In Re Marriage Of Aviles & Vulovic

79 Cal.App.5th 694 (2022)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In October 2006, w filed a petition for a divorce from her then-husband, Alexander Vulovic. She believed that she would be divorced automatically six months after filing the petition. H and W were married in Las Vegas in March 2011. In May 2011, when W appeared, in propria persona, at a child support hearing in her divorce proceeding, the judge told her that her divorce was not final. H helped W retain an attorney; however, as far as he knew, the attorney's role was to obtain child custody and child support. H never went to any of the hearings in W's divorce case, because she told him “if [he] showed up, her ex-husband would flip out … .” In March 2012, W's divorce became final. In April 2013, at H's request, they went through a marriage ceremony in a Catholic church. To be eligible, W went to church every week for 16 months and attended adult confirmation classes for 13 months. H testified that they did not receive “a California wedding certificate.” W testified that they received a marriage certificate “through the church” rather than through the county. In September 2013, they went through another marriage ceremony at a winery, in front of 200 guests. They wanted to “celebrate [the] marriage with all the family members.” They did not receive a marriage certificate. In January 2020, they separated and H filed for a divorce. In April 2020, H found a petition to annul W's marriage to Mr. Vulovic, signed by her and dated in December 2012 but never filed. H learned for the first time that she was still married when she first married him. H filed an amended petition, for an annulment. H argued that W was not entitled to spousal support or attorney fees because she was still married when she purported to marry him. H also argued that she did not qualify as a putative spouse. H also argued that W fraudulently induced him to take part in the April 2013 and September 2013 marriage ceremonies by concealing the fact that she had been married at the time of the original marriage. The court ruled that W was at least a putative spouse. It awarded W $9,353 a month in temporary spousal support and $12,541 in attorney fees. H appealed.