Bigamist Man Not Legally Married to 2nd So No Common Law Marriage

Tennessee law case summary on bigamy and common law marriage in Tennessee divorce and family law from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

William Robert Lindsley v Lisa Whitman Lindsley – TN Bigamy – Common Law Marriage

William Lindsley (plaintiff) filed an action for divorce against Lisa Lindsley (defendant) and the defendant claimed that the marriage should be declared void for bigamy. She claimed the plaintiff was married when he purported to marry here. In 1997, the two lived together. While traveling to Texas, the two obtained a marriage license and were married by a priest in front of friends and family. What the defendant did not know was that the plaintiff was still married to his previous wife. One of the parties in the first marriage did not take actions necessary to dissolve the first marriage.

The plaintiff and defendant returned to California where they lived and learned in 2003 that the previous marriage was not dissolved. In June of 2003, the plaintiff obtained a divorce from the first wife. The parties remained living together through 2007 and then moved to Tennessee in 2007. They separated in July of 2008.The plaintiff then filed for divorce.

The trial court noted that, although Tennessee does not recognize common law marriage, it does recognize such a union that occurs in another state. However, it was important to consider the conduct of the parties. Once the defendant learned that she was in a bigamous relationship, she did not consider the plaintiff as her husband any longer. Prior to 2003, the parties filed joint tax returns and after 2003, the defendant filed returns as head of household. The parties continued to live together, but the defendant considered they were domestic partners, not husband and wife. The parties maintained separate finances.

Once the parties moved to Tennessee, the defendant purchased real estate in her own name. She operated a business without the involvement of the plaintiff. When the plaintiff encountered financial difficulty in Tennessee, the defendant loaned him $50,000, through a promissory note. When the plaintiff filed for bankruptcy in December of 2008, he claimed he was unmarried. The trial court found that the defendant’s testimony was credible and supported by her conduct. It stated the plaintiff bears the burden of proof of the existence of a valid common law marriage and found that he did not meet this burden and thus dismissed the case.

The appeals court considered the case and found that the correct conclusion was reached by the trial court. The court ruled that there was no merit in the contention that the defendant waited too long to challenge the marriage. It affirmed the trial court’s ruling that there was no case for divorce because the marriage was not in place under any law, including common law.

NO E2011-00199-COA-R3-CV, February 27, 2012.

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

Memphis divorce lawyer, Miles Mason, Sr., JD, CPA practices family law exclusively and is founder of the Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC, which handles Tennessee family law matters including divorce, child support, alimony, prenuptial agreements, child custody, parental relocation, child support modification, alimony modification, and divorces including business valuation and forensic accounting issues.