Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-19
DIVORCE DECISION IS WIDE
Ruling Threatens Endless Bntanglements
on Property and MatrimOny.
MANY DEGREES IN OMAHA MAY Be INVALID
some Lawyers Here Think Half the
Number of Divorces In Re-
cent Years VIII he
AnnuIled.

Almost endless matrimonial ana property
entanglements will be the result OF the
recent decision of the supreme court hold
ing a divorce invalid outside the state in
which it is granted If either party is not a
resident OF the state. in the opinion Of the
lawyers. The decision. II correctly reported
in the press dispatches, is declared to be
one of the most radical opinions ever
handed down by that body.
The effect of the decision will be to rem
der invalid every divorce in which one of
the parties is not a resident of the state i'm
which the divorce is granted, and as al
most if not quite half Of the divorce cases
in Omaha in recent years are of this ma
ture its far-reachng effect can easily be
seen. 1t will invalidate scores of divorces
granted In Douglas county, render void
large number of marriages following the
divorces, make children of many of the
second marriages illegitimate and plunge
the title to large tracts of land into con
troversy, so lawyers say.
While none of the court officials could
make an estimate of the number of di-
vorces granted in Douglas county which
will be affected, it is agreed the number
will run up into the hundreds. A very
! conservative estimate is that one-third of
the divorces which come before the courts
in this county are brought against nom
residents. Some persons familiar with
the records place the proportion as high
as one-half
Estates I'm ~ Mess.
| In many of these cases the title to
property has passed by decree. Under
the decision of the court these titles will
be invalid. The decision will also COM
plicate the settling of estates where di-
vorces have been granted on service by
| publication and one of the parties re-
married again.
! ut is hardly safe to discuss the decision
until you have read it," said Judge Ken
| hedy of the district equity court Wednes-
day, but from the reports in the news
papers IL will cause endless complications
in divorce cases. AS l understand it it does
not prevent the granting of divorces where
one party is a nonresident of the state,
but 1t merely holds the decree granted
under those circumstances is not valid in
other states than the one in which it
was granted. If this is true one party may
secure a divorce in Nebraska, while the
status Of the other party living outside the
state is not affected
| Il believe the result of the decision will
be to cure some of the worst abuses OF
our divorce laws by preventing the indis.
criminate granting of DEGREES in cases
where one party is a nonresident and per-
haps not aware that the case has been
filed. l believe 1t will also hurry along
the movement for uniform divorce laws in
all of the states
Judge Irving f. Baxter also declared the
decision if correctly reported was one OF
the most radical ever handed down by the
supreme court.
As to the Bassett Case.
Il can hardly believe the decision is as
broad as the press reports Indicate" he
said but II it is. il will affect scores OF
| divorces and involve considerable property
in litigation" sfir.
Whether or not the decision will affect
the divorce case Of Fannie Rice Bassett
! against Charles C. Bassett of Washington
| opinion among the lawyers differs. Judge
| Baxter, Mrs. Bassetts attorney, is of the
opinion it will not affect the case as Mr.
Bassett has already entered his appearance
! in the case. Other attorneys expressed
the opinion the entering of an appearance
by the defendant did not affect the case
If the defendant is a nonresident of the
state.
Divorces OF more or less prominence
who have secured DEGREES in Omaha will
be affected. one OF these is Franz Vile
eek, the violinist, who secured a divorce
from his wife some time ago. She was
a resident of New York at the time and
service was had on her there. An almost
endless list of cases which have beer
heard in the South Dakota courts will be
affected also.