What Are the Effects of Pregnancy on Your Divorce?

What Are the Effects of Pregnancy on Your Divorce?

While filing for divorce can be your only option, especially in an abusive marriage, factors affecting the process like pregnancy are worth considering. Pregnancy affects divorce in many ways, such as waiting until the baby is born, establishing waiting periods, and settling paternity. However, to successfully handle divorce while pregnant, legal counsel from a qualified divorce lawyer, family law attorney will make things easy for you.

Effects of Pregnancy on Divorce

According to the American Pregnancy Association, expectant mothers are torn between writing off and progressing with their divorces. However, unless your decision is genuinely based on fault issues such as abuse, infidelity, and more, you may want to consider effects such as:

Inability to Establish Child Custody and Support Orders Until the Baby is Born

Ending your marriage may seem like the best decision for you and your unborn child considering safety and other challenges in an abusive marriage; however, unless the child is born while the divorce is in progress, finalizing the matter will have to wait until the baby is born.
Waiting until the child is born allows the law to seamlessly address problems surrounding your marriage, such as giving the baby sufficient child support and determining paternity. Additionally, waiting is a rule considering most states don't allow the creation of custody and support orders on fetuses.

Effects of Pregnancy on Divorce Paternity Resolutions

If you're pregnant and your baby is born ten months following your divorce progress, the man you're divorcing is assumed the baby's biological father. However, if you're the assumed biological father and want to avoid taking responsibility for the child, you can sign a waiver of paternity.
Conversely, when your pregnancy results from an affair your husband knows, the biological father will sign an acknowledgment of paternity while the divorcing spouse signs a waiver. Likewise, the child's biological father can work with child services to establish paternity in case waivers, and acknowledgment paternity procedures are complicated. Additionally, regardless of the pregnancy and divorce status, you as the male divorcing spouse can seek disestablishment of paternity by:

  • Filing a Court Action for Paternity Disestablishment

Suppose paternity is established by an Affidavit, Declaration, or by default during court child support establishment. In that case, you can overcome the child's paternity as the biological father by taking the matter to court. During the hearing, a paternity disestablishment action will be created to disestablish your support and custody orders of the child. Likewise, if your wife gives birth and you're not the biological father, an action against paternity will also be established.

However, nullifying your responsibilities against the child is only ruled when the mother signs the paternity disestablishment petition. Additionally, you will win the petition when the court rules the paternity establishment at first was due to fraud, mistakes of fact, and coercion. Moreover, as the male divorcing partner filing for a paternity disestablishment petition due to pregnancy during a divorce, be sure to note the following:

If you win the petition, your parental rights will be terminated, and you'll be relieved from future support and custody responsibilities. Secondly, whether the petition wins or not, you'll be responsible for all the costs incurred. Lastly, unless the court orders, your visitation and custody obligations may not be affected; thus, the mother may still be eligible to leave the child in your hands.

How to Successfully Handle a Divorce While Pregnant

If your decision about ending your marriage is final despite being pregnant, a qualified divorce attorney will help you maneuver effortlessly. However, when you're divorcing due to irreconcilable problems, abandonment, and abuse, handling the process can be overwhelming unless you implement strategies like:

  • Creating an Emotional Support System

According to the American Pregnancy Association, you will likely suffer from prenatal depression when divorced while pregnant hence essential to seek pregnancy counseling before and after the divorce. However, even without the divorce stressors, pregnancy is full of emotional changes and mood swings that can adversely affect your health and the unborn baby. Moreover, emotional support is paramount when you're in your third trimester, where most pregnant women experience hormonal changes.

  • Establish Co-Parenting Plans

Unless your previous marriage was faced with domestic violence and abuse, you wouldn't want your children associating with; co-parenting will help them build and retain good relationships with both parents and more. Plan with your Ex on creating a co-parenting strategy for the benefit of your children in areas like helping kids feel secure.

According to psychology, your children's sense of security increases when both parents actively participate in their lives. In addition, when kids are confident both parents are responsible for them, they easily and quickly adjust to life circumstances without hassles. They also develop an excellent sense of self-esteem and problem–solving abilities which support their mental wellness and decision making.

  • Create a Comprehensive Financial Plan

Whether you're the mother or father, divorce will probably result in financial responsibilities you may not have anticipated. When support and custody orders are given, you'll want to avoid disregarding the law by paying your bills when due. As such, be sure to create a financial strategy starting with basics to secondary needs. Changing beneficiaries, opening new accounts, and dissolving joint accounts are the first few financial steps to take.
Aside from dissolving accounts and more, creating an income safety net will also help you plan your finances well. An income safety net plan will also save you from lacking helping hands when you run out of money during emergencies, something you previously would have depended on your spouse. Additionally, an income net plan comes with disability insurance which offers you an opportunity to earn monthly if you're sick or jobless in the future.

Conclusion

As you can imagine, pregnancy affects your divorce in many ways. However, when it's the best decision for you and your children, the best thing to do is get help from qualified divorce attorneys from renowned legal family firms like https://familylawattorneymesaaz.net/ for comprehensive legal counsel before kick-starting the process will help you handle your divorce peacefully. Likewise, planning your finances, creating a co-parenting plan, and attending emotional support counseling will help you manage the divorce stressors that might adversely affect your unborn child.

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