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Ms. Yeager indicated that she did not contest the annulment. In
the Waiver, Ms. Yeager swore that when she married Mr. Rinehart
the divorce action between her and Mr. Williams was not final and
was still pending before the court in Washington State.
Also that same day, the Texas State court issued a Decree of
Annulment declaring petitioners’ marriage null and void. At Ms.
Yeager’s request, the Texas State court ordered and decreed that
Ms. Yeager’s legal name was Jeana Lee Williams.
The reason petitioners obtained the annulment was to
insulate Mr. Rinehart’s assets from Ms. Yeager’s creditors. Even
though the Texas State court annulled petitioners’ marriage, Ms.
Yeager considered herself divorced from Mr. Williams because Mr.
Williams had not taken any legal action to set aside the divorce.
In February 1996, 1 month after the Decree of Annulment was
issued, Ms. Yeager filed for bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy
petition, Ms. Yeager stated that she was divorced and that Mr.
Williams was her ex-husband. On the bankruptcy petition, Ms.
Yeager listed her last name as “Yeager”, and not “Williams”. Ms.
Yeager filed the bankruptcy petition 2 days before the final
settlement conference, and approximately 1 week before the trial,
in the Rutan lawsuit.
Sometime after the filing of the bankruptcy petition, the
Rutan lawsuit was settled. Mr. Rutan dropped the Rutan lawsuit
after learning that Ms. Yeager had filed for bankruptcy, was
divorced, and was earning only $400 a month as a ranch hand.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011