My son almost seven has my maiden name and there is no father listed on the birth certificate. I'm trying to figure out how I can change my son's last name to my current married name. I have no idea where his biological father is and even his parents have not seen him in years. If I'm going to be able to change his name to my married name I'm told I need his consent to do so. My son has never once seen his natural father because he is like a nomad and never stays in one place. How can I locate him to get consent when I've never known of any numbers/addresses in his name? I'm so lost.:( :confused:

You should hire an attorney.

You will petition in court to change your child's last name. They will tell you that you need the biological fathers consent. When you inform them that there is no father listed on the birth certificate and you don't know where the father is, the courts will order you to make a good faith effort to locate the father. This is usually simply done by a listing in a few newpapers. You would just print an announcement that you are petitioning to have the child's name changed. You have to keep the listing in the newspaper for "x" amount of time and the father has "x" amount of time to respond and either consent or not. If the father doesn't come forward you should be able to go ahead with the name change without his consent.

But I would hire an attorney.

Is he paying child support ? They would have records of where he is etc. Also there is a national work registry.. you can check that also through a government agency.

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Originally Posted by nicolet

My son almost seven has my maiden name and there is no father listed on the birth certificate. I'm trying to figure out how I can change my son's last name to my current married name. I have no idea where his biological father is and even his parents have not seen him in years. If I'm going to be able to change his name to my married name I'm told I need his consent to do so. My son has never once seen his natural father because he is like a nomad and never stays in one place. How can I locate him to get consent when I've never known of any numbers/addresses in his name? I'm so lost.:( :confused:

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A Licensed Private Investigator can find him using his name and birth date and it's helpful to have a SS number - all you need is what you believe is a good address.

And, yes, you can serve him through publication but you need a Court Order for that and depending on the State I think you'd have a problem because you know where his parents are and there could be a good argument made - if the father ever wants to make it - that publication was not the only avenue.

I wouldn't do any of this without an Attorney.