Agreements are forgotten as the years pass and that fuels potential arguments.  If you have a copy of your decree, you can always pull it out and refer to it.

But I Lost My Divorce Papers!
Worry not.  You can get a copy of your divorce decree from the State or County Clerk’s office.  Depending upon the state in which you divorced, a copy of your agreement was filed with the Court.  The court was responsible for forwarding the agreement to the proper office.  Check online and find out who is holding your decree and how to apply.

The Application for Divorce Records
Most applications will request the following:

• The names of both individuals on the decree
• The location where the judgment was passed
• Your relationship to the divorced
• A copy of your government issued ID
• A check or money order to pay for the copy

Fill out the application, explain your request, and send it off to the proper location.  In a matter of weeks, you will once again have a copy of your decree.

But I Need to See My Divorce Records NOW
If you find yourself needing a copy of your divorce decree immediately, then your best bet is to go download the state divorce records from an online search service.  State divorce records are stored in large databases that you can access.  While it isn’t a certified copy, it may be enough for your purpose if time is of the essence.

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