My daughters biological father (I never married him) left us when she was a month old. (long story, he was very abusive and childish and not ready to be a parent)

He has essencially dropped off the face of the earth. We have a child support order, but he doesn't pay it.


I got married when my daughter was 2. I took his name. But my daughters biological fathers name is on her birth certificate.


My daughter starts school this year. And all her life she has thought her name was my husbands last name. I have never told her about her biological father and don't plan to until she is either an adult or if she asks the questions.

Can I put my husbands name on her school records? So that when she is doing school work she can write the name she believes is hers, and not have to worrie about the teacher correcting her.


We want to change her name, but we can't find her biological father and the courts say we need to find him to sign his rights away.

We live in the state of Arizona

There are ways to do notification though the courts, with publication if he cannot be found, you should get an attorney

NO you can't merely put his name on school recors

I am a teacher in CA, but I would advise you to call the school district and ask them for assistance. I have had many students who have a different name on their school records than we use in the classroom. Explain your situation and hopefully someone at the school district can help you. Good luck!

I wanted to update this real quick (sorry I'm like that sometimes lol)

As it turns out I didn't even need to worrie.

I underestemated my daughter lol.

I decided to sit down and explain it to her. After all she will have to hear about it one day, and I would rather not have it during her teen years while she is going through the emotional rollercoaster and take the chance of her hating me forever lol.


So, I explained that she had a different daddy when she was a baby, but he left. (we will go into reasons when she is older, she doesn't need to know her biological father left because of her)
And I told her that her last name was T---- instead of Z----- like me and daddy.


And she blew me away. And told me 'well duh mommie. I KNOW I have different daddy that I don't know cause I didn't meet MY daddy till I was 3! So of COURSE I had another daddy before you got married"


From the mouths of babes lol. So she was totally open and accepting of her last name being different from mine and my husbands and looks forward to learning how to write it lol she said she knows how to write her first name but if she wants to give autographs when she is a movie star she has to know how to write her last name too.

Wow.