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Texas man did not finalize divorce, charged with bigamy

On Behalf of | Oct 22, 2012 | Family Law

It is critical that when a couple is divorcing, they make sure to go about the process through the judicial system in a manner that can be enforceable. This means that if an individual seeks custody, visitation, child support, alimony or any sort of post-decree modification, that party should go through a judge to do so. If an individual fails to do this, they could find themselves facing serious, even criminal, consequences.

A Texas woman reports that she was living with her husband until one day at the beginning of May when she got a perplexing phone call that changed everything. She discovered that her husband, the father of her child, had married a second woman and lived with her as well in a home just 17 miles away.

The man filed for divorce from his first wife in Oct. 2009, but then never appeared for the divorce hearing. The wife may not have even known that he filed for divorce, because she never responded to or signed anything pertaining to the filing. Therefore the couple never divorced. Reportedly, the same day that the Texas man filed for divorce, he married another woman.

The second wife thought that the man was truly divorce because he even provided her with a fabricated divorce decree. It appears the man went back and forth between the two homes in Arlington and Grapevine for quite some time. The pilot and business owner traveled extensively so it was easy for him to tell each wife he was traveling when really he was with the just 17 miles away with the other wife.

The second wife became suspicious when she discovered that her husband was still paying bills for his first wife, so she called the woman she thought he divorced almost three years ago only to find he was still married to her and living with her.

The man was arrested and charged with bigamy. His first wife also filed for divorce, and it would appear that the hearing scheduled for April 2013 will make the end official.

Source: WFAA-TV, “North Texas pilot charged, allegedly had 2 wives,” Associated Press, Oct. 18, 2012

  • To learn more about obtaining a divorce, please visit our Houston divorce page.

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