Question:
In a Texas divorce case, if a person claims they were already married before entering into a second marriage, how does the court determine which marriage is valid?
Answer:
In Texas, when multiple marriages are alleged, the law presumes that the most recent marriage is valid over any prior ones. To challenge this presumption, the individual asserting the validity of the earlier marriage must provide clear evidence that the prior marriage was legally valid and not dissolved. In Adeleye v. Driscal, 544 S.W.3d 467 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2018, no pet.), the court upheld the validity of a 1984 Nigerian marriage between Adeleye and Driscal, despite Adeleye’s claim of a prior marriage. Adeleye failed to provide sufficient evidence that his earlier marriage remained valid, so the presumption favored the more recent marriage.