I would like to have my daughters name changed to my husbands last name, i have custody, but there has never been paternity established
2006-07-09 10:53:51 · 13 answers · asked by tiffanymarie_87 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
You need an attorney. This will require several steps, unless you're going to commit perjury and claim that your husband is her biological father and petition for his name to be put on the birth certificate.
Most states, particularly in the wake of the notorious Baby Richard case, have rules about the severing of a man's paternity rights, even if he hasn't exercised them yet.
There are several ways a name can be changed, but all involve a court order. One was mentioned earlier, but there are others. The most common is that a notice is put in a newspaper for a certain number of weeks announcing the petition for change of name. Then if there are no objections, the Court will approve the change. Another would be for your husband to legally adopt your daughter. It does involve notifying her birth father that this is being considered, but that's usually not an issue if he's never been active in her life.
I had to go through this when my oldest son was born. His dad did not want his name given to our son (we weren't married), so my name was on the birth certificate, even though his dad was listed. Several months later, his dad changed his mind. We had the lawyers change it by modifying the Paternity order. But the Cook County Clerk's office would only make the change on the birth certificate with the court order, as that docket number must be added to the birth certificate as part of the official record.
The fact that you have custody doesn't mean as much as you'd think. Her father does still have legal rights and the Court either needs to terminate them or he has to voluntarily relinquish them. If you lie and he catches you, you're in a world of trouble. Done right, your daughter can be proud of her name and her "real dad"...the one who raises her and loves her as his own.
2006-07-09 13:45:41 · answer #1 · answered by yellow_jellybeans_rock 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Changing your name is a long, drawn out legal process. You'll get sick of it before your name finally gets changed. Try to do something with the name. My first name is Gregory, my middle is Tyler and my last starts with an O. My friends all call me GTO, because they're my initials and because of the Beach Boys song. It sounds so much cooler when I'm in a crowd and my friend yells "GTO!!!" instead of "Gregory!!!". I get asked often how I got the nickname. Try to find some way to turn your name or last name or initials into something cool. As far as signing documents and official things, just deal with it. It's better than the long process of getting it legally changed
2016-03-26 22:55:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have the right to petition the court to change your childs name to what ever you want. If there is no name on the birth certificate, it would be cheaper for him to sign it first. If there is a name on the certificate, then he may have to adopt her before changing her name, without the fathers approval, regardless of paternity, but if there is no name on the birth certificate, then you take him to the town hall and add him as the father.
2006-07-16 08:59:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best way to do that is to have your husband adopt her.
But there shouldn't be too much of a problem with you changing it since you have custody. Do you have full custody? And if so, why? If it's for anything that sheds the father in a bad light, then you would be able to change it.
2006-07-09 10:59:08 · answer #4 · answered by Ember 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know what state you are in but here in NC they will ask you to try establish paternity before they will allow the name to be changed, even if you say you don't know who the father is. Your only recourse is to try to have the absent parent's rights revoked then you can have the child's name changed with no problem.
2006-07-09 10:57:09 · answer #5 · answered by miss_chrissy_dawn 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why not get your husband to adopt her, mine is doing the same, it's then up to the judge if the childs name can be changed (you have to tell the judge why you think the childs name should be change, you being married is a pretty good reason so the judge is not gonna refused), even if her biological father refused the judge can tell him to bog off.
This is in the UK tho.
2006-07-09 10:59:20 · answer #6 · answered by ~Fatally~ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can go to your local birth record administration building. There are fees that apply, but you can change the name there. EVEN if there is a father listed! I just changed my daughter's last name to my married name. Her biological father was 100% opposed to this and tried to fight me in court because of it. I was allowed to change her name to MY last name by paying $154 and her biological father had no say.
2006-07-09 10:57:43 · answer #7 · answered by Timeless 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have had this happen to me. my ex-wife wanted to change our daughters name but i wouldn't sign the papers so what she did was book my daughter on a plane under the name she wanted to change it to the 1 yr later submit the request saying she has be knowen by that name for 12 mths
2006-07-09 10:59:04 · answer #8 · answered by aussie_brad_71 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact the Family Court that has jurisdiction where you live. The name petition will probably need to be approved by them, anyway.
They will tell you what legal steps are necessary to make this happen.
2006-07-09 10:58:03 · answer #9 · answered by ps2754 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should be able to have it changed since there is no other parent to legally contest it.
2006-07-09 10:55:02 · answer #10 · answered by heidielizabeth69 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋