Resolve any question of the validity of the prior marriage; if it was not valid, its continuation or termination is irrelevant.

1. a. 

   Have the worker or claimant submit:

   • •

     The dates of prior marriage and separation.

   • •

     The places where the prior spouse has lived, including dates of residence, from date of separation to present (or the date of death if known to be deceased).

   • •

     Names and addresses of the prior spouse's relatives and friends.

2. b. 

   If the prior spouse is not located from the information in a. above, get a DEQY and ascertain the most recent employer's name and address. If the prior spouse's SSN is unknown, to get the name and address of an employer use identifying information from the marriage record to locate the SSN. Next, take the action in the following chart.

   If . . .	Then . . .
   an employer is located and the prior spouse worked there within the last 5 years	Contact the employer to try to obtain the spouse's last known address.
   the prior spouse's address is obtained	Attempt to locate that spouse.
   the prior spouse is located	Follow GN 00305.040A.2.a.
   the prior spouse is not located	Ask friends and relatives for information about the possible termination of the marriage or death of the spouse.
   friends and relatives are unable to furnish any additional information	Have them corroborate the worker's or claimant's list of places of residence for the prior spouse. Follow any new leads.
   it proves impossible to locate the prior spouse	Have the worker or claimant submit statements as to death, divorce and annulment records from clerks of the courts having jurisdiction in the places where the prior spouse resided. (If a FO employee makes the search, their statement must be submitted.)
   the worker is deceased and it is their prior marriage being developed	The claimant must submit the above information for the worker as well as the prior spouse.

3. c. 

   When all development is complete, apply the following:

   If . . .	Then . . .
   the information obtained covers all of the involved parties' places of residence from the date of separation until the date of application (or death, if applicable) and the evidence shows the marriage did not terminate	The presumption of validity of the last marriage cannot be applied. EXCEPTION: If the NH is domiciled in Kansas, submit the case to the Office of General Counsel (OGC), to determine if the presumption is rebutted.
   the whereabouts of the involved parties cannot be traced for the entire period	The presumption may be applied