How long are divorce papers valid before filing? I signed the divorce papers 4 years ago, yet my ex never filed them, and I just found out she did it without my knowledge. She used an attorney friend of hers and I trusted her, so I let her take care of everything. How is this even possible? This is in the State of Florida. All this time I’ve been filing my taxes as divorced. Wouldn’t she have needed me to sign new docs?
You are not divorced until you get a final judgment of the dissolution of marriage. You are responsible for assuring that you obtain this, and that you know your marital status. It is always a bad idea, even in an uncontested situation, to rely 100% on the other spouse in a dissolution of marriage to do all the paperwork. At this point I think it is best to speak to a tax attorney about how to address the issue and consult with a divorce attorney to assess the status of those old papers and assure that you get through the process successfully.