NEWSLegal Expert Insists 'There Is No Such Thing As A Polygamous Divorce' After Kody Brown Allegedly Refuses To Participate In 'Any Spiritual Divorce Ceremonies' With Christine
A legal expert has weighed in on Sister Wives' stars Christine Brown and Kody Brown's split.
Christine announced in November 2021 that she and her husband had parted ways. Although Kody has four wives, he is only legally married to Robyn, as the two tied the knot after he divorced first wife Meri in 2014. Since the split, fans have been wondering how the coparents will navigate their separation.
Legal expert Michael J. Higdon told In Touch Weekly that "there is no such thing as a polygamous divorce."
"A person can only have one legal spouse, and that is true in every state," the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law at University of Tennessee College of Law told the publication.
He added that while someone may have several religious ceremonies with more than one person, the law will only recognize that they have one spouse at the time. "Thus, the only divorce that can take place is between those two legal spouses," he reportedly continued. "In addition, every state recognizes no-fault divorce, meaning that if either of those two people wants a divorce, they can get one."
"If someone in a polygamous 'marriage' wants to leave the 'marriage' and yet that person is not recognized as a legal spouse, they could conceivably have some other remedies — for instance through a cohabitation contract or the putative spouse doctrine," Michael told the publication.
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Michael's comments come after sources revealed the family patriarch may not go through with a spiritual divorce from Christine.
As previously reported by OK!, an insider spilled that Kody will not give the 49-year-old a separation ceremony because he feels "betrayed," explaining: "He left her on her own to make peace with the separation — it was her and God, not her and Kody."
The source added that Kody does not believe in divorce nor plan on participating, "in any spiritual divorce ceremonies."
The former flames got hitched in a spiritual ceremony in 1994. They share children Aspyn, 26, Mykelti, 25, Paedon, 23, Gwendlyn, 20, Ysabel, 18, and Truely, 11.
