How Long

[ejmoody07]

I filed as the petitioner a little over a year ago,my wife responded on tme.During the time of the filing until now which was a little over a year we became pretty good friends,with know reconciliation in mind.Our son just recently pasted away.We own a business together that we purchased with my son's life insurance money.We worked together no problem.She has a boyfriend and I have a girlfriend.We all get along.All of a sudden she decides to change the lock on our store we purchased with my son's life insurance money.And I get a Amended copy of her Response filed over a year ago in the mail.I raised our son from her first marriage since he was 4 years old and he pasted away at age 23.I never adopted him legally but he used my last name on everything CDL,SSN,ect.He said I was his dad and that I would be wasting my money with the adoption process.So I didn't bother.Now my wife is saying that because I never adopted him legally that I don't get any of his inheratance,that would include the life insurance money that we bouhgt our business with along with his business he left behind.I was paying his life insurance premiums for years until he got of legal age and started to pay his own because the plan we got for him made money. We live in California and the question is am I his father or not? I raised and supported him for 20 years.How can a person be so cold as to say I wasn't his biological father therfore I get nothing.Doesn't raising a child have anything to do with fatherhood?The other question is what do I do now after all of a sudden she files an amended response from over a year ago? How long does a filing for divorce stay in the system until the court throws it out,or before it becomes discontinued?What steps do I take now?How do I resond to a response?She did change some things on the community and seperate property.She wants all of the house now.She owned the house for 4 years before we got married after we we're married she put me on the title and I have been paying mortgage payments for 18 years now.We have been seperated since Jan,2002,almost 6 years now.So how would we split the house up we have one other child that is 21 years old doesn't go to school lives at the house and runs one of our stores.I guess it goes like this she owned the house 4 years before our marriage we both owned it during oour marriage and she has been living in the house with my son and paying the mortgage for 6 after we seperated.So how would that get split up?

Frankly you should have a lawyer review the details.

There are some arguments you can likely make as to your rights to the inheritance based on your history, but you really are going to need legal counsel to develop that it would seem.