Wife finds out after 15 years husband never divorced first wife

If he and his wife were not divorced, then you and he were never married. The result would have been the same had he obtained unilateral foreign divorce from his spouse. Therefore, you should immediately consult with a skilled matrimonial lawyer due to the very complex issues that you are about to face.

If his wife sues for division of marital property and alimony, you will have to become a party to that action to protect your interests and to extract your assets from the commingled mess. Since you are not his wife, you may not be entitled to continue health insurance on his company health plan (you should take a look at the terms of the plan), and you will not be entitled to a spousal share of his retirement. Should he die, his wife  not you  will receive the wife’s share, but you will probably have to be a party to that proceeding because your assets and his are so intertwined. If the property you and he acquired is titled in his name, you may be required to bring a suit to compel transfer of your share under the constructive trust theory in order to keep him and his wife from becoming unjustly enriched. And then there are the potential income tax issues that may have to be dealt with.

Depending on how a state’s alimony law is written, there is precedent that an innocent wife can receive permanent alimony in an annulment proceeding based upon “equitable principles” where she was the innocent victim of fraudulent acts. But we wouldn’t count on that happening.

Bottom Line: Before you marry, insist on seeing a certified copy of the divorce decree. If your intended doesn’t have one, find out in what state and county the divorce was rendered and get your own copy from the court.