questions & answers

Question: My girlfriend and i are having a baby in may. She is legally separated from her ex but not fully divorced. She has been in the middle of trying to divorce him for a year and 2 months now but for some reason its taking an extremely long time. i want to know if our baby will be considered mine, and if i will have legal rights and be put onto her birth certificate....please any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Answer:

The following is provided for general information only. To find out how the law applies to a specific situation, contact an attorney directly.  Under Arizona law, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if that man and the child’s mother are married at the time of the child’s birth, or were married at any point in the ten month preceding the birth. (ARS 25-814) The same statute specifies that if another man wishes to show that he – and not the man presumed to be the father – is the true father, the presumed father must give written consent to the acknowledgement of the true father or the presumption must be rebutted (i.e. with the administration of a paternity test). Please also see ARS 25-812 for several alternative ways to establish paternity in the event that the birth occurs out of wedlock, and outside of the ten month window.