Gilman, CO Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

Oh, I'm so sorry. This is an "interesting" question. It's not a good thing when a lawyer says a matter is "interesting." Washington Practice, which is a book that summarizes the law,tells me that a statute says you were not eligible to be married but it doesn't say what the consequence is of your wife committing bigamy, which I suppose is probably a crime but I'm not a criminal attorney. Some case law says your marriage is not void but "void ab initio" which is latin for void from the beginning because it violates public policy or law.. Basically someone could try to show your marriage is void by proving the first marriage was still in place. I suppose the safest thing is to get married again now that your wife is divorced so you would have a real marriage. There are some serious consequences to not being safely married but thinking your are. Are your tax returns fraudulent? Can you testify against each other or not (spouses sometimes can't), etc.It's June, time for a wedding!

First, if he controls the money and always has, he will likely be responsible for your attorney fees.  You should definitely consult an attorney.  The question is - in what state should you consult an attorney? Jurisdiction (what state the divorce can happen in) is determined by where the parties live, not by where the marriage or wedding occured.  How long have you lived in Colorado?  How long has he lived in Texas?  Do you have children?  In Colorado, you must have resided here, with an intent to live here permanently, for at least 90 days.  If that is the case, we could certainly help you.  If not, I am not licensed in Texas and you would need to contact a lawyer there. As to the prenuptial agreement, it is only enforceable regarding spousal support to the extent it is not grossly unfair to you.  The situation you describe sounds like it IS grossly unfair to you and can likely be challenged. I strongly suggest you consult an attorney because the issues are complex and he has a much strong negotiating position. 

If you want to ?prepare? for a divorce, there are a number of things that you can do: 1) Sit down and talk to your husband about these issues. You?re married; you have a child together? you ought to be able to discuss your concerns. An alternative would be to request that he go to counseling. The counseling could be to address your marital issues and/or to talk through the issues of having an amicable divorce and coming up with a parenting plan for your 14 year old. 2) Start doing some basic financial planning for yourself. If you do get divorced, where are you going to live? What are your financial needs going to be? I recommend assembling a list of your assets and debts. What is a fair way to divide these? 3) Start working on a parenting plan for your child. If you and your husband separate, what type of plan would best serve your daughter? 4) Start researching your divorce issues: talk to some lawyers, research your issues on the internet. I have sections on my website that address the divorce process, the division of property, and spousal maintenance. 5) Again, talk to your husband. If he is unwilling to share financial information with you, that is a pretty big sign that something is wrong. In general, my experience from working on problems is that when left unaddressed, they tend to get worse and slowly become harder and harder to solve.