.
Pretty horrible. Wife wants a divorce and is unwilling to try and fix things. Barely communicates with me at all.
I met my stepson when he was 9 months old. He’s 11 now. I’m the only father he knows. I’m devastated, because not only am I losing my wife, but I’m also losing my son, as I have no legal right to him. I’m estranged from the rest of my family, so the world is looking pretty cold and lonely from here.
If you have talked to a lawyer who has said that you have no legal right to see your stepson, it’s worth talking to a different lawyer. If you have not talked to a lawyer, talk to a lawyer ASAP. Specifically, a lawyer that’s at least familiar with the 4-part test in the Wisconsin Supreme Court case In re H.S.H-K. that shows a parent-like relationship. Even if you cannot afford to hire one to represent you, go for a one-time consultation.
Most states recognize that it’s bad for children to rip them away from people that are like parents to them, and courts will order visitation. Many state courts have adopted Wisconsin’s 4-part test, or have their own, similar doctrines. And these are strong arguments, with lots of jurisprudence behind them, that are worth raising in any divorce proceeding.
I’m not a lawyer, but I was a legal assistant at a family law firm. I saw too many men convinced that the courts were biased against fathers, so they didn’t even try to fight for their kids. The men who did try (even without a lawyer) generally got custody, placement, or visitation to stay connected to their kids. In one case that sticks with me, we won court-ordered placement for a man who found out that his daughter with his ex-girlfriend wasn’t his biological daughter after the ex wanted to cut him out of her life, and they did a paternity test. Even though they weren’t married, and he had no biological or legal connection to the child, the court recognized the parent-like relationship, and found that it was in her best interest to continue it.
I guess what I’m saying is, don’t conclude that you will lose your stepson unless and until a court says so.
I saw this and my first thought was: oh no Elmo, that’s not a great thing to ask the internet…
My almost-two-year-old dog is expected to die very suddenly from cancer at any time. She’s the sweetest thing. I’ve even felt guilty that I’ve thought she’s going to be a better dog (for me) than my older dog is, who is wonderful. But she’ll never have the chance.
Meanwhile, my husband can’t deal with the occasional accident her cancer is causing and is threatening not to get another dog, knowing full well that planning for the next dog is what keeps me going because my life is ruled by chronic health problems and I live for my dogs.
Edit: I guess the more succinct answer would be: Have you ever cried so hard you started to vomit?
My kitty died at 1.5y from something that wasn’t cancer, but the vet said it works like cancer. My heart aches for you. It took about a year to stop being sad and remember him being happy. I’m sure you’ve given your pup a good home. Enjoy what time you have left and you’ll eventually remember the happy times.
Not too bad, but could be better.
A funny story about my not so great love life: just matched with a girl on Tinder which I managed to have engaging text discussions with and it felt quite genuine. This is rare for me, so I was happy about it.
Well, in the end it became obvious to me it was just a pig butchering romance scam when she started to talk about how she can help me invest in cryptocurrency.
I guess I’m going to be a failure in love life for a bit longer lol.
A little better tonight now that I figured out that the problem with my server isn’t the $1000 motherboard, but a $40 stick of RAM.
