Re:Am I Divorced?

Hi, I'm new to this. It might sound strange, but I'm trying to find out if I'm divorced. At present I live in England, but about 18 months ago I left my wife in Scotland. She had become an alcoholic and totally unreasonable. She doesn't know where I am, but about a year ago I got a letter from a supposed solicitor of hers' via a friends' address. She had applied for a divorce, which I would love, but had falsified dates of separation etc. I think the law in Scotland says something about 2 years separation and her dates more than covered that. But because the letter looked suspicious, I never replied. She wanted me to say I was at fault. Something about lack of financial and emotional support. Do I actually need to sign any papers, or could I already be divorced? How would I find out without her knowing?

1984 to the present day
From 1 February 1984 the General Register Office for Scotland has kept a Register of Divorces. The Register is indexed alphabetically and you can obtain a copy of an entry, known as an extract. Remember that if the divorce action was heard in a sheriff court, the case papers will still be held by the sheriff clerk. If it was heard in the Court of Session, the papers remain with the Court for up to six years after the conclusion of the case (or longer for those involving children, as noted above), before being sent to the NAS.

You can do a search

Website: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/

Hope that helps

Thanks for the info. I spent ages going through the site you mentioned but couldn't find what I wanted. I don't know if I am divorced, thats what I'm trying to find out, so I don't know whether it would be the Sherriff Court or Court of Sessions. I was hoping there might be a central registry etc where I could just type in my name or her name or date of marriage and discover that I'm a free man. Thanks anyway.

Hardly any divorces are dealt with by the Court of Session so I would recommend the Sherriff Court would be the place to start. But if she was divorcing citing 2 years separation with your consent the bit about lack of financial and emotional support was rather superfluous?? Using adultery or unreasonable behaviour requires a strong burden of proof therefore in Scotland almost 90% of divorces are on one of the two separation grounds.

The plot thickens! Been in touch with friend who knows her as well and he reckons she's divorced me already. I've never signed anything, but I do know she lied on legal papers for divorce through her lawyer. She said we'd been separated for over 3 years, but in reality its now only been 17 months. Can she have got away with lying like that and can I be divorced without signing consent forms? In a way I hope it's true so I can be rid of her, but at the same time I was considering going for half the marital home or at least a fair settlement. If I'm divorced, is that hope gone?