XH has spent thousands booking his wedding before divorce is finalised

[lente]

I divorced woman-beater and emotionally abusive ex after a marriage of over twenty years. He has since found a gold digger who ignores all the red flags partner in record time and booked their wedding but the decree absolute isn't granted yet. I applied for it and they asked me to explain why it took so long between the nisi and applying for absolute, a period of just over one year. I explained that there were constant arguments about the financial arrangement and it took time to reach an agreement, hence the delay. So following that I think the absolute should come at any minute now. But I'm just gobsmacked at his confidence in booking in a grand wedding with someone he's known a couple of months before the divorce is final. I'm kinda hoping there's some unusual catastrophic delay and it doesn't come through on time. Big country manor wedding booked and invitations gone out. Our wedding was abroad so probably not on the UK "system" but the fact that we're divorcing means that it's on the records somewhere surely? The wedding is in four weeks

OP before you got married abroad, did you follow all the required rules? - had a few friends get married first in a registry office in the uk and not sure what kind of wedding they had abroad, others had to register the marriage when they’ve come back at the relevant embassy (could be because one of the couple was from the other country).
Obviously different depending on the country but just wondering if your marriage was recorded properly.

I'm not sure whether there is any central register in England and Wales of who is married (+ to who) - I don't think registrars do any checks to see if people really ARE single if they say they are. Would be interested to hear from registrars!

Yeah the wedding abroad was what fucked over Jerry Hall when her and Mick Jagger split.

They got married in Bali and it wasnt legal in the UK without the legals done here, so she got naff all.

Really hope someone’s told the bride that it isn’t a legal wedding. You say she’s a gold digger OP but is there any chance she’s being drawn into an abusive fake marriage? All sounds v weird.

I’d mention to everyone you know that you’re still legally married and it isn’t legally possible for him to marry in 4 wks.

But if they were arguing in court over the finances and the court has granted the decrees, they must have had the right paperwork to file in the first place. You can't file for divorce or have it granted if you are not married.

Chances are that this "wedding" is to keep her with him under the impression that they are married, but make sure she ends up with nothing when if she leaves him.

Bernadette, they wouldn't ask him that, it sounds like looking for gossip!

Random, I'm going to wait and see what transpires.

TiaraBoo we got married years before moving to the UK (we are both from the same country) and had a registered marriage that the UK recognises. I know that part's all fine because of the divorce process here and the financial settlement I got

My exh had his wedding booked before our divorce was finalised. He had to tell the registrar as it was taking longer than expected. They were not impressed but it did manage to go ahead

This is quite possible, but nobody is that dumb right. She's a woman in her forties with a teenage child, surely anyone would know if they're actually getting married or throwing a party that resembles a wedding?

So it IS possible to get married without the decree absolute being available 28 days ahead of the wedding?

I think you may be right @PyongyangKipperbang

I would wait until a week or so after the wedding and then contact the local registrar with your "concerns"

Lets face it.....anyone who marries someone they have been with for 2 months isnt going to be winning Mastermind anytime soon so she could well just be taken in by his "I will sort it all out" BS.

To clarify, if your XH says he's single I am not aware of any checks the registrars carry out to find out otherwise.

There are regular reports of women who find out their husbands married another woman after them. Both marriages in England, nothing complicated.
Sounds like if wife #1 never finds out or doesn't call the cops, it's pretty easy to get away with bigamy.
Does his fiancée know he was actually married, proper married not Bali-Jagger-Hall married, to you?

Obviously most likely he's just an idiot rather than an intentional bigamist!

@lente it was about 15 years ago so rules may have changed? But I think the divorce came through about two weeks before the wedding day. It was a hotel wedding if that makes any difference.

You clearly need to sneak into the wedding and explain all of this when they say “does anyone know of any reason why these two can’t be married” 😄 I’d love to go to a wedding where someone piped up at that moment.

Ha, I wish! I think that only happens in the movies.

autie, this one is a hotel wedding too.

Very interesting Fenella, so it looks like he could stay quiet and no one would know. I can't be sure, but I think she'd know that he was properly married, and she's met one of our children as well. We were a family for such a long time and all his friends know me as his wife.

Pyongyang I might have to do that then!

Is there anyone who lives near him that would go to the registry office for you and see if there's a marriage notice displayed? It would be at the one for the district he lives in, not where the wedding is.

It's the sort of thing you can report to the police according to gov.uk

I'm a registrar.
Theoretically, he can give notice and produce the decree absolute afterwards during the 28 day waiting period, but generally speaking we do not take a notice without it being in hand, and seems unlikely one would be taken if it hadn't been granted yet. I.e. it's one thing taking a notice for a person whose divorce was finalized years ago but they've lost the paperwork, as opposed to someone not yet legally divorced.
OP could register an objection to the marriage at the register office where he gave notice (district of residence) on basis groom is already married. She could also turn up at marriage and object in person. Or let him go ahead and commit bigamy and subsequently be prosecuted.
Maybe the couple haven't given notice because they aren't planning an official legal wedding and it's more of a "commitment" ceremony.
I'm interested in how this pans out!

Also, if he commits bigamy by declaring himself to be single, he has perjured himself as well. And if his wife-to-be knows he has been married previously, she is also committing perjury at notice by stating him to be single.

How do I see this? I live close by so could have a look, but can anyone just go and look at it?

Thank you so much WOPTF. It looks very likely it's just a blessing/commitment or whatever, but I'm not clear on if the woman is aware. If it's bigamy I think I'll leave it until it's done. Just wondering, if he declares himself single when giving notice and then gets married, but the decree absolute gets issued in between those two (so after notice but before the wedding) would it still be considered bigamy?

Friend's ex H did this. He wouldn't engage in Court process, no paperwork etc, expected friend to just do what he wanted as per when they were together.

OW organised big fancy do in Italy, over £30k in total. Service in Italian carried out as a blessing only. No-one knows it was fake - even their adult children. Absolute finally came through this year, everyone thinks they've been married three years already 🤣🤣🤣

I remember them being quite strict for my second marriage. Dh had to take his divorce proof. I had to go back with a death certificate, I'd assumed they would know on the system.