Child's Name Change?

[jdhybow]

I have been a devoted father to my daughter who lives with my ex wife. Just this past year she got remarried and change my daughter's last name to her new married name.  I have been current on support payments since the day she came into this world and my name is on her birth certificate to prove paternity. And no modification has been set in our divorce decree. My question is...does she have the rights to do this without my consent? If she doesn't can I summon her to a court hearing to have my daughter have only my last again? I appreciate any help I can get.

thanks...

[notnew]

Absolutely not - she does not have the right to do this. Nobody can just change their name without having a court hearing. You need to find out if she filed with the court to have the name changed.

What kind of custody do you have?

How often are you seeing your daughter?

What is the wording regarding the child in your divorce decree?

There is something VERY wrong going on here.

Soc needs more information to answer you.

I would say your action item would be to find out if there was a name change filing. Get a copy of it from the clerk's office in the court. Let us know if it exists or not.

Why would your ex try to cut you out in this manner?

Do you provide health insurance?  If so, there are another batch of issues.

Don't forget to read the rules about posting and follow them!

[socrateaser]

>Don't forget to read the rules about posting and follow them!

Um, you seem to persist in not following the rules, yourself. Please, DO NOT OFFER YOUR OPINION RE THE LAW OR ANOTHER PERSON'S CASE!

Ask questions about your own case, empathize, give personal experience, or if you see me post something that  you know is incorrect from your own personal experience, feel free to bring the error to my attention.

Those are your ONLY options in this forum.

I hope I'm communicating here, because you won't get another warning.

Thanks!

[socrateaser]

>I have been a devoted father to my daughter who lives with my
>ex wife. Just this past year she got remarried and change my
>daughter's last name to her new married name.  I have been
>current on support payments since the day she came into this
>world and my name is on her birth certificate to prove
>paternity. And no modification has been set in our divorce
>decree. My question is...does she have the rights to do this
>without my consent? If she doesn't can I summon her to a court
>hearing to have my daughter have only my last again? I
>appreciate any help I can get.
>
>thanks...

You need to review the mandatory posting guidelines. I'll cut you some slack because your post is pretty short, but in the future if you don't post per the guidelines, I won't respond.

You say that she has changed the child's name. Are you saying that she is introducing the child to people with a different last name, or that she is changing her name on school enrollment forms and various other records, such as medical records.

Without a court order legally changing the child's name, the child's legal name is the same regardless of the name by which the mother callsl the child.

It is extremely unlikely that a public school would permit the child's name to be changed without a court order, but it could happen inadvertantly, just by the mother writing the child's name in on school papers differently.

It's also possible that the mother could have gone to court and obtained an order by claiming to the court that she had notified you and you never appeared to contest the court judgment.

This would be a fraud.

SIf you really want to correct the matter, then you should file a motion for clarification with the court, asking that the mother be instructed to use the child's real name, in the child's best interests, because to do otherwise will confuse the child and the various authorities as to the true identity of the child.

If the mother responds to your motion that she had the child's name legally changed, then the question will be why you weren't notified. If the failure to notify you is inadvertance or mistake, then the court will set aside the name change and the mother will need to start over.

If you simply never responded to the notice, then you're screwed and you lose.

If the mother is only using her new last name as a means of introducing the child to people, but not using it in a legal capacity, then the court will probably order the mother to use the child's legal name, or it will entertain arguments as to why it's in the child's best interests that the name be changed.

It's a tough call, but if you are paying support and visiting the child regularly, then there is no reason why the court would permit the mother to continue to use the wrong name for the child.

Obviously, if you're not well versed in legal matters you may want to get an attorney to help you with this. And, of course, this could be an expensive proposition. But, I can't help you with that problem other than to suggest that you contact the legal aid society if you cannot afford an attorney and you don't feel comfortable representing yourself.

[jdhybow]

thanks for the help, sorry for not posting this situation correctly.