Couple says divorce papers were forged

ST. LOUIS -- An attorney has been charged with forgery after a client learned the divorce papers she had received -- complete with a judge's signature -- were fakes and she was still married.

Robert and Sara Jane Rybarczyk assumed their divorce was final when Sara Jane got a certified copy of the marriage dissolution in August signed by a St. Louis County judge. The attorney she had hired, Phillip Adams, told her the divorce was official in May.

When Robert Rybarczyk hired his own attorney in December to look into making changes to the divorce terms, the attorney was unable to find any records relating to it and learned the divorce had never been filed.

Adams has been charged with one count of forgery, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. An arrest warrant alleges that Adams forged the documents in August "with the purpose to defraud."

Robert Rybarczyk now finds himself married to one woman and engaged to marry another, at least until a new divorce petition goes through. The couple have new attorneys and a court date this week, and court records show a real Rybarczyk divorce is pending.

"Nothing about this whole thing has made any sense since the beginning," said Robert Rybarczyk, of Ballwin. He also said he never met Adams.

Ed Magee, the prosecuting attorney's chief investigator, said Adams confessed to the wrongdoing in an affidavit and agreed to surrender. His bond was set at $10,000. Adams could not be reached for comment at his home or office.

Sara Jane Rybarczyk, of Maryland Heights, said she paid Adams less than $500 for a simple divorce.

"We both thought we were divorced, and now we are not," she said. "It is a huge upheaval for both of us."