27 Apr Will another country recognize this U.S. divorce?

Q. My current husband and I both previously had divorces before we got married. He’s from Nicaragua and divorced his wife from here, but now I’m told that he needs to get divorced in Nicaragua because his U.S. divorce isn’t valid there. We’re afraid if he goes there to visit his son he could get arrested for bigamy. His ex was served with divorce papers. What’s correct?
— Concerned

A. It can be very complicated to reconcile different laws in different countries.

Your husband’s concerns are very valid.

If your husband obtained a divorce from his former wife, to whom he was married in Nicaragua, and the divorce was entered in the United States, it may be that Nicaragua does not recognize the final judgment of divorce until it has been processed through certain document legalization services, said Jeralyn Lawrence, a family law attorney with Lawrence Law in Watchung.

For example, she said, many foreign countries require that a United States divorce decree be authenticated and often translated from the English language to the language of the foreign country where it is to be offered in order for the document to be recognized.

Nicaragua is, in fact, a member of the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, Lawrence said.

“Any official document issued in the United States offered for recognition in Nicaragua requires an apostille – a form of authentication – from the secretary of state,” she said. “Only the state wherein the divorce was granted may issue the apostille.”

However, Lawrence said, it is important to note that not every divorce decree will qualify for an apostille.

“Several states have strict time limits on how old a divorce decree may be in order for it to be eligible for an apostille,” she said. “Because of the unique requirements of every state, it is important that you speak with an experienced family lawyer to understand if your divorce decree qualifies for an apostille, and to obtain further instruction on how to have your divorce decree authenticated so that Nicaragua can acknowledge the dissolution of your husband’s prior marriage.”

As to the concern that your husband could be arrested for bigamy if he were to return to Nicaragua to visit his son without Nicaragua having recognized his divorce, she recommends you discuss this with a Nicaraguan criminal lawyer to avoid any possibility that your husband may commit a crime under foreign law.

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This story was originally published on April 27, 2021.

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