My daughter's last name is a hyphen of her father's and mine. We now live in 2 different states - can I drop his last name?

Not without a court order - and it is unlikely they will grant that order without his consent.

That does not mean you have to use it. You can call your child anything you want on most forms/occasions.

I know my mom and dad are separated and I could drop his last name. My mom doesn't really care but it first depends on her age. If she's eighteen its her choice but if she's younger there are legal procedures to go through to make that happen :) good luck


P.S: I have no EXACt legal advice given

Yes, you definitely need a Court Order to change the last name or drop his.

The whole process will be less of a headache if you consult an attorney.

The father will have to be notified and if he consents, then there shouldn't be a problem. Kids usually do not have bank loans, credit cards and major assets to be concerned with like adults do when we change our names.

If you do not know the whereabouts of the father, then you need to publish notification of your petition for change of name and the date of the hearing in legal bulletins and newspapers in his locale with plenty of time for him to respond before the court date.

Like I said, consult an attorney is my best advice.

By the way, if the father doesn't consent, I have seen it granted in the cases where the father has been out of the child's life for some time and does not pay child support.

It doesn't mean the father is losing parental rights, but if the name change is in the best interest of the child, sometimes it can be done over the father's protest.

JUDY KAy:
I did not say that you could change your name without court order. Read my blog carefully next time before commenting

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Originally Posted by Pokerface5

JUDY KAy:
I did not say that you could change your name without court order. Read my blog carefully next time before commenting

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POKERFACE: "If she's eighteen its her choice" is incorrect.

As people keep telling you - THIS IS NOT A BLOG.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

POKERFACE: "If she's eighteen its her choice" is incorrect.

As people keep telling you - THIS IS NOT A BLOG.

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When I said eighteen I was saying that legally if the person is eighteen or older they can refuse their parents wishes to LEGALLY change their name but if they are under eighteen then there are LEGAL procedures to follow, as I said before, and thank you for ONCE AGAIN reminding me that this is not a blog, your help was much appreciated

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Originally Posted by Pokerface5

when i said eighteen i was saying that legally if the person is eighteen or older they can refuse their parents wishes to LEGALLY change their name but if they are under eighteen then their are LEGAL procedures to follow, as i said before, and thank you for ONCE AGAIN reminding me that this is not a blog, your help was much appreciated

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That's fine unless you're in one of the States where the age of majority is 19 or 21.

No problem - figure if I remind you enough that this is not a blog you'll start referring to it as a help board.

(Am I talking to you or one of your friends?)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

That's fine unless you're in one of the States where the age of majority is 19 or 21.

No problem - figure if I remind you enough that this is not a blog you'll start referring to it as a help board.

(Am I talking to you or one of your friends?)

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Your talking to me, because trust me if it was one of my little friends the response wouldn't have been nice (no pun inteneded)

As long as no pun was intenened -

You do spell like your 14 year old friends, you know, including not knowing the difference between you're and your.

Time to close the thread - it's turned into a message board.

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Originally Posted by Pokerface5

Your talking to me, because trust me if it was one of my little friends the response wouldn't have been nice (no pun inteneded)

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I will remind you once more, that you are responsible for anything posted under your account. You are skating on very thin ice here and are very close to a ban.

Thread closed