I now pronounce you man and wife...or are you?

Imagine if you will...It's the late 1980s or early 1990s, you're at a church, among all your friends and family and you're standing next to the person who is soon to become your husband or wife. The ceremony is beautiful, everything has gone off without a hitch and now you're married to the love of your life. You go off, have some kids, get a nice house, all that stuff married couples do...

Fast forward to 2009. You're going through official important papers, looking for something or whatever. You come across your marriage certificate. you'd been looking for it for one reason or another. You do what you need to do with it. But...something is not right.

The minister who preformed your wedding NEVER FILED THE LICENSE! for the last 20 years you've been living with your husband or wife, filing taxes, filling out insurance papers AS A MARRIED COUPLE, but legally you aren't married. Spiritually you're married, but according to the government, you aren't.

~~~

That, ladies and gentlemen, is not fiction! I get a call during the week from someone who was married by a former Pastor some 20 years ago and they leave a message saying I need to talk to the Pastor about a wedding he preformed. I was thinking oh they need a copy of the wedding certificate. I called and left a message and went about my business. about an hour later I'm packing up to leave and something tells me to call back again. so I do and the person answers. I explain how that Pastor was no longer at this church and the lady then tells me her story (the one above).

Part of me thinks, oh wow that sucks, but what do you want him to do? you already went through and redid your vows and you're legally married now, but another part of me was like oh wow! their lives could have been ruined while they were filling out some important papers or whatever.

I just got off the phone with Colleen and she said to e-mail the Pastor the information and let them deal with it. What good would that do? They already redid their vows and are now legally married, albeit, it looks like they've been married a short time and not the 20 years they thought they were. Colleen also told me this Pastor had done that a few times in the past! That he was late in filing her license.

Then I thought of my sister & her husband. This pastor preformed her wedding in 1990. Is she legally married to her loser husband?

Have to figure out how to word this e-mail to the Pastor to let him know. I'll do it when I get home.