Changing my daughter' s last name...

[nurse1984]

Hello...I was a teenage mother and when my daughter was born I gave her my last name. Since then I have been with my husband for seven years and he has been taking care of her since she was two years old. Now that we are married we want her to have our last name. Her biological father does pay child support, but that is all he does. He has not seen her in over a year. Would this effect the process of changing her name even though she does not have his last name she has my madien name? I do not remember if he signed the birth certificate or not either, would that have something to do with the name change. And can I even get her name hyhentated with her step-father's name.

 

[jharris352]

Changing the child's name shouldn't be that difficult. It doesn't sound like the father cares. Why don't you have him adopt the child? You don't want to let go of the child support? Why would you hyphenate her last name? It doesn't matter, hyphenation just bothers me personally. You do what makes you happy. Changing her name shouldn't pose a big problem. The laws of your state might cause you to give your ex notice so he can object if he wants.

 

[Duranie]

You cannot change the childs name without dads permission. By changing the childs name people are going to assune your husband is the dad and he is not, and it just causes problems. Support is a form of contact and if Dad pays support, don't count on him consenting to this. You can certainly ask that Dad terminate his rights so your husband can adopt?