Marriage Registers: How to Guard Against Bigamists & Con Artists

Marriage registers are part of the records maintained by the government. Although their first historical use was health related, marriage registers today are proof that the marriage ceremony did take place.

Marriage Registers: The Case for a National Database

Many Americans, particularly women victimized by serial bigamists, argue that government marriage registers (despite the public access allowed to them) are insufficient.

For instance, nothing will stop a newlywed from driving to an adjacent county a day after the wedding and getting married to another person again.

Americans who've been victimized by bigamists see only one solution: a national database on marriage.

The proposed database will utilize social security data to monitor every marriage and divorce that takes place across the United States.

A woman who was victimized by a bigamist in 2003 says it's a woman's right to check up on the man she's going to marry. The woman, who discovered that the man she married had another wife in Utah, likened the situation to buying property.

Just as you'd want to check that the property is “free and clear” before buying it, so would you want to check that the person you're going to marry is free.

But until petitions for a national database succeed, women (and men) have several options when checking up on a prospective partner.

Marriage Registers: How to Check Up on a Partner

No one really wants to go there, but most of us have heard enough horror stories to make us wary about plunging head first into a new relationship with a person we've just met. So what resources can we use for that purpose?

1. Check on statewide marriage registers.

You can start in your state. If a state index is available online, then use that. You can just use a marriage index search engine without having to even open marriage records or get a copy of a marriage certificate. Checking on the state or county marriage registers where your partner says he/she has been is another option.

2. Run the name on any search engine.

One woman victimized by a serial bigamist got a settlement from a US court, which her ex husband escaped from paying. She typed his name in Google and found that he had gone back to his native Australia and headed a news network there. She hired an Australian lawyer to handle things. When her ex still refused to pay, she forced him into bankruptcy. Needless to say he lost his job.

3. Do a credit investigation.

There are many online resources that you can use for a credit check. You can also check with law enforcement agencies or credit bureau offices in your area. One usual characteristic of serial bigamists and con artists is a spotty credit history. Some even have police alerts out on them for defrauding women of large sums of cash.

4. Hire someone to investigate.

You can hire an online investigation service for as little as $60. Professional investigators may use resources that are not available to you or that you'd have to do a lot of research on to find. This is especially useful if your partner has moved around the US a lot.

You can find other tips on protecting yourself against marriage register cons at RecordsSiteReviews’ Marriage Records section.