Separation Timeline

If a man and woman decided to claim (as is required in the state of NC) they had been separated for a year in order to obtain a divorce, and this was in fact not true (more like 6 months), and later the man wanted to bring that information to light, what would be the process and the repercussions? Thank you.

I wouldn’t suggest doing it. Basically it had to take the two of them to agree to perpetrate the fraud before the courts, so technically they’d both be seen as guilty. Both parties could probably be charged with perjury…or worse.

This would also essentially make the divorce not legal and any subsequent marriages would be subjected to bigamy laws.

You cannot make a false claim that you have been separated for the required year and one day, divorce actions require a verification, which makes the document akin to sworn testimony, if it is false you risk being penalized for committing perjury.

From every bit of research I have conducted and the cases I have read, Family Court is a den of perjury where not a thing is done to the perjurer. Why is this?

What is the point of an oath or affirmation in these cases - window dressing?

I’m sorry you feel this way. Certainly people walk into a court of law and either have their own opinion about something or outright lie. The consequence of this may be contempt of court, or also having the judge find you an a non-credible witness, and therefore not believe your testimony. This ultimately leads to the perjurer “losing” the case.

However, I have seen litigants held in contempt of court for outright lying in court, although rarely.