What Woud You Do If You Found Out Your Divorce Is Fake?

An Elmwood Park woman was charged on Friday with practicing law without a license and committing acts of forgery. According to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s office, Anastasya Varvaryuk, 29, sold fraudulent judgments of divorce to unsuspecting clients from a Clifton storefront and claimed the judgments were valid. Prosecutors also allege she forged the signature of a New Jersey Superior Court judge on the divorce documents.

Varvaryuk faces the possibility of three to five years in prison for each charge.

But what about the couples she allegedly tricked? The consequences for these suddenly still-married couples may be dire, and even criminal.

For example, if either spouse has since remarried since their “divorce” was supposedly granted, they may be unknowingly committing bigamy — the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another — which is considered a crime in New Jersey and other states. This would also invalidate the newer marriage, leading to further repercussions.

When couples with these fake divorce documents go back to court to obtain legitimate settlements, it’s also more likely they will encounter sticky asset division issues. When determining alimony or dividing certain assets, such as retirement plans, duration of the marriage can be a factor. Settlements may need to be recalculated from scratch to reflect how long the marriage actually lasted, or correct other errors.

It is unclear from the charges if Varvaryuk is alleged to have provided legal counsel on how to arrive at child custody plans or child support. If she did, these arrangements or support amounts could be less than ideal or fair, or in the case of child custody, may have led to agreements that do not put children’s best interests first, or even worse, put children in harm’s way.

If you are one of the couples affected by this scandal, it almost goes without saying, but please seek appropriate legal counsel as soon as possible. For anyone trying to fix mistakes in their divorce, taking swift — and smart — action to correct divorce mistakes is often the best course for keeping your children safe, your future secure, and for saving time, money and stress.

And these are “real” things in life that are worth fighting for.