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(CBC)   And he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddling pension plan administrator   (cbc.ca) divider line
19
    More: Weird, Judge, Annulment, Cook Islands, Marriage, Gina Zant, Lawyer, Divorce, real Gina Zant  
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3564 clicks; posted to Main » on 23 Nov 2022 at 7:55 PM (17 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



19 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
SBinRR [OhFark]
2022-11-23 7:59:38 PM  
How did he think this was not going to eventually be discovered and end the way he didn't want it to end?
 
LordOfThePings [OhFark]
2022-11-23 8:15:08 PM  
Marriage 'null and avoid', according to correspondence

The application included correspondence from the Cook Islands stating that the marriage was "null and void."

Mom and Dad are always arguing!
 
TWX
2022-11-23 8:26:36 PM  

SBinRR: How did he think this was not going to eventually be discovered and end the way he didn't want it to end?


Well, it sounds like the pension plan official's diligence in confirming with the real beneficiary is basically the only reason that the ruling was quickly reversed.

If enough time had passed between the ruling and the ex-wife coming to learn that she was no longer listed as a pension beneficiary, it might have been much harder to get the ruling corrected.  Without the matter fresh on the mind of the judge, she might have had a much harder time proving that it really wan't her that appeared before the court, that it really was an impostor that had posed as her.  The burden of proof would have been on her.
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2022-11-23 8:28:07 PM  
"I am unable to determine, on the basis of the evidence before me, who actually appeared at the [annulment] application representing herself as Gina Elizabeth Zant. However, I am satisfied that whoever attended by telephone on that date was an imposter," Hori wrote.

OK, those two things don't go together in the same sentence. The judge can't say he is "unable to determine...who appeared" before him and then say he is satisfied it was an imposter.

if he doesn't know, he admits it could be the real person.
 
Boojum2k
2022-11-23 8:34:16 PM  

mrmopar5287: "I am unable to determine, on the basis of the evidence before me, who actually appeared at the [annulment] application representing herself as Gina Elizabeth Zant. However, I am satisfied that whoever attended by telephone on that date was an imposter," Hori wrote.

OK, those two things don't go together in the same sentence. The judge can't say he is "unable to determine...who appeared" before him and then say he is satisfied it was an imposter.

if he doesn't know, he admits it could be the real person.


The one person he knows it wasn't is Gina Zant. The identity of the imposter is unknown though.
 
Porous Horace
2022-11-23 8:38:57 PM  
Why should he owe his ex any money? Quite the racket, marriage.
 
lilbjorn
2022-11-23 9:02:54 PM  
pbs.twimg.comView Full Size
 
Stud Gerbil
2022-11-23 9:04:18 PM  
You can annul by proxy in several states.  In at least one, Montana I believe, you can annul with both parties represented by proxy.   Yeah, no chance of that going wrong.  IIRC you can also annul if you were married on a dare or bet in several states.

IANAL and probably have this all wrong.  YMMV
 
Langdon_777
2022-11-23 9:07:01 PM  
Now go after all those involved on the husband's side for fraud.
 
TWX
2022-11-23 9:21:40 PM  

Stud Gerbil: You can annul by proxy in several states.  In at least one, Montana I believe, you can annul with both parties represented by proxy.   Yeah, no chance of that going wrong.  IIRC you can also annul if you were married on a dare or bet in several states.

IANAL and probably have this all wrong.  YMMV


I could see that being attributable to marriages that are not consummated.
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2022-11-23 9:34:59 PM  

Stud Gerbil: In at least one, Montana I believe, you can annul with both parties represented by proxy.


Montana allows marriage by proxy, and they allow double proxy marriages (both parties represented by someone else) if one party is on active duty in the military.

I don't know about annulments, but maybe you mixed it up with that.
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2022-11-23 9:37:40 PM  

TWX: If enough time had passed between the ruling and the ex-wife coming to learn that she was no longer listed as a pension beneficiary, it might have been much harder to get the ruling corrected.


So, the guy should have waited a while to file the paperwork with the pension plan. Like, wait a few years, and then when it's time to draw the pension you tell them the former wife was cut out of it by the court with the anullment.
 
Trocadero
2022-11-23 10:18:35 PM  

Stud Gerbil: IIRC you can also annul if you were married on a dare or bet in several states.


That's still less stupid than most romantic comedies. I'm honestly surprised this never came up in a Nancy Meyers movie.
 
indy_kid
2022-11-24 12:02:29 AM  
Even if the marriage wasn't legal by Cook Islands law, seems to me that they established a common law marriage during the 20 years they were together.

IANAL, so that might be wrong, but it seems reasonable to me.

As for the husband committing fraud on the court? Award the entire pension to the wife. Fark him and his schemes.
 
ThePea
2022-11-24 12:06:45 AM  

indy_kid: Even if the marriage wasn't legal by Cook Islands law, seems to me that they established a common law marriage during the 20 years they were together.

IANAL, so that might be wrong, but it seems reasonable to me.

As for the husband committing fraud on the court? Award the entire pension to the wife. Fark him and his schemes.


Canada does have common law marriage, it's certainly possible.
 
daffy
2022-11-24 3:14:13 AM  
After a stunt like that, I almost believe that he is mentally ill, almost.
 
ImmutableTenderloin [BareFark]
2022-11-24 11:10:29 AM  

mrmopar5287: "I am unable to determine, on the basis of the evidence before me, who actually appeared at the [annulment] application representing herself as Gina Elizabeth Zant. However, I am satisfied that whoever attended by telephone on that date was an imposter," Hori wrote.

OK, those two things don't go together in the same sentence. The judge can't say he is "unable to determine...who appeared" before him and then say he is satisfied it was an imposter.

if he doesn't know, he admits it could be the real person.


IANAL but a judge can say anything they want, until its proven wrong. Welcome to the modern legal system, enjoy your stay.
 
mrmopar5287 [TotalFark]
2022-11-24 11:34:54 AM  

ImmutableTenderloin: IANAL but a judge can say anything they want, until its proven wrong. Welcome to the modern legal system, enjoy your stay.


Oh, I'm aware.

I absolutely hate the idea in the legal system that basically anything said in court by a "witness" is automatically assumed to be the truth unless it can be conclusively proven to be wrong (and even then, the judge or jury can just choose to believe a lie if they want to do that).

Even worse is the idea that once someone is convicted of a crime, that conviction handed down by the court is considered to be and assumed to be an absolute fact on the record that can almost never be erased or reversed. We see this in how our court system has ruled that absolute innocence is not an argument that can get a conviction overturned.
 
cgremlin
2022-11-24 11:39:20 AM  

mrmopar5287: OK, those two things don't go together in the same sentence. The judge can't say he is "unable to determine...who appeared" before him and then say he is satisfied it was an imposter.

if he doesn't know, he admits it could be the real person.


No, that doesn't logically follow.  A scammer could call me saying they're my mom and asking me to send money.  I wouldn't know who the caller was, but I'd know for sure it wasn't my mom.  Despite the popular wisdom that says "you can't prove a negative", contradictory evidence can in fact do so.
 
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