Question:
I filed for divorce after we had been married for eight years. The divorce case took more than two years and by the time we were officially divorced, we had been married for over 10 years.
I’ve now realized her attorney was dragging out the case for it to be a 10-year marriage so she could get a larger share of my military retirement pay. Will our marriage be treated as a 10-year marriage even though I filed for divorce years before?
Answer:
Unfortunately, I am only licensed to practice law in North Carolina and therefore will be using North Carolina law to answer your question. Please contact an attorney in your state who can advise you on how Ohio would look at your issue.
In North Carolina, you are not legally divorced until the Judge signs the Order. So, if the Judge signed the Order after you had been married for 10 years, then you were married for those 10 years.
In North Carolina, even though you applied for divorce before 10 years of marriage, until the Judge signs the Order, you are still married.
Please be advised that my answering of this question does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Cordell & Cordell has attorneys located nationwide should you seek legal advice.
Andrea Miller is a Staff Attorney in the Charlotte, N.C., office of Cordell & Cordell where she practices domestic relations exclusively. Ms. Miller is licensed in the state of North Carolina. Ms. Miller received her undergraduate degree in History and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in law school, she on the Client Counseling Team for Moot Court and became a board member. Ms. Miller also participated in UNC’s Legal Assistance Clinic whereby she helped represent indigent clients obtain legal counsel primarily in the area of domestic relations.
