Authentication of US Divorce Degree

[Cgooch 0]

My boyfriend is a Philippines citizen and we are hoping to get married in the US and live in the Philippines. He was previously married to a US citizen and she divorced him in the US. As I understand it, we need to have the divorce degree recognized by the Philippines embassy here in the US before we can begin the process of having the marriage dissolved in the Philippines.

My question is, how do you get the judicial recognition of the divorce degree? Can I do it or does his ex-wife have to be the one? How long does it generally take?

Thanks.

[craig5977 58]

To get verification you first need to have a certified copy of the divorce paperwork from the county and state where the divorce took place. he shoudl of received a copy of his divorce paperwork.

After you get the certified copy you then contact the Secretary of State for the state in which the divorce took place and then get them to certify the copy is correct, they will attach a State seal and paperwork to the divorce papers.

Then after that you mail the state certified copy to the Embasy which has Jurisdiction for that state and have them certify the copy of the divorce papers. The Embassy web page will have all the details for getting paperwork certified.

You can probably do some of it, but he may need to sign some forms and may need to have the forms notorized.The Ex-wife will have nothing to do with it,its all on him.

Check the Secretary of State website for instructions and well as the Embassy web page.

Good luck with it.

It can go fast if you live in the same state and are close to an Embassy, otherwise just takes time and money in the mail.

Craig

[Cgooch 0]

Thank you so much, Craig. That is very helpful.

I do have one more question, do you know anything about documents regarding "the authority of the district judge/judge who issued the divorce degree." The attorney in the Phililippines is asking for that.

Thank you for your help!

[craig5977 58]

That should be on the page signed by the Judge.

What you want is a certified copy of the divorce decree. The Clerk Of Court stamps the county/state seal on the first page or last page, depending on the clerk

Which has the words "That this is a true and certified copy" Then the Clerk signs and stamps it.

If it is a redacted copy which means some sensitive financial info were left out of it, The clerk will also stamp and Attest to that and that the Clerk holds the true and full copy in the courts possesion.

Sorry for late reply, shoot me a PM if you need also.

Good Luck

Happy New Year

Craig

[AmerFila 10]

It is a lot easier to get a certified cope or the divorce decree. First find the county that the divorce was filed in. From there you can contact the court via website and get a request form. Fill out the form and enclose the fee required for the papers, most require a separate fee to have it certified. I paid $4.50 for divorce and $3.00 for certification. then just mail it in. i received it in five days. we are just now starting the process to have it recognized in the Philippines.