Can I Sue My Current Wife for an Annulment in Illinois Because I Am Still Married to My First Wife?

 Posted on August 18, 2015 in Family Law

Do not try this, because if you are the spouse guilty of bigamy (a crime in Illinois), it is a Class 4 felony. Illinois law (720 ILCS 5/11-45) states the following regarding bigamy and marrying a bigamist:

(a) Bigamy. A person commits bigamy when that person has a husband or wife and subsequently knowingly marries another...

(c) Sentence. Bigamy is a Class 4 felony. Marrying a bigamist is a Class A misdemeanor.

(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11.)

Also, the person claiming bigamy must be the innocent one. Judgment of annulment may be reversed because it denied a divorce to the current wife. The current wife was the innocent party and married the husband trusting misrepresentation that he was divorced from his prior wife. However, the annulment was still granted to the husband. The choice of divorce versus annulment should have been reserved for the wife who was the innocent person.

See where a husband claimed he was the bigamist in Belluomini v. Belluomini, 73 Ill. App. 3d 836, 30 Ill. Dec. 14, 392 N.E.2d 669 (1 Dist. 1979).

For more information about annulments or divorce in Illinois, contact our DuPage County family law attorneys at Martoccio & Martoccio. Call 630-920-8855 for a free initial consultation.