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apriln · Dec 9, 2009, 12:35 PM

I am technically still married, we have not been living together or anything for 5 years. He lives in another state. We just haven't gotten a divorce yet.. procrastination I guess..
Anyway.. I am not pregnant by by b/f or 3 years.. what is the law of being married, and being pregnant by someone else.. what name does the baby get (last) if not divorced by arrival.

this8384 · Dec 10, 2009, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by apriln

i am technically still married, we have not been living together or anything for 5 years. He lives in another state. We just havent gotten a divorce yet.. procrastination i guess..
anyways..i am not pregnant by by b/f or 3 years..what is the law of being married, and being pregnant by someone else.. what name does the baby get (last) if not divorced by arrival.

To my knowledge, there is no "law" that says who you can have a child with.

When the baby is born, you can give it any name you want - your married name, your maiden name, your boyfriend's name, your dog's name.

The problem is that because you are still legally married, your husband will be assumed to be the legal father. If you ever get around to actually getting a divorce, a paternity test will have to be done to establish who the legal father is.

Fr_Chuck · Dec 10, 2009, 04:41 PM

If you are still married, by law the husband is considered the legal father of the child ( in most US states)

This is where it varies, in some states if the husband does not contest this with a DNA test in a certain amount of times, he will be the Legal father and stays the legal father even if he is not the father.

So now not only divorce but child custody hearings, including DNA tests.

cdad · Dec 10, 2009, 04:50 PM

As far as the name of the child goes that's up to the mother to decide and the father to contest it if wanting to do so. You can name the child Hans Solo if you want just so long as given a legal name and that's the name the child will carry with them.

ScottGem · Dec 10, 2009, 05:08 PM

Laws vary by jurisdiction and, like many people, you fail to give is your location so we can't even tell what laws may apply.

As noted, you can name him whatever you want. But who is the legal father is going to vary depending on local laws. I would suggest consulting a local Family Law attorney to determine what you need to do.

gooney86 · Apr 1, 2012, 05:49 PM

Your child will have to take your husbands last name this is a new law in the state of Georgia then after you get divorce you will have to wait 11 months after the divorce to change the baby name if that what you want

AK lawyer · Apr 1, 2012, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by gooney86

your child will have to take your husbands last name this is a new law in the state of georgia then after you get divorce you will have to wait 11 months after the divorce to change the baby name if that what you want

Seems quite odd for several reasons. You wouldn't have a link to this new law, would you?

ScottGem · Apr 2, 2012, 03:32 AM

Originally Posted by gooney86

your child will have to take your husbands last name this is a new law in the state of georgia then after you get divorce you will have to wait 11 months after the divorce to change the baby name if that what you want

Normally I would remove this response since it was posted to a thread more than 2 years old. However, we take pride in the accuracy of our answers here, so if there is a new law that requires a child to take a husband's last name we would like to be aware of it. So please give us a cite for this law as I couldn't find anything. I did find information that stated that BOTH parents need to agree to a name change unless one is deceased, but if this is new law that may have been old info.

I will give you some time to respond with a cite. If none is forthcoming then I will remove your post and all responses to it.