
Quoting
inapickle
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Texas
I'm expecting a baby as the result of infidelity(on my part). I'm still married and for the time being the plan is to stay that way. The affair partner/expectant mother is currently going through a divorce(that was filed prior to the discovery of this pregnancy, (and supposedly had nothing to do with our affair). The affair partner/expectant mother has stated that she does not want nor expects anything for me. This is unacceptable for me as I want to be a part of this child's life(assuming it is mine), and help to provide for it. I know that the first thing I will need to do is to establish paternity. What is the best way to go about this, should I get a lawyer, or ask for it on my own. My fear is that the expectant mother will want to limit my access to the child. I do not want to be one of the stories that you hear about in which one parent denies the other access to the children. Do I have any legal right to demand that she give the baby my last name? How does her being involved in a pending divorce affect me and this pregnancy? I don't really know how she is going to behave once the baby is born, and I just want to be a part of the child's life, help support it and have fair access to the child and visitation. I anticipate that there will be great resentment from her family once they find out what's going on, and that they will be a big influence on her as they provide a great deal of support for her (financially). They also have considerably more resources (financially) than I do. Where do I start???