Is this divorce valid?

[Skeets]

A very long story, but I will try to keep it short, sticking only with the facts.

Ms Adams was born in 1964 in the Philippines. In 1982, she marries another Philippine Citizen, Mr. Smith. During that marriage, they have a son in 1985 and a daughter in 1987. Divorce is not recognized in the Philippines, so she hides that marriage and marries a US Citizen, Mr. Jones, in 1991. Keep in mind that she never divorces Mr. Smith before marrying Mr. Jones. Mr and Mrs Jones come to Florida in 1991. in 1996, she files for a divorce from Mr. Jones (This marriage is bigamous already because she hasnt obtained a divorce from Mr Smith). In 1997, she is able to obtain a divorce from the Philippine Citizen,, Mr Smith, while she was a resident of Florida and he was in the Philippines. (At this time, she is still in deportation proceedings, so she is neither a permanent resident or a US Citizen). When she files for divorce using her second married name (Mrs. Jones) to divorce her first husband (Mr. Adams) and fails to list the minor children and lists her lying age (saying that she born in 1970) on the financial affidavit form of the divorce decree. She also places notification in the newspaper in Florida and sends him a complaint via regular US mail to his last known address in the Philippines, so Mr. Smith never recieves proper notification of the divorce. My question is is this divorce valid even though she did not use the proper married name she took when she got married the first time (Mrs Jones vs Mrs Smith instead of Mrs Smith vs Mr. Smith), she failed to list the minor children of that marriage and she might not have properly notified the Philippine Citizen? Did the judge err in granting her this divorce?

Thank you!

[Attorney Howard Iken]

There may be issues with the procedure but the divorce is most likely valid. Of course, an attorney needs to read through the documents to give a better opinion.