When preparing customized divorce forms many years ago for a young couple who were only a few years into their marriage, a most intriguing scenario evolved that had me make the strangest client phone call of my career.

A cheating spouse and pregnancy were to be the two main subjects of discussion, and it was up to me to find out if the unborn child the wife was currently carrying belonged to her husband or to the man with whom she was having her affair.

Wondering what to say in this awkward situation while attempting to sound professional at the same time, I dialed my customer's number with shaking fingers.

The phone on the other end rang twice and was answered by a pleasant male voice.

"Um, hi," I stammered.

"Hi, who is this?" he politely inquired.

"I am in charge of preparing your divorce documents, but I had one question before I can proceed with your order."

"Sure, what is it?" he asked.

"Your wife..." I started to say. "Well, your questionnaire states that she is pregnant, and I need to know, is this unborn minor child yours?"

He burst out laughing at that point, mostly to break the tension.

"She tells me I am the father, but I don't know for sure. What happens with my divorce from here?"

I told the customer that a DNA test would be the first thing required by the divorce court in order to determine who the father was of the unborn minor child.

I then gave him details about the "bad" news: regardless if the pregnancy was the result of his wife's adultery, the courts would still assume that he was the biological father of the newborn until the paternity test was done and its DNA result proved otherwise to the divorce judge.

I could tell by his heavy sigh that my customer felt this was a slap in the face, especially if the child turned out not to be his.

"Okay," he said in a defeated tone. "So where does that leave me in the divorce process with child support and child custody arrangements? Do I need to decide on that now so you can put it on my documents?"

"Not yet," I reassured him.

I then explained that he had to wait until the child was born and the paternity test complete before we could finish his divorce order - and if the test showed the child to be his, he could then inform us of the couple's agreed upon child support arrangements and child custody schedule. Likewise, if the unborn child was not his, child support and custody wouldn't be a consideration in his divorce.

The Wife was due to give birth in five months.

I told my customer I'd put his divorce order on 'Hold' status until he called me back with the paternity test results.

Before we could end the conversation though, he had one last pressing question.

"Who pays for this paternity test? Is it my responsibility because I am the assumed biological father? Or is it up to the other guy because he is the home-wrecker?"

I couldn't help smiling to myself at the way he had phrased the last part of his inquiry.

I first declared that this divorce situation is one the family law courts see quite often, so he shouldn't feel like he was alone.

"It is really up to you and your wife to decide who will pay for the test," I continued. "You two can hash it out and come to a decision on your own; or, the Court can make the final decision for you, which will usually result in each of you being held responsible for half the cost of the paternity test and related court fees."

He said "okay," thanked me for my time, and much to my relief the conversation ended there.

Though I did not personally completed his divorce order once the five months had elapsed, I did discover down the road that the child was not his because his documents had no trace of a child support or child custody agreement anywhere to be found.

Ah, the life lessons to be learned from the experiences of others!