Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

I have been raising a child since birth though I am not the biological father and the mother freely admits that. I did not sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity. I am almost certain that I could never get custody or maybe even joint custody of a child where I am not the biological dad. If that is true then wouldn't that same reasoning apply to child support? Since I have been the acting father since birth does that incur child support obligations without the possibility of joint legal custody?

Does the fact that I willingly raised this child as my own with full knowledge that her biological dad was someone else incur child support obligations for me?

Question: 

In my divorce decree, my ex-wife requested and the court granted the return/use of her maiden name. Now however, I'm finding that she either uses the maiden-married surname and sometimes she continues using just my last name/her married name. Is this legal?

By Jennifer M. Paine

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell

Note: Part 2 discussed protecting your credit score when you divorce and after you divorce. Click here to read Part 2.

Joint debt is a large source of contention in divorce, second only, in my experience, to children. What seemed like a good idea during the marriage --  that mortgage to buy a bigger home or credit card with a secondary cardholder so both of you could buy groceries and pay bills, for example – feels like the biggest mistake ever during divorce.

Inevitably, one spouse insists the other pay, or cannot pay, or simply hoards money elsewhere and refuses to pay. If neither pays, well you know what happens next: a derog on the credit score.

Combine that with a hefty legal bill, a mortgage to refinance, car loans and student loans and personal loans to pay, and your credit score will crash and burn, taking your pocketbook and your sanity along with it.

How can you protect your credit score?

By Contel Bradford

Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part series on how to handle the sex talk with your child. Part 1 addressed the "Little Sweethearts" (ages 5-7) and "Little Menaces" (ages 8-10) phases. Click here to read.

On the Brink of Rebellion (Ages 11 - 13)

DadsDivorce.com founder Joe Cordell is AskMen.com’s newest columnist. Cordell will be writing bi-weekly divorce columns for one of the world’s most popular websites.

Cordell’s first column, “Child Custody: The Divorce Files,” debunks the myths of a “no-fault divorce” and examines how infidelity can affect child custody decisions. (Click here to read.)