[santanya62]

How do I change my daughters last name? I have gotten the papers from off line but I want to do it immediately. She will be 14 and getting ready to attend High school. I want her to begin with a fresh start. :D

[mraquino21]

Are both of her biological parents on her birth certificate?. You and the other parent

[santanya62]

Yes he and I are on the Birth certificate. However I have papers from the Judge giving me sole legal and decision making custody of her. Do I need to have his signature still?

[Fr_Chuck]

Normally yes, full custody is not permission to change the child names
Now a few states allow just one parent. I would have to ask why now, if they have went though 8 years of school why change the name now ?

I will say that assuming she gets married latter, she would change her name, is this a change she really wants, or something you want for her?

Normally it will take both you and he to sign to get the name change if he is on the birth certificate. Once she turns 18 she can change her own without anyone else signing

[mraquino21]

Well I am kind of in the same situation. In my case I have sole custody of my 6 year old but in Alabama I'm not sure if it is the same everywhere but I found out that her father would have to sign over his parental rights which is different than the custody. Also in AL at age 18 you can legally change your name without parental consent.

[mraquino21]

When I turned 18 I was basically forced to change my last name. My mom had remarried when I was 12 and they took me to the court house to do the name change they new I didn't want to and even though it was my choice I was trying to make my mom happy regardless of how I felt. My step father never adopted me and I resented him for all of this. I am 27 years old now and still feel the same and still have no father so to speak because we have never had any type of a relationship.

[santanya62]

All these years I have been lucky. I have went up to the schools she attended and told them I was in the process of changing her name and spoke directly with the teachers who allowed her to use my finances name(lets say her daddy, cause that is who he really is). She knew no different either. Until last year when I got into something with a family member who told her that her daddy really wasn't her daddy. So her being 13 she knows the story and wants her name changed to reflect her really dads name. Hunter