Divorce records, like marriage records, are accessible to the public. You may either look for divorce records from the comfort of your own home or go to the state's Department of Health and Vital Records. Although records are occasionally provided for free, you may be required to pay to utilize some commercial or public services. For example, a library may charge for the use of its microfiche catalog.
You can search online divorce databases for information about divorces in your area. Some databases are free while others have a fee for usage. For example, FamilySearch has a paid subscription service called Ancestry.com that allows users to search their family trees for ancestors who were married more than 100 years ago. The site also contains information on more than 16 million people who have been divorced or declared dead by a court.
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has an extensive collection of books, photographs, manuscripts, and other materials relating to families living today as well as those who have passed away. The library is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is therefore only open to members of the church and their families. However, anyone can visit the library without joining any organization. In fact, it's recommended because there are no fees to enter the building.
Members of the public can search the online catalog at www.familysearch.org without joining a genealogical society.
Marriage and divorce records are both public information, and anybody who wants to see them can do so. If the judge presiding over the case sealed the divorce records, you won't be able to view them. But if no such order was made, the marriage license is all that's required by law to be filed with the local clerk's office, so anyone can find out what book or record system you used.
How long will marriages last? Statistics show that about 70% of marriages will eventually end in divorce. However, only 50% of marriages fall apart within the first 10 years. The other 50% may have trouble getting started, but they too will most likely end in divorce. It is normal for marriages to change over time as one or both partners grow older or different.
What is a marital home? Under California law, once you file for divorce, you become entitled to any property owned by the husband or wife at the time of filing. This includes homes that were purchased before the marriage, even if one party holds only a mortgage on it. In addition, if there are any assets such as stocks, bonds, or cash savings accounts belonging to one spouse, they also become the other's property after the divorce is filed.
Can I claim my former spouse on a new marriage license? You cannot make an old marriage disappear by marrying again.
Make contact with your local courthouse.
You'll need the names of the divorcees, as well as the state and county where they divorced and the date of the divorce. Make contact with the appropriate office. Go to the Vital Statistics office in the county where the divorce occurred. If you don't know what county you're looking for, you can contact the state's Vital Records Office. They will be able to help you locate the correct county record office.
The process of finding out what year you were married, divorced, or died cannot be done quickly. It is best to give it some time so that you do not have to wait too long before getting your information. If you are waiting a very long time for your record to come in, then you should probably contact someone else who was married or divorced in that year.
When did you marry? What year? Think back to when you got married. Was it last name first name? Or vice versa? Did you wear a ring? Hold a license? There are lots of ways to remember things like this, but if you can't recall exactly how you met, then it may be hard to figure out what year you were married.
Did you get married in a church or synagogue? If you went to wedding dress shopping yet never bought an outfit, check with the wedding venue to see if they have any photos of past events there. This will help you choose a style that fits with the theme of the room you're in!
If you filed for divorce in the United States, you should be able to acquire a divorce decree from the same court that issued the paperwork. You can also get an official copy from the vital records office in the state where your divorce was finalized. These documents will contain the date of separation, name of spouse, address, and other information about your marriage.
You may also have seen videos on YouTube of people who have posted their divorce papers online as a joke. Don't fall for this trick! It isn't legal and cannot be used to prove your divorce. If you post a fake divorce paper, others can see it and assume that your marriage is real even if it isn't. This could lead to harassment or even violence against you.
People sometimes ask me how they can prove they are divorced. The short answer is that you cannot prove a negative - you must produce some evidence that you were married, and then some evidence that you were divorced. Your divorce decree is evidence that you were married, and any evidence held by your former spouse is evidence that you were not divorced.
For example, let's say you file for divorce and your husband claims that you aren't divorced yet because there is still a joint account with money in it. With this type of situation, you would need to provide proof that the account belongs to you and your husband has been given access to it.
Certified copies of divorce records are available from the Clerk of Court in the parish where the divorce took place. These records include the name of the divorcing couple, date of wedding or marriage, date of divorce, and the name of the court where the divorce was granted.
You can also search for divorce records by entering the last name of both parties into our FamilySearch site. You will need to know the birth year of the person you are looking for; we provide this information along with links back to the census record.
In addition to these records, there are some other sources which may provide evidence of a previous divorce. A court order annulling the marriage would be evidence that the marriage had never been legally terminated. Records of marriages performed by religious officials or members of another faith group should be available from the church or temple where the ceremony took place. If a marriage license was not required at the time of your ancestor's wedding, then there is no official record of the event. In this case, an affidavit signed by one of the participants stating that they were married would be sufficient proof of a prior divorce.