Bigamy

When a person is married to more than one person at one time. When a person is already married, any subsequent marriage is void and will need go through an annulment process. Further, bigamy is a Class 5 felony under A.R.S. § 13-3606, but only if the person enters into the second marriage knowingly, i.e., they enter into a marriage fully aware that they are married to someone else. For example, let’s say Bruce and Kathy filed for divorce a year ago. They both mistakenly believed they had taken all the steps to get divorced, but they had not, and unbeknownst to them, their divorce proceedings were dismissed. Kathy married Michael. She later finds out she is still married to Bruce. In that instance, her marriage to Michael is void (and she will need to file an annulment), but she is not guilty of the crime of bigamy because she did not marry Michael knowing that she was still married to Bruce.

See also: void marriages, voidable marriage