Fake lawyer faked my husband’s divorce

DEAR MRS MACAULAY,

I got married in Jamaica a couple of years ago. My husband got divorced from his first wife in Jamaica, but unfortunately he was robbed of his money by a fake attorney so our marriage isn’t valid. Only after I filed his papers did US immigration find out that the document wasn’t real. About two months ago the fake attorney was caught by the police and the case is going on now. The judge ordered a letter from the clerk for my husband to show the embassy to clear his name. But my question is, can my marriage be annulled? If yes, how long does it take? Or do I need to file for divorce? I’m going to remarry him as soon as it’s resolved as we have a six-year-old daughter together.

How unfortunate for you and your husband, but especially your husband who was put in the position of being in conflict with the law as a bigamist because of a fraudulent person who pretended to be an attorney and faked the grant of your husband’s decree absolute. This person’s conduct for which he collected monies from your husband placed you and your husband in a truly embarrassing position with the US immigration authorities, who would not even commence the processing of your application for your husband despite a letter from the judge of the court in which the false lawyer is being tried.

The answer to your question about whether the marriage can be annulled is a resounding yes. The first ground in the Matrimonial Causes Act for the grant of decrees of nullity on the basis that a marriage is void, is that one of the parties to the marriage had a wife or husband living at the time of the marriage. This puts yours and your husband’s situation squarely within this provision in the Act. So yes, you should apply for a decree of nullity on the ground that your marriage is void because of the fact that your husband’s divorce was not legally obtained and so he was still married and his estranged wife was still alive at the time you celebrated your marriage to him.

Your husband must also file his petition in order to obtain a legal divorce this time. When you both obtain your decrees, you can then remarry as you plan to do. You should have the same lawyer do both matters so that he/she can try to have them dealt with on the same day. Since you will both wish the matters to be dealt with very quickly, I suggest you insist that the attorney-at-law file for the matter to be heard in court on the same day. This process has proved to be faster, despite the fact that the decrees can be granted on paper without the need for either of you to attend and give evidence. This latter procedure has proved to be slower that those heard in open court with the petitioner attending and giving evidence.

In your application, apart from producing your own certified copy of your certificate of marriage, a copy of your husband’s would be needed and proof of the fact that the wife referred to therein is still alive. Evidence should also be produced of the fraud perpetrated by the fake lawyer on your husband, which would demonstrate that he believed that he was free to marry you at the time of your marriage, and only knew otherwise when you were informed by US immigration that the decree absolute you sent in was a fraudulent document.

This time, please make sure that the lawyer you and your ‘husband’ retain is truly a lawyer who is entitled to practise in Jamaica and is in good standing. You can confirm this by checking the General Legal Council’s website or telephone the office to check on the person.

I am sorry, but I cannot give you a definite time when your applications will be completed. This would depend on several variables — the time you take to retain someone, the time taken by them to prepare the petitions and supporting affidavits, the time you take to sign them, time taken to serve, the time it takes to get them set down for hearing, and afterwards, when they are heard and the decrees are signed, sealed and entered, and given to your lawyer for you. It will save time for certified copies to be applied for at the same time as the original copies are filed.

I wish you and your husband the very best and trust that you can regularise the situation as soon as possible so that you can remarry and start your life together with your child in a happy home.

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 personal responses.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.