Who Was That Mashed Man? - S5-E7
Kitty: Mr. Fielding? Can I ask you a question?
Dan Fielding: Certainly, young lady. Anything.
Kitty: Did you know I'm double-jointed?
Dan Fielding: Really?
Kitty: Wanna see?
Dan Fielding: Yes. [slaps his face] No. Yes. [slaps his face again] No. I can't. Now look, if anything should happen between you and I, your Uncle Vincent's gonna find out then I'm gonna lose something that's very important to me.
Kitty: Your job?
Dan Fielding: If I'm lucky.
Answer: Being declared legally dead is called "death in absentia", meaning there is no evidence of death (i.e. a body), but the individual is presumed dead. This can happen to anyone, not just MIA soldiers. If a spouse petitions the courts to grant a divorce on the presumption of death and all criteria are meet, they are legally divorced and free to remarry. The return of the presumed dead would not change the divorce ruling. However, if a spouse does not go through the legal steps prior to remarrying, then the return of the presumed dead spouse would nullify and void the 2nd marriage immediately (and the remarried spouse could face bigamy charges).
Bishop73