Dear Mrs Macaulay,

My fiancé told me he was married before. He lives in Jamaica and I live in the United States. How could I find out if he did get a divorce? I have all his information.

Before I answer, I have to check whether you in fact have all the information you would need to obtain the action necessary to find the answer to your enquiry. Do you have the day, month, and year that the petition for the dissolution of marriage was filed? You see, this is important and would greatly assist with the speed of the search. Then, better still, if you have the claim number, in conjunction with the names of both parties in the petition, these would make the search when found conclusive. You see, the petition could have been filed, not by your fiancé, but by his then wife. If so, then her name would appear first as the petitioner and his as the respondent. If he filed the petition, then his name would be first and his then wife’s second. If you give the names of the parties incorrectly as petitioner and respondent, you would cause great confusion and this may cause the search to be unsuccessful.

Also, do you have the date that the decree absolute was pronounced? If you do, this would be great.

So how do you satisfy yourself whether his ‘divorce’ is fact or fiction? You should apply to the Matrimonial Registry of the Supreme Court of Jamaica, by e-mail at matrimonialregistry@jamaicajudiciary.gov.jm, and it should be addressed to the deputy registrar of the Family Division of the Supreme Court. It is best to apply and pay for a search to be done for the decree absolute, and if you need or wish for a certified copy, this should be included in the application, and paid for.

You may need to satisfy the registrar that you are a fit person to obtain information about the status of this petitioner or respondent in this divorce proceeding, as you are not one of these parties, and these are private proceedings dealing with private matters. But as a potential bride of the male party of a purported divorce proceeding, the deputy registrar may accede to your application for a search and supply information of the matter to you, or to send a copy (certified or otherwise) of the decree absolute to you.

But my serious advice to you, if you wish to have your answer as quickly as possible, is to get an attorney-at-law to act for you to do the search and obtain the copy of the decree absolute, if it was in fact pronounced. This can be done quicker by a lawyer and they would not be asked to explain their application. This would of course cost you more, as you would have to pay fees to the lawyer for the work.

I hope I have clarified the position enough for you so that you can decide how you wish to proceed to satisfy yourself that what he told you is the truth. This is extremely sensible of you, and you have a right to make these enquiries, because strictly speaking, he should have shown you a copy of his decree absolute for you to be sure, and he should produce it to a marriage officer before he/she performs the ceremony.

So please continue to be sensible and decide whether to act yourself or through an attorney-at-law to obtain the information and certainty you need. All the best.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide private, personal responses.