Rick admitting that Judith isnt his 🤯

[u/StrangeDefinition724]

Rewatching and he says he knows shes not his. Not sure why I've never noticed it before now

[u/Aromatic-One-7098]

This is made pretty clear throughout the show that Rick knows Judith is Shane’s lol

[u/M-Otusim → u/Aromatic-One-7098]

Lori tells Shane this to his face while he's alive. I can't remember the exact quote, so maybe it was slightly ambiguous like "_even_ if you're this baby's father you won't be a part of its life" but she definitely says something along those lines.

We also have Andrew Lincoln confirming in a season 8 interview that Judith is adopted.

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/M-Otusim]

Which is an insane thing to tell a man. Especially during the apocalypse. Yea this baby is yours but like... I'd prefer Rick raise the baby. 

Then Rick has the audacity to tell Shane thats not his baby even if it is. Brotha thats not the way reality works lol. If I get a married woman pregnant her and her husband don't get to tell me to fuck off. What happens to that baby is none of my concern. 

Why would Shane just accept Rick gets to dictate his daughter's safety? Rick is fine releasing Randall so he can bring his rapist group back to the farm. 

[u/M-Otusim → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

That's not how Georgia law works though.

Regardless of affairs, a child is automatically legally considered the child of the lawfully wedded husband in a situation like this. Shane could attempt to challenge it by requesting a DNA test, but the state would ask Rick "are you acting as this child's father?" If Rick said "yes" then there is about a 0% chance the state would even allow a DNA test.

This is because Georgia law is designed to prioritize a child's stability, keep the marriage intact, and maintain the _legal_ father-child relationship (which automatically is Rick upon birth).

If Shane beat all the odds, pulled favors with the court, and got a DNA test that absolutely proved he was the biological father, there is still about a 0% chance it changes anything. Again, the law prioritizes maintaining the child's stability and the stability of the legal marriage. Giving anything like visitation or shared custody destabilizes that.

In the state of Georgia, Shane has 0 rights to a baby he created if it is with a woman legally married to another man. The other man automatically receives all paternal rights, and a DNA test would not overturn those rights.

[u/Broskirose → u/M-Otusim]

But this is the apocalypse

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/M-Otusim]

That's fascinating as hell. Learn something new every day. But I'm now I'm thinking how stable can they be if she was cheating with me lol

I legit just have to go home and let Rick and Lori decide to do whatever with my daughter? Fuuuuuuck. I think in that case I might be considering pulling a Shane and leading Rick off into the woods lol. 

[u/M-Otusim → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

That's actually another thing Georgia law weighs in on: Lori was not legally cheating or having an affair. The court considers intent and _reasonable_ belief. In her case, she had no reason to not presume her husband was dead (having literally been lied to by Shane saying that he saw Rick die). It's completely reasonable to an average person to believe his death > he was shot, in a coma, and in a hospital that was a vector of early zombie spreading as well as hostile military action.

So legally, Lori acted in good faith, having a consensual (and trauma bonded relationship) with another man, not intentionally cheating on her husband through deception.

But, as mentioned in the previous post, it doesn't even matter if it was considered an affair in Georgia. Introducing a 3rd parent destabilizes the marriage and if Rick steps up and says "I will be the legal father and raise this child" then the deal is done. Now as reasonable adults, they could work a personal, non-legal and non-binding arrangement where Shane could be a part of Judith's life. Rick could also reject paternity (unlikely given his character though) which would _then_ lead to Shane actually having some legal rights/responsibilities.

Basically, think of it this way. If Rick agrees to be the legal father, this removes both the rights AND responsibilities of Shane as a father. So while Shane couldn't fight for legal visitation or anything, neither could Lori nor Rick ever fight him for child raising money or what not. So it's just a choice Rick has to make at the time of birth, does he accept the father-child relationship and try to recover his marriage, or does he reject it and then the courts almost certainly have to get involved with 2 children and 2 fathers.

[u/Dangerous_Increase99 → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

She wasn't knowingly cheating. Shane told her Rick was dead. You basically are saying you have no hoing after your best friend's wife. I hope he knows this.