Is it illegal to get remarried before my divorce is final?
Yes. You cannot be married to two people at the same time. Doing so may be a crime.
If you already filed a divorce case, you are married until the judge signs your Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
Generally, I see this situation arise when a couple tries to do their divorce case by themselves without lawyers. When they do this, they will eventually see a magistrate for a final hearing. At this hearing, the magistrate will either approve their settlement agreement or make decisions about their case.
At the end of these hearings some people assume that their case is over and that they are single again. This is not the case. The magistrate cannot dissolve your marriage. They can only recommend to the judge that your marriage be dissolved.
After one of these hearings, the magistrate will recommend that the judge approve of the magistrate’s rulings. This almost always happens. The problem is that it takes a week or two. During this delay, you are still married and cannot get married to someone else.
If you want to get remarried, you should wait until you have a Final Judgment signed by the judge.
