Bigamy happens when someone is legally married to one person and then marries someone else. Bigamy is illegal in the United States. Each state has its own bigamy laws and penalties.
How Does Bigamy Affect a Marriage?
Any marriage occurring while one of the spouses is already in a legal marriage is void—meaning legally invalid. For example, let’s say John marries Jane in a formal ceremony and receives a marriage certificate. At some point after that, John takes up with Mary and asks her to marry him without disclosing his existing marriage or getting divorced. John and Mary then tie the knot.
In this scenario, John’s marriage to Mary is void. As far as the law is concerned, it never happened. The reason is that John’s existing first marriage denied him the legal right to marry Mary. His marriage to Jane, however, is still valid because it predated the second marriage.
Is Bigamy a Ground for Divorce?
In certain states, bigamy is a legal basis (ground) for divorce. In Tennessee, for example, you can allege bigamy as the reason for your divorce if your spouse knowingly entered into the bigamous marriage. (Tenn. Code § 36-4-101(a) (2023).)
Using the example above, if Jane and John lived in Tennessee, Jane could sue for divorce based on John’s intentional bigamy. But Mary can’t, even though she didn’t know John was already married. To obtain a divorce, you have to be in a legal marriage. As previously indicated, because Mary’s marriage to John is legally void, technically the marriage never existed, and therefore, the couple would not be entitled to pursue a divorce and seek the protections of state divorce laws.
Is Bigamy a Ground for Annulment?
If you’re the innocent spouse in a bigamous marriage, there are routes you can take to end the relationship. Because your marriage never legally existed, you can simply walk away. But that might not be a satisfactory option if you have children, or if you and the bigamist accumulated property together. In that case, you should consider applying to the court for an annulment. In many states, such as Georgia, being in a bigamous marriage is a ground (legal basis) for annulment.
In an annulment action, the court could decide issues such as alimony (spousal support), child support, custody, visitation (parenting time), and division of property. Note that to obtain any of this relief, you will normally have to show that you married in good faith—that is, you didn’t know your partner was still married.
State laws may vary when it comes to handling requests for relief in an annulment. For example, New Jersey doesn’t permit its courts to deal with the division of property in annulment actions. (In cases where the court won’t handle property distribution, general property ownership law would apply.)
Getting an annulment is a good idea if you’re concerned that the bigamous marriage may haunt you should you decide to marry in the future. An annulment not only formalizes the end of the relationship, but it treats it as though it never legally existed at all, and you will receive a written judgment to prove it.
Dealing With Unintentional Bigamy
Bigamy can be intentional, with the second spouse knowing about the first and all parties consenting. It can also be unintentional. It’s hard to imagine people not realizing they’re still in a prior marriage. But it does happen. Here are two situations in which this is most likely to occur.
A Divorce Was Never Finalized
Sometimes a person goes through a divorce but isn't aware that the divorce was never finalized. Maybe a judge failed to sign the final divorce judgment, through some oversight or a dispute over the document’s wording. Or maybe the state had a waiting period that the divorcing couple didn't know about.
If this is the case, you can resolve your bigamy issue by finalizing the prior divorce. Talk to a local family law attorney to see if your state will validate the later marriage when your divorce is complete or whether you'll have to start from scratch and remarry.
The lesson to be learned from this is that you should never simply assume your divorce is final—you must be sure that you receive a final divorce decree from the court.
A Missing Spouse
If a spouse goes missing, a court may eventually declare the absent spouse dead. In New Jersey, for example, a spouse must be missing for five years before a judge will declare that spouse dead. But timelines vary from state to state and the period may be shorter if the missing person is believed to have been involved in a catastrophic event with little chance of survival.
If someone legitimately believes a spouse is missing and presumed dead, and it later turns out the spouse is still alive, most states wouldn’t consider a remarriage to be bigamous. Depending on your state, the law could even take the step of validating the remarriage.
It’s important to remember that an honest belief that your spouse is dead is a requirement in this situation. You should make a diligent effort to discover your spouse’s whereabouts, like making inquiries of friends and relatives, as well as checking places where your spouse may have been likely to go. You might also consider filing a petition to have a judge declare your spouse legally dead so that you have a formal court judgment to that effect.
Getting Help
Dealing with the legal fallout of a bigamous marriage can be daunting. If you have questions, you should speak with a local family law attorney for advice.