Divorce From a Pregnant Wife

[zajanica]

I am writing looking for information on behalf of my "adopted" son. He is 23 Will refer to him as "E"", his wife is 24 "M". She has a son from a previous relationship (out of wedlock). She is in the navy. They were married in April of this year before she went out on deployment. She while on the ship was moved to another ship, so she came home. While home, E and M decided to try for a baby (they both wanted one and had talked about it int he future, but they also moved up the date of trying for one so she would possibly not have to go out on another 10 month deployment in Feb.)

She just returned from a week out and informed E that she wants a divorce. She said she has feeling for her ex. She is now claiming E has abused her and he denies this. She never said anything to any off us and none of us ever saw signs of this. They are a very open couple on FB and post everything related to their life on FB and all we see are things of how much they love each other, pictures of them kissing and hugging and matching tattoos... they constantly post back and forth their love, ect. Well now she is also claiming to be pregnant.

She says the baby is his. She says she is done and is filing for divorce. My son is devastated. He wants his wife, but also is worried about losing his child now too (he has wanted children his whole life) This is something he is petrified of.

She is stationed in Virginia. What rights does he have to the baby? Can she deny him? If she says the baby is not his, does he have rights since they are married???

Help anyone please!

- - - Updated - - -

OH, another thing, she is stationed in VA, but he is still living in Ohio and was in the process of moving to VA because he was staying here to save money since she was deployed. will he need ohio lawyer or Va

[Dogmatique]

The divorce will not be finalized until the child is born. Since he is her husband, he is the presumed father of the child and will have the exact same rights as Mom - right from the get-go. Temporarily, at least.

However, E needs to expect M and her beau to challenge the paternity as part of the divorce action. If that happens, then E won't have any rights (or obligations) to the child.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If there is a dispute as to paternity, or the court wants to wait to see what the DNA tests show, it is possible that the divorce will be held in abeyance until after the child is born. It's possible (no guarantees) that a divorce could enter earlier, but with the issues of paternity, child support and visitation held in abeyance until after the child born. It's going to depend in part upon where the divorce is filed, the practices of the judge, and the facts that come out in court. If the husband says, "It could be my child", and the laws of biology leave open that possibility, he can expect that the court will want DNA test results before ruling on paternity.

If no divorce has been filed, the husband is in Ohio and the wife is still legally domiciled in Ohio, he may want to consider filing for divorce in Ohio so that he's litigating in a convenient jurisdiction.