I have a eight year old girl, she has her fathers last name. I want to change her last name to my married name. Her father didn't sign any papers, stating that he is her father and he doesn't pay child support. How to I go about changing her name and how much would it cost.

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Originally Posted by palewhite

Tell your husband you really want to change her name. If he doesn't allow, well convince him to with many ideas. Maybe you can divorce.

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This question was asked in a legal forum. Your answer is completely wrong. Please try to be more careful where you post to. Some areas of AMHD have much stricter standards then others.

You will need to get the fathers permission to get the name changed. You will have to go to court and prove him the legal father (DNA test) and go from there. Also you should go through the courts and set up child support. That way if in the future your husband wishs to adopt then you have a track record of what has been going on.

A birth certificate is a legal document. You have to get a court order to legally change her name. The father will have to give his permission.

I would suggest your husband petition to adopt.

If he is not on her birth certificate. You can change her name. If he is on the birth certifcate, he needs to agree and sign. I want to change my sons last name. But can't because I was so stupid and put his father on there. I contacted Births Deaths & Marriages about this. That's what they said.

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Originally Posted by ScaredSingleMum

If he is not on her birth certificate. You can change her name. If he is on the birth certifcate, he needs to agree and sign. I want to change my sons last name. But can't because i was so stupid and put his father on there. I contacted Births Deaths & Marriages about this. Thats what they said.

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Thank you for wanting to help our members. However, there is a standard for the legal forums that answers have to comply with statutory law. Since laws vary by area what applies in your area may not apply everywhere. However, in this case you were misinformed or misunderstood what you were told.

As far as I'm aware, in all US states, a birth certificate is a legal document. Changes cannot be made to a birth certificate (though corrections of fact may be made) without a court order. For example a misspelling could be corrected, but a full name change can't. And a court will require that both parents agree to the change, which means, even if left off the birth certificate the father will have to be identified and give permission.