Name Change for Minor

[Khaotic]

I'm going to try to be as specific as possible here

I have a minor child whom LEGALLY, per the divorce paperwork, I share custody with my exhusband with. I typed and filed the paperwork myself and that's the only reason why we share custody... (You'll understand why- hold on).

My exhusband has not been involved in our lives for almost a decade. He was incarcerated for the murder of my eldest child (whom is the sibling to the child in question now). At that point in time, his parental rights were not terminated because we were not divorced (I could not afford it at the time).

As soon as I was capable of it, I filed the divorce myself. I MIGHT have full legal custody- I'll need to find the papers to double-check, though.

We have not had any contact with him in at least 6-7 years. We are both on the Victims' List which keeps him from contacting us.

Now- I am remarried and my child would like to have our family name. I'd like to provide it for this child, however, in everything I read- typically it states that both parents must give permission.

If I have FULL LEGAL custody, do I need his permission to change her name?

If I don't have full legal custody, do I have a leg to stand on to get her name changed without his permission?

I understand I can go about terminating his rights due to noncontact in so many years, but that's very costly, yes? I don't have thousands of dollars to spend...

Anyways, advice would be great If I left out information- I apologize. I DO know we live in different states, but the divorce was filed in Nevada.

 

[irish223]

Full legal custody doesn't really mean that your ex has no parental rights. It usually means that you can make all important decisions regarding your child's health, education, etc. without consulting him. It does not mean that you can change your child's name.

Also, if your ex is still in jail, you cannot claim abandonment as a reason for TPR.

However, under the circumstances I would be very surpised if his parental rights were not terminated during your divorce action. You do need to find that document. If his rights were terminated, then there is nothing to stop you from changing your son's name. If his rights were not terminated, you can probably do that now, but you will probably need an attorney.

Check back after you find your papers.

Okay, I just reread your post. I skimmed the beginning, so I missed the shared custody part. Why did you do that?

At any rate, the forms and instructions for name change are online at the Nevada courts website:
http://www.nvsupremecourt.us/
Good luck.

 

[Khaotic]

I know his parental rights weren't terminated because I typed and filed the document myself using a 'fill it out' type form you can get online. I'm pretty sure we can get TPR due to the murder of my child's sibling, but of course, I'm not an attorney nor anyone involved with legal stuff!

So basically, my best bet is to talk to a family court attorney, right? I wish I had the money back then to hire an attorney to do the divorce, but unfortunately, at the time, just the filing fees were high enough to set me back a bit!

 

[irish223]

Yeah, sorry about the confusion...

I do think you need an attorney. You may run into a problem with the TPR because you agreed to shared custody AFTER the murder. In other words, the question may be, "Why was it okay then, but not now?" An attorney can help sort those things out. Also, is it possible that the ex wouldn't care if his rights are terminated?

You can change the name without the other parent's permission in Nevada. At least there's a form for it on the website. You can check it to see what the requirements will be.

Good luck again. I hope it works out for you and your son.

 

[Khaotic]

Thanks, Irish. Man, I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing doing the divorce as soon as I had the filing fee in hand! Sigh! Legal issues are so very tricky!

I'll be calling around tomorrow and see if I can't get in to talk to an attorney. I just worry about spending thousands and thousands of dollars :S

 

[irish223]

You're welcome, and DON'T beat yourself up about this. I would have been incapacitated if I were in your shoes. You did what you could under the circumstances to protect you son and your self.

You may be able to get the basic answers to your questions in an initial consultation with the attorney, and then go pro se from there.

Keep in touch.