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Do people still get away with bigamy?
I'm not talking about polygamists here. I'm talking about people who leave one spouse but never get legally divorced, then marry another person.
Since county clerks have computerized records now, wouldn't they be able to look up this information whenever someone files for a marriage license and see that they are already married?
Bonus Question: Can someone get a credit card or utilities in a name that is not legally theirs? Like, if my sister is using her boyfriend's last name, but *claiming* they are not married (because she's still married to her ex--the ex says so) can she actually do it on legal agreements like credit cards and utilities?
4 Answers
- Crown RoyalLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
They would have to be connected to every court clerk's office in the country (and even the world), and all the old records would have to be on line as well. That's not happening anytime soon.
Seems to me it's the spouses that should keep track of that, not clerks.
Bonus: Yes, they can, but it's illegal, and if caught can get charged with fraud.
- 1 decade ago
It's hard to get away with bigamy in the US this days, because eventually someone is going to put a complain, most of the time the first and official spouse. Beside the whole thing is really stupid because as you know all the court has to do is to check the court record and it would very hard to plead innocent when confronted with the hard evidence.
In your bonus question: credit card companies, banks, utility services usually ask for a state issued ID before signing any contract so it's not as simple as she just giving whatever name she wants; she still will be required to provide some kind of official identification; submitting fake documents would be illegal.
- 1 decade ago
Legally speaking, you are permitted to use any name you wish as long as you are not trying to avoid debts or evade laws. My sister has gone my a nickname for about thirty years now and has it on her driver's license, bank accounts, and pretty much everything else.
Of course, companies don't have to take any name you tell them if they don't want. And most of them end up referring to you by a number instead of a name in one way or another. Most want some kind of record of some sort from some other authority saying who you are, but you might be surprised how easy those are to get.
For extra fun, there are people who end up legally married and aren't even aware of it - common law marriage is a default applied condition in some jurisdictions. And let's not forget the occasional person who is married to someone declared legally dead but who is actually just missing for a long time. It happens.
So yes, bigamy still happens all the time. Sometimes even by accident.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Happens all the time.
Marriage licenses and the non-duplication thereof are not a high priority for law enforcement.
