Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
Im married been so for 7 yrs have 4 children w/ my hubby. I had an affair got pregnant again. Hubby had been fixed so I know my 2 month old son is not husbands. BUT Hubby put his name on birth certificate. Ex/affair guy was charged with domestic voilence towards me, had prior DV charges, not just arrest but charged. He also has mental health issues he has been diagnosed with bipolar PTSD depression and 3 suicide attempts in the last 3 yrs since 2007.
NOW his family is stating they are going to force me to get DNA test, take hubbys name off birth certificate and legally change the babys name to the same last name as biological father. Then demand visitation for both them selves and the bi-father. Or full custody.
Please spare me the moral lecture, as I fully know how I horrible I messed up but I need to know what my rights are. What sort of rights does he have and what can he do to me????
His family claims they will be fighting for full custody based on my imoral act of my affair. The affair guy was also married w/ child whose wife divorced him (Unrelated to our relationship) She was awarded full custody of their child.
Can he even haul my butt into court???? Does he have any rights??? What would happen if I 100% avoided being served, or if served just never apeared in court??.
Last the man/bio-father states he wants nothing to do with me or baby, and is not suppose to contact me due to the assult dv case. His family does. We changed phone #'s and internet things, and got a restraining order which we could not serve him with b/c he was in a VA mental ward for approx 3 weeks. Then leters started coming in the mall non threatening other then legal threats etc. and of course a lovely bunch of insults.
In the last conversation with the bi father he swore he'd take the kid, then swore he'd ruin my marriage and had hoped I'd die,. just added info.
What do you think?? All advise is needed?? Also he lives in UT Im in AZ where child was born and his DV was commited. He was told not to leave state.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Wow that sounds complicated but really, no moral lecture to be given. This state does not focus on those things and in fact, those things are irrelevant. The only issue for the court is who is the father and whether the father is seeking rights. Theoretically the grandparents might be able to raise an action for time with the baby at some point but his family cannot simply raise it just to raise it. If dad does not want to then it won't likely happen. The question is whether you might be able to get father to agree to terminate his parental rights and allow your husband to legally adopt the baby. That would be the best way to approach it IF father will agree. The matter would have to be filed in Arizona since that is where the baby and you reside.
Yes, the Father can sue for rights. BUT, Arizona law does have some provisions which you can assert to PREVENT him from even seeking a paternity test as "contrary to the child's best interests". Arizona law does "presume" that any child born during the marriage is a PRODUCT OF THE MARRIAGE, and will sometimes prevent "bio-dad" from interfering in order to protect the child's overall best interests.
We can certainly help you consider and then pursue your options.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free 1/2 hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call us directly to discuss the specifics of your matter, or contact my assistant Gloria or my paralegal Jennifer to schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation
/s/ Rich J. Peters
RJ PETERS & ASSOC., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
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