The reasons for the divorce should be based on what is the current situation of the marital relationship, not conditions or reasons outside the relationship. This includes getting pregnant. The spouses should look at and talk about their relationship now. Can they make it work? It is still sustainable.
Click here to watch the video on Should I Get Divorced If I’m Pregnant In Michigan?
Getting pregnant in Michigan or in any state for that matter should not be driving the decision to get divorce or not. If you can’t make it work anymore, then maybe divorce is an option. A lawyer in Michigan can advise you on the divorce process based on the merits of your case, not on your pregnancy.
Unfortunately, pregnancy and divorce can occasionally go hand in hand, and expectant women may find themselves divorcing their partners. Because pregnancy, like many other significant life events, may produce tension in even the most solid of relationships. Divorce may be on the table if the pregnant parents are worried about their money, there is doubt about the child’s paternity, or the new baby simply adds extra tension to a pressure cooker of emotions.
Yes, you can apply for divorce if you or your husband is expecting a child. The pregnancy must be disclosed to the judge in your divorce case. The judge can order you to delay finalizing your divorce until after the baby is born.
If You Really Insist On Divorce If You’re Pregnant
If you are pregnant and thinking about seeking a divorce, you might worry whether Michigan law forbids it (as it does in some states), and you might also be concerned about how the court will handle issues like paternity and parentage, as well as child custody and parenting time. In Michigan, you are able to file for divorce while you are pregnant, but there are a few things you need to be aware of before doing so.
You must make your pregnancy known when you file your divorce lawsuit in Michigan. The judge will need to be aware of your pregnancy in order to realize that your divorce case will require decisions and orders on child support, child custody, and parenting time.
Talk to your attorney and give as much information about the pregnancy. As you get ready for your divorce, you will have some use for such information.
According to Michigan law, if a mother becomes pregnant or if the parents are married at the time of the child’s birth, paternity is immediately established. Therefore, paternity won’t be a problem in the majority of divorce cases where a pregnant spouse files for divorce because the pregnancy would have happened while the couple was still married.
If you are filing for divorce due to marital infidelity or concerns about the child’s biological father, it can be essential to establish paternity.
You need to talk to your attorney, not just about the pregnancy. You need to talk about where your spouse will be on all of this. Have you even talked to your husband about this pregnancy? There are cases where the husband insisted on keeping the marriage like the whole package including the unborn child. Some even raised the baby just to keep the marriage.
Keeping the family is always the leaning of the state and the courts.
Be Pregnant, Be Ready For Divorce
Yes, you can get pregnant and get divorce in Michigan. The court will probably require you to wait until after giving birth to your child before making any final steps in the divorce. You will go through the divorce and your bump is going to get bigger, so might as well get ready.
Find a good attorney now and talk about your options.
If you are not in Michigan during and after your pregnancy, ask your lawyer if you will actually be allowed to file a divorce in your current residence. Choose an attorney specializing in family law and will subscribe to the vision of what you want the divorce to turn out for you and your ex.
Find your circle of support, you will need it.
Divorce can be a very exhausting experience, if you’re pregnant, it can be more so. You will need support when you’re walking around with that bump. You will need more support when the baby is out. Find your support and take it as they come.
Consider already a co-parenting plan.
Whether you like it or not, you have started the ball rolling with divorce. You might as well go all the way. Planning for the future might help take your mind off your pregnancy anxieties. Start with your co-parenting plan. There’s a parenting time guideline in Michigan. It’s online. Find it and read it.
Plan for your future financial needs.
You will eventually get down to the specifics of alimony and child support. Talk with your attorney about how to go about it. If you’re a regular mother, you should have nine months to get around these financials. It should give you a perspective about the practical realities of raising your child.
Just In Case You Run Into The Uniform Parentage Act
Just in case you want to know the options of the father in the event you do take matters into your own hands and go ahead with the divorce. You need to talk to your attorney about your husband’s options under the Uniform Parentage Act or UPA.
Cases involving the parentage of children are governed by the Uniform Parentage Act, or “UPA.” The parentage of children for married and unmarried couples is governed by this law. The UPA focuses particularly on the legal system governing paternity law. The Uniform Parentage Act establishes the following:
- [a] Procedures for proving paternity through voluntary admission;
- [b] The requirements for genetic paternity testing; and
- [c] Procedures used by the legal system to establish paternity.
You may not be sure if your soon-to-be ex will be all for divorce. He might not. He might even challenge it to keep the marriage. Just so you know, your attorney can tell you what options your ex can take to challenge you.
The UPA has broadened the meaning of “father” in the law in addition to extending who may bring a paternity case. The definition is expanded to encompass:
- [a] The child’s mother’s husband at the time of conception, or the supposed father;
- [b] Either the child’s assumed father or the person who shared their home with them for the first two years of their life;
- [c] A man confessing fatherhood;
- [d] A man who has been identified as the child’s father through arbitration or a prior court order;
- [e] Adoptive fathers, as well as
- [f] A man who has agreed to participate in assisted reproduction, such as by providing sperm.
In comparison to legislation of states that have passed the UPA and those that have some judicially created exceptions similar to those in the UPA, Michigan law provides a different response to the recent changes in the context of adoption. All biological dads (not husbands) in Michigan who conceive or give birth to a child during a marriage are denied standing under the state’s Paternity Act, court of appeals rulings, and Michigan Supreme Court judgments.
The analysis conducted under the Adoption Code, where efforts are taken to remove a father’s parental rights so the child may be adopted, is actually no different from what the UPA does with regard to children born or conceived during a marriage. There, we focus on how the father and child are related. Has the father established a strong parent-child bond with the child and given the child consistent, significant support?
Recent attempts in Michigan to enact legislation that would address the problem of “paternity fraud” have highlighted the significance of giving biological fathers standing. The proposed legislation would enable a male to disestablish paternity and escape financial responsibility for a child or children born during his marriage to his wife. A child might be abandoned without parental direction and financial assistance, from the only father they have ever known.
A husband would not be able to contest paternity if he had knowledge of the child’s paternity for an extended period of time and had not opposed it during that time. The UPA imposes a limit of 2 years. Depriving a putative father of his right to prove his paternity is one thing, but denying the child the father they were raised by is quite another.
You may have to think about this also should you keep a child from another man to keep the marriage.
We suggest reading our article, “How Long Does A Father Have To Establish Paternity?” to get a perspective about a father’s rights.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.