Can I Take My Wife to Court for Bigamy?

Gamer Bhoy 89

Together 10 years

Married in July 2022

Separated in September 2022 due to her having an affair.

I moved back to Scotland a month after for the sake of my mental health, and to restart my life from scratch.

I learned in February 2023 that she got engaged to this person. And then I learned last week that she had her hen party.

Which leads me to believe that a wedding is not that far away.

We are still legally married as far as I'm aware (I haven't spoken to her since November).

If she is successful in this new marriage, can I file something against her?

artanevilla

Your best bet is to show up on the day and when the person asks if anyone knows of any lawful impediment you say "YES".

They might also be just having a party without getting legally married.

Is it possible she had the marriage annulled?

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120710052#Comment_120710052

If she has had the marriage annulled, should I not have been made aware of it in any way?

Xterminator

my advice would be to drop her a civil note, and ask the question - have you or are you planning a formal divorce / annulment etc. if your not on good terms perhaps ak through an intermediary like her mum etc.

life's to short to plan petty revenge and play games. be the adult in the room and don't hang onto poisonous thoughts and feelings. Not for her, but for your own good mental health.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120710052#Comment_120710052

Annulments are incredibly difficult to obtain in Ireland, although iirc the reason for the OP's marriage ending was that his ex realised she was gay, in which case she would cover one of the valid grounds to have the marriage considered voidable. The timeline seems extremely tight, though, so I'm guessing they're still legally married.

As others have said, OP, you currently have no grounds to believe anything illegal has taken place. All you know is that they intend to marry, at some point. And even if they do have a big "wedding" in the near future, it doesn't necessarily mean that they've attempted to legally marry - they could just be having the big day out and plan to do the legalities when and if they're in a position to do so, i.e. when her marriage to you is legally dissolved.

28064212

You personally can't take her to court. Bigamy is a crime - you can report it to the Gardaí. Although you would need to wait until a crime is actually committed - they're not going to show up at a potential wedding venue to stop it from going through

TooTired123

Were you ever actually legally married to this woman?

She hasn’t committed any crimes at all. Having a couple of parties means nothing.

Bigamy is a crime but in Ireland it is the Gardai and ultimately the DPP who decide if a crime may have been committed and wether or not anyone will be brought to court.

Try not to be too bothered about what she is or isn’t doing as she’s free to do whatever she likes within the law.

Do you have children together?

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058300737/can-i-take-my-wife-to-court-for-bigamy

Why do you want to "file" something against her?

It might be easier (on your mental health) to simply write her a letter, congratulate her on her upcoming nuputals, ask her to courier you any document you need to sign for your mutual divorce.

You might als suggest/offer a divorce in scotland, since it will be a year or more before she can apply for an Irish divorce and remarry.

GIMP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120710052#Comment_120710052

I don't think that is asked at any ceremony in Ireland, its more of a tv wedding thing than reality!

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120724306#Comment_120724306

SFAIK it's still part of the Church of Ireland order of service for weddings.

SupaCat95

Coming from someone who was only married in the last few years, the f'ing hoops you have to go through to get married and prove you were not married before is unreal. This new "marriage" sounds poorly conceived, in that the first marriage has not either been annulled or ended in divorced legally.

I wish you the best and the ending of a serious relationship is traumatic. There is no way a registered celebrant would touch a new marriage file if this current marriage was still unresolved. It takes 5 years to be divorced if all parties are amicable. Expect stress ahead with legal paperwork.

This marriage sounds like cart before the horse stuff with the first marriage either not closed or never proper in the first place. There is something not right about the speed/timescale.