Getting a Divorce While Pregnant

 Posted on April 02, 2019 in Divorce

A married couple may decide to start a family, but what happens if that couple decides to get a divorce while expecting a child? A divorce and pregnancy are stressful on their own, but experiencing them together presents a unique set of challenges. In Illinois, a pregnancy in no way restricts your ability to end a marriage, but there are some reasons a family may choose to delay divorce finalization until after the child is born. 

Whether this is a first child or a new addition, it will be important to discuss what is best for your growing family. Although you and your spouse may not see eye to eye anymore, reaching common ground about an unborn child and divorce will reduce everyone’s stress. Consider some of these points when making decisions about your divorce with a baby on the way. 

Paternity

While there is no question about the biological status between mother and child at birth, paternity - the legal relationship between a father and child - is sometimes unknown or contested. When a child is born to a married couple, the woman’s husband is assumed to be the legal father and has rights to the child. The child also becomes eligible for benefits from the father, such as health insurance, social security benefits, and any inheritance. Without being married, you may have to establish paternity, such as signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form. On the other hand, if the paternity of the child is not certain at this point in your relationship, it may be best to end the marriage and prove paternity after.

Health and Safety

Getting a divorce may not be the best thing for the health and safety of you and your child. Depending on the relationship between you, your spouse, and your family, the best option may be to delay divorce out until after the birth. This way, although divorce may be on your mind, mother and child do not have to go through the mental and physical stress a divorce often brings. Many states do not allow divorce until a child is born, and this is to allow for custody decisions to be made with the child out of the womb. Waiting on the divorce also prevents stress about a custody situation that is not yet relevant. Custody may be easier to figure out after the baby is born. 

Contact a Rolling Meadows Divorce Lawyer

With a baby on the way, let an experienced Schaumburg divorce attorney help you figure out what is best for you, your family, and your unborn child. Call our office at 630-426-0196 to set up an initial consultation today.

Source:

https://www.illinois.gov/hfs/ChildSupport/FormsBrochures/Pages/hfs3282.aspx