Reasons to get Public Divorce Records

They say how it starts is usually how it ends.  My baby sister Shelly was head over heels in love with this guy she just met.  My first impression of him was not very good.  I met them both out for dinner at Applebees one evening.  I have to admit I’m pretty protective of my baby sister especially when I noticed the guy she just started to date was 10 yr’s older than her.  I still refer to her as my baby sister, but she’s actually 36 years old.

I won’t say the guy’s name, but he came across initially very arrogant.  He told me he used to be a commercial pilot for a couple of years and that he did this and that, but currently unemployed looking for work.  I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt.  Because I just met him that day and the economy is still in a recession; I could understand the part of being unemployed.

In the back of my mind, there was just something about him, I didn’t trust.  I was fine with whatever my sister wanted as long as she was happy.  She called me around one & a half or maybe around 2 months after they started dating to tell me he proposed to her.  I felt bad I didn’t say congrats, but instead “you’re kidding right?” Shelly wasn’t too thrilled about my lack of enthusiasm.

That’s when I got seriously nervous about this guy.  That week, I started to ask her more about him so I could get more information to do a little background check.  I didn’t tell my Shelly because I know she would kill me.  If he checks out, then that’s that.

What I ended up finding out was he was currently married and there was also public divorce records on him was well.  I invited Shelly over one night so we could hang out.  When I showed her the public documents his first divorce records, she started to cry.  We argued and cried together, but I got her to agree that we confronted him.  I suggested the next day, but she insisted that we do it that night.  I went back to Shelly’s and had my brother meet us there.

He must have noticed something was up seeing our brother at Shelly’s house, who he’s never met before.  I couldn’t believe the guy tried to lie his way out of it.  He said he was officially separated from his wife and that they were going through a divorce.  We asked if he was ever married before.  He lied about that as well.

After I finally pulled out the public divorce records and his marriage record did he come out and confess.  He said he loved her and that he didn’t want her to judge him.  I said…TOO LATE!  We kicked him out.  Shelly agreed that she would end it.

I encourage woman and guys to do their research on their fiancé.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.  I would start with any divorce records then marriage records.  How it starts is usually how it will end.

Important List of Records

Here are some suggestions on different records you need to get a hold of and to back up digitally.  Don’t just limit yourself to this list.  You might have more, but this should cover the basis.

Birth Records

Birth certificates are very important when applying for different things.  Trust me, I know since I sometimes help out at the law office with immigration status.  If you ever lose either your birth records or your children’s; you can always order them online as well.  Don’t expect them to overnight it to you.  There is usually a 4 week minimum wait.

Death Records

Life insurance companies won’t be able to process life insurance claims without a certified copy of the death certificate.  It’s a good idea to order a few and to scan a copy for your future records.  You never know when you’ll need to refer to the date & the cause of death.

Marriage Records

Same thing as above applies.  Along with the marriage license, it’s also a great idea to attach any church papers to these records.  For us, it was all documents signed by our priest and witnesses.

Divorce Records

If you ever decide you want to get remarried, most churches and county clerk’s offices will require your public divorce records and annulment.

Driver’s license, Social Security Card, and Passport

Remember to not only scan copies of these numbers but you should also put them in some type of a spreadsheet.  I love Microsoft Excel.  Google has a free one, but I’ve never tried it before.  Don’t forget to encrypt the Excel file.  It’s nice to be organized with one file to look at, then to open up 20 pdf files just to find a particular number.

Storing Your Digital Records From Public Access

One of the smartest things I did starting at the beginning of the 2009 was backing up all my important documents in digital form. I encourage everyone to consider doing that.  For old paper documents, I simply scan them into a pdf file.  There’s a bunch of free pdf converting software you can find online.  www.Cnet.com is where I found mine.

Eventually I’ll get one of those fast tray feeder type scanners so I can really convert all my private records into pdf.  If you haven’t got a scanner, get it.  Trust me on that one.  They are really cheap now days.  I got a multi-fax combo.  Whenever our work fax is down, we end up using our scanner to scan documents and then email them out.  We can scan and email documents.

Because computers tend to crash and mine happens to do it about once every other year, I decided it was time to back things up online using online backup services.  I started using Microsoft Excel to create worksheets of all my important phone numbers, contacts, logins, and passwords.  Did you know you can add a password protection on the Excel file?  If you don’t know how, simply click on the Excel button next to the save on the top left and slide down to the prepare.  From there you can encrypt your document.  It’s always good to have all your  organized in one record or place.

Even though I back things up on an external hard drive, I still use the online hosting type backups.  It definitely helps me sleep better knowing my important files are backed up and protected from computer crashes and theft.  When my brother Jamal’s house got broken into his lock box was stolen.  It contained all his vital work, social, and house records.  It was a huge hassle to try to reapply for his social security card.

In other words, just be careful guys and always be prepared for the worse.  This includes house fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods.

Public Records – Scary What You Can Find

It really amazes me the things you can now find online. Vital statistics like birth records, death records, marriage and public divorce records are available instantly.  Working as a legal secretary and assistant, I remember those days when I would spend hours upon hours of researching at the library.  Now I can do it all within minutes.  Thanks to the help of the internet.

Some people think it’s bad to have your information so public because someone might want to steal your identity.  I wanted to start a site to give helpful tips on what I do to safe keep my information from theft, loss, and natural disasters.  In fact; I was able to save my sister from this fraud, who proposed to her after dating for two months.  He was using her for a place to stay and never told her about his past divorce and current marriage.

It makes me upset just talking about it, so I’ll stop for now.