I was wondering if Someone could Help me with a certain question I have. A friend of mine is having a child with his X-girlfriend.. Now she is saying that she does not want the child to have His last name. Does he have any rights to this situation or not? :rolleyes: If someone could help me out with this it would be greatly appreciated and a relief.

Thank You,

Michelle

She can put what she wants on the birth record... he will have to take her to court. He can do this to ask for custody and to establish paternity and to pay support for the child not sure if the judge will agree to a name change, but it sure would look better on him.

Since they were not married he has no right to put his name on the birth certificate, mom doesn't have that name either. He can try to sue but most judges would dismiss without prejudice.

Since they were not married he has no right to put his name on the birth certificate, mom doesn't have that name either. He can try to sue but most judges would dismiss without prejudice.
I do not think so... He has all rights to put his name on the BS if he proves that he is the father.

ballengerb1 disagrees: One 13 year old case does not disprove my point. Balance was not stated by the person so its up to us to state what will happen most often.

It is NOT one 13 year old case... it is one of the most important case on the issue of changing the surname of a child.Here are some other exanples:
Nebraska Name Change Law
: Whether a minor child's surname may be changed depends on, and is determined by, the best interests of the child. Factors to be considered are (1) the misconduct by one of the child's parents, (2) a parent's failure to support the child, (3) parental failure to maintain contact with the child, (4) the length of time that a surname has been used for or by the child, and (5) whether the child's surname is different from the surname of the child's custodial parent. Additionally, a court may consider the child's reasonable preference for a surname; the effect of the name change on the child's relationship with each parent; community respect associated with the surname; the difficulties, harassment, or embarrassment associated with either the present or proposed surname; and the identification of the child as part of the family unit. In re Change of Name of Andrews...
In Florida, for example, a child whose mother and father both have custody but cannot agree on a surname will be given both, hyphenated, with the names appearing in alphabetical order. Other states provide that a court must decide, based on the best interests of the child, what surname should be entered on the birth certificate in the case of parental disagreement.
By virtue of regulations adopted in 2000, the District of Columbia required all marital children to bear the surnames of their fathers. Even if both parents wanted the child to bear the mother's surname, they could not enter that name on the birth certificate. They, instead, were forced to institute a formal name change proceeding for the child subsequent to birth.
If you want I can send you out 2000 or 3000 similar cases...