KY Marriage Was Valid Even if German Divorce Not Final

Tennessee case summary on validity of international divorce.

Marvin Dewayne Echols v. Elke Monika Echols

The husband and wife in this Tennessee divorce case were married in Kentucky in 1986.  The wife was a German citizen and had been divorced in 1986 in Germany.  Under German law, the divorce bcame “legally binding” in 1987.  The marriage in Kentucky was after the date of the divorce decree but before the date it became “legally binding.”  In the 2013 divorce, the husband argued that the marriage was invalid for this reason.  Therefore, he requested an annulment rather than a divorce.

The trial court, after considering the relevant German statutes, held that the marriage was valid.  It also held that the husband was guilty of laches for not bringing the argument earlier.  It granted a divorce and divided the assets.  The husband appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The court first noted that the marriage took place in Kentucky, and Kentucky has a presumption of validity of a marriage.  In this case, since there were multiple possible interpretations of the German statutes, the Court of Appeals held that the husband had not met his burden of proof to show that the marriage was invalid.

The trial court had awarded the wife $5,500 in attorney’s fees on the issue of validity.  The Court of Appeals held that, given the circumstances, this was proper.  It also held that she was not entitled to attorney’s fees on appeal.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment and remanded the case for a determination of the attorney’s fees on appeal.

No. M2014-01856-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 29, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Tennessee Divorce Laws.