Can I Get a Divorce During Pregnancy?

It’s intriguing how many people believe that a judge will not grant a divorce in Alabama if the wife is pregnant. They’re wrong. There’s nothing about pregnancy that makes an Alabama divorce unobtainable. Pregnancy does, however, make divorce both more complex and less complete. Here’s why.

It’s more complex to get a divorce while the wife is pregnant, because you must deal with the unborn child. In filing for divorce, you’ll need to provide evidence (usually by personal testimony) about whether the wife is expecting a child. If she’s not expecting, it’s quite simple. If she is pregnant, the approach that usually makes sense is to reserve all issues (paternity, custody, visitation, and support) to resolve later when the child has arrived safely and has a Social Security number.

It’s less complete to get a divorce while the wife is pregnant, because you will need to come back to court later to deal with the child. This is the case when both parties know they are the parents together of the child, and it’s also the case when the father suspects he may not be the father. In either case, the court will not and cannot address issues involving the child until after the child is born and has a Social Security number.

Because divorce is both more complex and less complete, the wisest approach in most circumstances when the wife is pregnant (unless there’s some reason why divorce MUST move forward) is to wait until the child is born and has a Social Security number. Then everything can be handled in one transaction at a lower cost.

The same factors that make waiting the wisest course in most circumstances are probably responsible for the assumption on the part of many that divorce is unobtainable while the wife is pregnant. It’s usually not a good idea, so we assume it’s impossible. That’s simplistic, but in most cases it probably leads to the right result.

81 thoughts on “Can I Get a Divorce During Pregnancy?”

  1. My husband and I recently divorce and have joint custody of our two minor children. He has not been able to keep up with the visitation, he does call the children now and then. He is an alcoholic and have been through rehab just recently and has gone right back to drinking. He has a DUI and a charge of meancing against him. He is also on a two year probation. He does pay child support and alimony. All of my family is in another state and very loving toward the children and myself. I have alot of support around my family and my children loves it when we go for a visit. Will a judge in the state of Alabama grant me a move to another where my family resides? My exhusband also did not tell me until after the divorce was signed that he was having an affair and the woman is pregnant. She is also married with a four year old child. So what are my chances of getting back home.

    1. I lied to judge and was carring an unborn child my son suffers now-:-[:-[:-[:-[ So much pain

  2. My husband and I filing for divorce, we are also expecting our second child in June. We currently live in Kentucky. He has been unfaithful several times and I just can’t take it anymore. I have no family or friends in Kentucky so I would like to move back to Texas. Do I have to remain in the state of Kentucky until the divorce is finalized?

  3. unless you have sole custody you need the fathers written permission to move out of state or he can file charges for kidnapping. if you have sole custody you must notify him and tell him where you are. infidelity has no stand the only thing that would is molestation, rape or assault and stalking. unless of course he has no parental rights then you are considered the sole parent.

  4. My first husband and i got our devorce(in ohio) on march 30th. 2003 I was 3 months pregnant by another man,who pushed me to devorce my fist husband and threatend me that he would get cousidy of our child if i didn’t get a devorce! sence then…the baby was born and after the baby was born,i married her father(the man who forced me to devorce my first husband)! my second husband
    molested my daughter from my first husband and i devorced him as well! my question is: can i have my first marriage voided (make as though we were never devorced) becaused it was forced by my baby’s father? my first husband (now passed away) and i actually never wanted the devorce! my first husband’s mother is willing to testify to this! thank you!

  5. I think what you’re asking is whether you can have your first divorce voided, and the answer is no, not according to any principle I understand. I’m sorry.

  6. If a couple has been seperated 2 years and has not had sexual intercourse and she is pregnant by another man when they file for divorce will they have to wait to prove he isn’t the father that the guy she has been with for the last 2 years is…I am in the state of Kentucky?? Please help me out on this…Thank you.

  7. I assume the two of you are cooperative.

    I can’t speak for KY. I know that in my state, AL, you could file for divorce and state that the wife is expecting a child conceived during the marriage but that neither party believes it to be of the marriage. Then in the complaint, testimony, decree, and agreement, you state that all matters concerning the paternity, custody, visitation and support of the unborn child are reserved.

  8. My niece lives in the state of Ohio. Her husband left her with three children & she is pregnant again. The attorny is trying to tell her they cannot get divorced because she is pregnat. Is that true? I can’t find any laws saying that. Thanks.

  9. I don’t know OH law. In my state, she would be able to get divorced as long as she reserved all issues dealing with the unborn child.

  10. Out of all the garbage on the net this blog has to be the most useful and intelligent information I’ve found yet thank you! With that said wondering if I can get some guidance?
    My girlfriend and I have lived together in Alabama for almost 2 years and have been together 4 years. She has been trying to get a divorce and not getting cooperation from him and now we can’t find him! He’s military and in Korea somewhere. She has been able to divorce on Japanese (she’s Japanese with green card) side but not in the states. Well now she is 4 months pregnant with my baby. If we can’t get the divorce through before the baby is born. What should we do about babies name? Can we leave last name blank till divorce is finalized. If the baby takes his name can we change to my name?

    Other big problem we have is she has tri care military insurance and we have not wanted to use that, it just doesn’t seem right. I can’t insure her since she is married. I thought I might pay out of pocket but realized it will cost thousands of dollars for check UPS and delivery!
    Thanks for any guidance you can give me!

  11. Every branch of the US military has a worldwide locator service. She can contact the one for his branch. If he’s still active duty, they’ll find him. If not, she should make a reasonable effort to find him by talking with his family, friends, etc. And if that’s unsuccessful, she should talk to a lawyer about getting service of process on him by publication.

  12. me and my husband is going through a divorce which i am 8 months pregant we moved out with each other 2 months after we got married which i had to get a protection order from abuse on him.Then i find out a couple days ago he have put some bills in my name which i didn’t have any clue he was doing.I made a police report about it my question to you is what should i do about the situation he just won’t leave me alone.

  13. I know you will say this is unimaginative, but you need to be using bulletin boards less and a lawyer more. I know lawyers are expensive, but this is just the kind of problem they’re set up to help you solve. Good luck, Margie.

  14. My husband and Ihave been married for a year and a half. We live in the state of Alabama also. We have a 14 months old and Iam currently pregnant with our2nd . Not even a month after we were married, my husband cheated on me and got the girl pregnant. He later cheated several other times and may have gotten two other girls pregnant. Needless to say we aren’t together now. He is childish,immature and stuck in a daydream where he has no responsibilities. He i is.and has dated underage females. I have proof of it . I don’t trust him around my daughter. He recently filed for divorce and told me his lawyer said we can’t get a divorce until after Igive birth. So insteadx he filed for legal seperation. He hasn’t helped out with my daughter any and hasn’t come to see her much at all. He even missed her first birthday. My question to you is what can Ido about not trusting him to have unsupervised visits and what Ican legally do about divorce.

  15. You can get a divorce while pregnant, but you’ll need to come back later to deal with the issues surrounding the child, so it usually makes sense to wait. I don’t see anything in your question that makes me think a judge would restrict Dad’s visitation, so I don’t have anything to recommend there.

  16. My husband wants a divorce. I am currently 7 months pregnant and cannot deal with this at all. his family is crazy and i dont trust them around my child. If i move out of state can he get me for kidnapping?

  17. i live in TN. Me and my soon to be ex wife hooked up during our divorce and now she is pregnant with twins. i am for sure they are mine, will this slow my divorce down or can we still proceed with the divorce and do i need to let my attorney know?

  18. My son and his girlfriend just had a baby in the beginning of February . She has only been divorced a couple months . Can the baby be under my son’s name ? Is there anyway to fight this if both men are willing to sign the papers that the baby is for my son.

    1. Yes, if your son is willing to become daddy and bio-Dad is willing to step aside, a good adoption lawyer can prepare the requisite paperwork. That having been said, I would talk long and hard to your son about how badly he wants to step into this. He can be present in the child’s life without signing up to be daddy forever. For example, what happens if Mom decides two years from now that she really loves bio-Dad after all and runs back to him? That leaves your son feeling like a cuckold, and paying monthly child support for the next 18 years for the privilege.

  19. i am in my 3 years marriage now and can’t get pregnant no babies husband want me out for that reason i need help to get pregnant and have babies

    1. I have two responses. First, I know of no resources on this divorce web site that would be helpful to someone having difficulty conceiving a child. Second, if I were married to a man who wanted to end our marriage because we have not had children, I hope I would have the courage and wisdom to say goodbye and good riddance. You will never earn his love by making babies.

  20. Am tired with my cheating husband I want to get divorce but am 7 month pregnant my EDD 8 August. I can not take it anymore is it wrong? Am thinking about moving in his house

    1. At this point, I would just wait until your child is here and healthy and has a SS#. Then you get it all handled at one time. Not sure what you mean by the last sentence, so I won’t respond to it.

  21. Can I still get a divorce in the state of Hawaii if I’m pregnant with another man? Can I just not tell the court I’m pregnant?

    1. I can’t speak for HI, but in my state you would need to state whether or not you are pregnant. If you say yes, the court will want to account for the unborn child. If you say no, you would be defrauding the court.

  22. Me and my husband got married on 2012. We had twins on 2011. I have an older daughter he is not the dad and I have full custody of her. Ever since we got married we have gone through many fighting and I have made reports of all the times he hit me. I left him because I met an other man on June 2016. Twins dad and I own 3 vehicles and he has a landscaping business that is under my name each year I do taxes and pay what the company has to pay to the IRS . My question is can I do my taxes and file as a single mom and let him take care of the company or will I get in trouble.

    1. If you have filed as the owner of a business in previous years, you may trigger questions if you simply ignore that business now. Consider attaching a narrative statement to your Schedule C describing your role in the business in the past, your role in the business during the tax year at issue, and why you are changing your approach to it this year.

      In answer to your question, everyone always has the right to file separately. It’s simply a question of your being honest on the return you file.

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