sticky/confusing situation

Vermont.. I am now the father of a four week old baby boy. The mother informed me at the beginning of our relationship that she was divorced. I have since come to find out that she is re-establishing a relationship with him. I have also learned through the department of health that there are no records of this divorce. If there is no diviorce, has she broken any laws? How should I approach all of this? If thius divorce never happened, do I have more clout in custody and support hearings?

If there was no divorce, i.e. she was still married to him, then the presumption is that he is the legal father of the child.

That presumption can be rebutted in some states, such as Indiana, by evidence such as DNA testing that shows that you are the biological father. I do not know whether that is true in your state, however.

Do you want to be the father of the child or not?

what about this???

Does it make any difference if I signed a Voluntary Parentage Agreement at the hospital and that my name appears on the birth certificate.

I want so much to be his father. I have already fallen in love with the little guy and I try to see him everyday although sometimes mom makes that difficult.

Signing that document helps, but in order to legally establish paternity, you need to file a Petition to Establish Paternity with the court.

Then paternity can be established at a hearing by agreement of the parties and order of the court or a DNA test that is submitted to the court and subsequent order of the court.

Once paternity is established, then child support, custody and visitation will also be decided and ordered by the court.

Hope this information helps.

thankyou.. and one more question...

Does the facts that I am a legal resident of Indiana, the child may have been conceived in either Indiana or Colorado, and I will soon become a legal resident of Illinois have any bearing on this case?

Your Petition to Establish Paternity would be filed in the state where mom and child live.

Where the baby was conceived has no bearing here.

aside from paternity....

Assuming that I am the father, what bearing does this messed-up residency situation have on custody, visitation, and my legal rights. If she has "set me up", as I mentioned above, to be a sarrogate father for her and her husband's child, what does me leaving say to the court. Does she have any rights that would make leaving for me a bad thing?

If you live in different states, your visitation schedule will likely be different than it would be otherwise, in order to accommodate the greater distance and expense of the visits.

I have no idea what you're asking with the "leaving for me" part of your question.....