Is an 'urfi' marriage that fulfills the conditions considered haram if the husband refuses to formally divorce his wife, even though he has divorced her by phone and verbally, and has left her with her children without maintenance or care?

It is obligatory to inquire about the ruling of Islamic law before proceeding with marriage. A specific fatwa regarding the validity of a second marriage cannot be issued without verifying the three divorces (talaqat). If a woman is certain that her husband divorced her three times, and he denies it, and she is unable to provide evidence, then she must free herself from him through khul' (divorce at the wife's instance). She should not marry before the divorce or khul' is outwardly established. If she marries another man before her divorce is established, she is subject to punishment according to the apparent ruling of Islamic law, and she must be returned to her first husband.